My outside unit (the one with the compressor) the fan stopped working, so I took it apart and found a capacitor (which looks like an automative coil) blown up, the top which all the wires hook to was completely separated from the body of the thing, and all this jell like stuff was all over, ..any ideas as to what might have caused this? would fan motor failure likely have caused this, or a power bump or spike? I'm trying to fix this thing myself, I know very little about household electrical stuff, but once I find a replacement capacitor it doesn't look hard to change.
Thanks for any help!

 

Sometimes they just go bad, depending on how old they are. We've had them go out on our water pump several times, so we keep spares. Also had one go out on the AC, though I dont remember what part. Also had one go out on a deep freeze, but the motor was bad and kept on burning them up.

 

Do the fan and compressor have their own run cap.?..I have worked on these things for 12 years and normally if you replace the run cap. and the amp. draw of the unit is fine then you are ok..But without being able to check it myself I make no promises..LOL..Check for shorts..Make sure the unit has the proper voltage to it when running..Make sure all connections are clean and tight..They are just like anyother part and do wear out..

 

Lightning could blow anything apart. If you’ve had thunderstorms in your area, this could be the cause. Unfortunately if it is lightning related, it might not be just the capacitor that is damaged.

If you think it is weather related, it might be a good idea to contact your insurance agent before you replace any parts.

 

I retired from the HVAC industry with 43 years of working on them and I have seen many run capacitors go bad. They can fail for many reasons. Read out your fan motor to ground and winding to winding and if you get nothing to ground and a reading between windings that is more than a shorted winding would be, I would just install another run capacitor. They only cost around $6-10.00. Make sure you get one with the same MFD and voltage rating as the old one. They are available at most all HVAC parts stores.

 

yes it is very common for lightning to blow out the caps