Heat Pump Compressor, is it working?

[JimV]

I have been trying to figure our whether my heat pump is working correctly. The posts here were very helpful when I replaced my thermostat last fall. The Pump is a Janitrol (Goodman Mfg.) Model CPKE18-1B. When I turn up the thermostat (set on heat) so that it kicks on, the circulation fan and the heating elements kick on, but the compressor outside just clicks. When I watch it for a while, something is heating up in the unit because I can feel the heat and sometimes see steam, but the outside fan does not come on. My Trane unit on another part of the house has the outside fan turn on soon after I turn the thermostat up, so I'm assuming that the Janitrol unit should be doing the same thing. (Outside temp.=50F, Inside=65F, thermostat=68F)
Thanks.

[imeduc]

Hard to say what you have there. sounds like the strips turn on inside if thats what you mean. Can be the defrost board in the out side unit. thats not right. Id say call a tech to look at it.

ED

My mistakes dont define me they inform me.

[johnd357]

JimV, depending on whether or not there a burning smell you could have a bad contactor. This is the electrical part that makes the power connection when your thermostat tells it to turn on the outside unit, Heat Pump.
It should be fairly simple to check this out, just remove the cover over the controls and have someone inside turn the 'heat up' to turn on the Heat Pump then listen and look to see if the contactor is clicking. The contactor can be identified on most units as a plastic looking bar across the middle of the unit that connects the house wires to the larger unit wiring. I know this sounds very Non Technical but I want you to find it without any problems.
This contactor moves in and out so the only movement you will be able to see is when it is pulled into the switch by the electro magnet when it is switched on by the thermostat. If you use a 'shielded' screwdriver to touch this plastic plunger when you hear the clicking, you may feel a vibration, a severe vibration or nothing at all because it is working ok and the noise is coming from somewhere else inside.
If it's buzzing and vibrating enough for you to feel it thru the screwdriver you can attempt to change it yourself or you can call a tech to make sure that's what it is and change it out for you.
JimV, just do us all a favor will you, don't touch anything else with that screwdriver but the plastic part I told you about. Touching any metal could cause sparks to fly and could burn something up and be very expensive to fix.
Better yet, just call a tech.

JohnD

Your are what you eat so, eat everything you like.

[JimV]

I appreciate your responses. I know that there is some sort of relay that is working in the unit, because I can hear a fairly loud clicking sound when the unit turns on. I will try to look at it more closely. I have left messages with two contractors in the area, but neither has returned my call. I heat primarily with wood, so there is really no rush for me.

[JimV]

I spoke with a tech today and he recommended trying the unit in A/C mode to see if the fan was working. He said that in heating mode the fan may not come on at the same time as the compressor, but in A/C they should. I tried it and I can hear what I assume to be the compressor come on, but the fan still does not come on. The tech suggested that the defrost board may be malfunctioning, and that maybe there was something behind it shorting it out. I opened it up and cleaned everything up and checked connentions (with the power off obviously). Everything seemed fine. The fan still does not come on. The relay which seems to be triggered by the thermostat does pull closed when the compressor starts, but still no fan. I tried feeling whether there was a lot of vibration in the relay as suggested above, but while it was vibrating a little, it was hardly noticeable. The tech says that it is $75 service charge just to look at it. Who knows what it will be if he actually has to fix something. I appreciate his willingness to talk with me on the phone.

[lonestarheir]

Sounds like if you are over your head that you should have the tech that you talked to come out. You seem to have a good opinion about him, and he was willing to try and help save you some money. There are so many things that it could be with it being a heat pump, sometimes you are better off paying those of us who do this for a living.

__________________________________________________

Brandon
- Have you changed your filter this month? -