24 Volt not getting to Condenser - Only 11 Volts

[Whaleboy]

Relay inside the outside air cooled condensing unit (OACCU) is only getting 11 volts when the thermostat calls for cooling - which in turn does not have enough power to pull the relay coil all the way in to make 100% contact with the 240 volt contactors - which in turn makes the relay chatter and the 240 lines spark - and it continuously makes a chattering sparking noise - and green sparks come from the contactors inside the OACCU

I have 24 volts inside and I have 24 volts coming out to the unit outside - however I have a BGE Power Saving Peak Rewards box on the wall outside which appears to tap in series the 24 volts before it goes into the OACCU.

Is it possible that this controlling BGE box is causing my OACCU to chatter and spark and if so can this cause damage to my fan and compressor in the OACCU? I know that it is messing up my contacts in the fan / compressor relay. The fan barely turns and the compressor shakes -

If I use a screwdriver handle and push in on the relay the chattering goes away and the fan and compressor come on - perfectly works. Also I took the relay out and hooked up the wires to the 24 volt coil on the relay to a 24 volt transformer and it pulls all the way in and holds.

[paul52446m]

Relay inside the outside air cooled condensing unit (OACCU) is only getting 11 volts when the thermostat calls for cooling - which in turn does not have enough power to pull the relay coil all the way in to make 100% contact with the 240 volt contactors - which in turn makes the relay chatter and the 240 lines spark - and it continuously makes a chattering sparking noise - and green sparks come from the contactors inside the OACCU

I have 24 volts inside and I have 24 volts coming out to the unit outside - however I have a BGE Power Saving Peak Rewards box on the wall outside which appears to tap in series the 24 volts before it goes into the OACCU.

Is it possible that this controlling BGE box is causing my OACCU to chatter and spark and if so can this cause damage to my fan and compressor in the OACCU? I know that it is messing up my contacts in the fan / compressor relay. The fan barely turns and the compressor shakes -

If I use a screwdriver handle and push in on the relay the chattering goes away and the fan and compressor come on - perfectly works. Also I took the relay out and hooked up the wires to the 24 volt coil on the relay to a 24 volt transformer and it pulls all the way in and holds.

I don't know what a BGE Power Saving Peak Rewards box is, but if it is dropping the 24 volts then is is not working right. A chattering relay can cause damage to the fan , compressor, and burn the points on the relay.
So do not try to run the unit until you can get full 24 volts to the relay.
later Paul

[Speedbump]

When a transformer goes open it has no voltage. When it shorts internally, either winding it would naturally drop the voltage depending on where in the winding the short occurred. Either way, the transformer is bad and needs to be replaced.