Basement DuoTherm split AC Diagnostic - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Basement DuoTherm split AC Diagnostic (/showthread.php?tid=8952)

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Basement DuoTherm split AC Diagnostic - Rixson - 05-08-2026

So everything seems to be operating up until it doesn't..

I'm trying to hopefully think that it's something other than the fan motor itself...

So I opened it all up and I observed two things at the point in which activating the AC...
Okay three things. 

One the motor and/or the fan blades squirrel cage seem to be occasionally touching the metal  housing around it ven when I got it spinning for a while I could hear a little rub every now and again...
Not knowing how this is exactly constructed behind the fan blades I wanted to assume that there was another bearing on the other side of the fan to stabilize it but I don't think that's the case based on some pictures that I found elsewhere... Anyway fiddling was a bit I was able to get it to spend freely with my fingers sort of and then I turned on the Ac.  That said the housing seems to flex more than I liked ..

Two after about 1 to 3 minutes of blower blowing appearing to be normal speed it just shut down Stop blowing which then causes the evaporator in the front to get very hot and shut down the whole unit...

The third thing I found was a little piece of rubber or foam ..appeared to be like maybe an old grommet or something else maybe insulation from somewhere inside the housing about the size of my thumb inside the squirrel cage...... I removed it before I did anything else but I think it's worthy to note is that might have warped the squirrel cage or may have come from somewhere else that I need to find out where it came from so I can replace it I failed to keep it It got thrown out with some other trash that I had there's just inconspicuous. Black colored foam... Or very deteriorated rubber. 

So I think my question is is there electrical that could be interfering with this shutting down the motor or is this truly the motor locking up on its own is there a way to diagnose the difference...

Am I at a place I just need to order a new motor and swap it and see what happens..

I figured somebody else out here has got to have been in a similar situation and have some advice to give I'm all ears.... I just don't want to go deep dive into it if it's something I can just work on while it's still mounted in the rig. 

Thanks for listening/reading. 
Ron

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RE: Basement DuoTherm split AC Diagnostic - Richard - 05-13-2026

First thing is to replace the capacitor for the blower motor. Faulty cap will cause motor to overheat and thermals will kick out. When blower stops, compressor overheats, and there you go.

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RE: Basement DuoTherm split AC Diagnostic - Jack Houpe - 05-14-2026

Most modern digital multimeters have a capacitance mode to check capacitors. While you're in there might as well check all of them and look for any swollen or leaking caps. Make sure you remove one of the terminals and short the leads of the cap before testing. The fan rubbing is something worn or loose. 

If someone would have told me we would have something like this 50 years ago I would have laughed in there face. 

https://www.amazon.com/KAIWEETS-Multimeter-Resistance-Capacitance-Temperature/dp/B07SHLS639/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1XY2YRLYGQOZ5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QanCmBedJqmrsvPw-Nrrk_3D5Twx15Vp21LYJTNvWPkgOQV7MCchyfA8w_bbftdbFrSc8F-Ad45YqCx0JmzzpwhNF2y8Mtav4RLhPXumTX8q3fR8cSVFxHeNMtczrHVYI_dVIY3KuP3QuoK0dBI4vNliKeIFX7Ex_OwUV02WzIUY_XoakQxKbi179I7nY46ICq22v-EREA4PVB2yTNa0HBSRPNdPUDdykkfpzCLQsbBfb7---fY1qPStFK9tWeMVsam6L27bc2pmXWBr43U0q6pf7j9m77tNTdtDeXzy1qs.te7hMPefG5w7akDYpFHy7YCsmbgf4yAJ3U2tadGipkc&dib_tag=se&keywords=multimeter&qid=1778754088&sprefix=multim%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

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