I am curious about my outdoor disconnect box (breaker box) for my outdoor a/c unit.?
Question:The box is FPE with one single pull out. My Payne PA13 outside a/c unit stopped working (and the air still blows albeit not cool air) and I am curious how this type of breaker box works. Are there fuses behind the panel? Or does the piece I pull act like a fuse?. I have already checked all of my circuits on my main circuit breaker. My a/c worked fine the other day, but since I last used the a/c, I had to turn off my main electricity to install a light, and the outside a/c unit is not coming back on... can this be a coincedence? I really doubt it.
Answers:
The disconnect box near your outside a/c unit is required by the National Electric Code. As another answer has indicated, it may or may not have fuses. In all likelihood these fuses have not blown, but make sure the pullout is fully seated in the right orientation.
The circuit breaker on your breaker panel has probably tripped. To reset it, turn it off and then back on.
I'm not aware of a red reset button on the compressor, but if there is one, it will be in a safe location where you don't have to worry about getting shocked. But first I ask whether the blower motor comes on, which is separate from the compressor. If it doesn't come on, either you don't have power at the unit, or the control circuit from the indoor thermostat is not asking for cooling. You really need a meter to troubleshoot.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The compressor starts when you press the main relay, indicating that you have AC power to the outside unit. So you don't need to worry about the circuit breaker or disconnect box any more.
There is a second, smaller relay near the main relay. This relay is controlled by the low voltage line coming from the thermostat, and it in turn controls the main relay. Is this smaller relay working? It may be enclosed so you can't see any movement, but you could check the coil connections to see if there is 24 volts AC on them. The other possibility is that there is an interlock (cutoff switch) when the refrigerant pressure is too low.
As far as meters go, a number of cheap meters are available from Radio Shack, Home Depot or Lowe's. Just get one that will measure AC voltages up to 250 volts. It would also be useful if it measured resistance so you could test for continuity.
disconnect pulls out like fuse. look for red reset button on compressor unit or relay box in/on unit itself...good luck (otherwise have refrig. level/pressures checked as low pressure cutoff switch will disable unit.....power supply needs to be present for reset button to engage relay on restart
The Disconnect box mounted could be just a means of disconnecting power called a "Non-Fusible" to the A.C. unit or a "Fusible" disconnect. You can tell by pulling out the handle and looking at the back side of the pull out, a fusible will have 2 - up to 30 amp cartridge fuses, a non fusible will have copper bars that allow voltage to pass thru when you re insert the handle. FPE is the manufacturer it stands for Federal Pacific Electric, some call it F#$%^& Poor Equipment because of their circuit breakers that were so poorly made that in the late 1970's lost their U.L. listing. If your A.C. still blows air it is because it is a seperate piece of equipment with a seperate feed. [the airhandler with a coil in it] is seperate from the outdoor condenser coil. You might have accidentally knocked off the beaker to the outdoor unit when installing the light fixture, even if it looks as if it is on try snapping it off and on again. Some times when a breaker trips the handle might not go to the off postion. Try turning the thermostat DOWN low so it call for airconditioning and go outside the see if the outdoor unit kicks in, if it does kick in the condenser fan and compressor should be running.
You might want to call a competent heating contractor to fix this one. Like the other contributors have said, you can see if there's voltage. But there really isn't that many parts to your A/C. The contactor will keep the unit from working if has failed, and this isn't an expensive part if you can find it. But you need to test the low voltage side (the little wire that's wrapped with the refrigerant tubes) for twenty-four volts with the thermostat set to cool. If this is the case, and there's voltage to the unit and to the contactor, think long and hard about replacing it. If you're the least bit uncomfortable. bite the bullet and call a professional. There's some pretty dangerous stuff living in that condenser unit. The capacitor is one, and the condenser fan is another hazard.
You're looking at a $100 or less to get a contractor over, but this is still cheaper than a trip to the emergency room.
I tune these up during the summer and have received more than my share of cuts and shocks from working on them. Hope this helps.
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