Any HVAC experts?

[subman]

I had something like this in my last house. When we turned on the circulating fan the AC compressor would start. I was told it had to do with the relays for the fans and they would need to be changed. I never did, I just tuned the breaker of for the AC off.

[hillegom]

The fan on the ac unit is turning. But is it turning because the motor is on, or is the fan turning because the air is being pulled through the duct to replace the air that the air exchanger is pushing to outside?

[Seriak]

Originally Posted by hillegom

The fan on the ac unit is turning. But is it turning because the motor is on, or is the fan turning because the air is being pulled through the duct to replace the air that the air exchanger is pushing to outside?

I would say most definitely the motor is on as you can hear it going from quite a distance. I will test that theory when I turn off the breaker tonight.

[rayjay]

I'm not real clear on this yet. Is the AC fan turning the one in the outdoor unit?
I've not seen an AC motor inside.
If it is the outdoor unit, is it just the fan coming on or is it the fan and the compressor?

[Seriak]

Originally Posted by rayjay

I'm not real clear on this yet. Is the AC fan turning the one in the outdoor unit?
I've not seen an AC motor inside.
If it is the outdoor unit, is it just the fan coming on or is it the fan and the compressor?

The outdoor a/c unit's fan is turning on when I turn on my air exchanger (With the thermostat set to off) but the compressor is not turning on so the air circulating in my house is room temerature.

[tim the toolman]

If you ac is covered in the winter you should be able to just flip The breaker to the ac (should be independant) and the fan will not run. I know this is kind of putting a bandaid on a bullet wound but it should work as a temporary fix if all else fails.
But believe me when I say I am no expert lol

[wingedfish]

Originally Posted by Seriak

The outdoor a/c unit's fan is turning on when I turn on my air exchanger (With the thermostat set to off) but the compressor is not turning on so the air circulating in my house is room temerature.

It is impossible for the condencer fan motor to run without the compressor. It runs on the same contactor. Though there is an internal overload that can shut the compressor down for heat/over amp issues.

[cwatkins]

Originally Posted by wingedfish

It is impossible for the condencer fan motor to run without the compressor. It runs on the same contactor. Though there is an internal overload that can shut the compressor down for heat/over amp issues.

Yep, this is totally accurate.

It sounds like the backfeeding thing as mentioned above. The original intent was to turn the exchanged on automatically when the A/C was run. But the opposite is also true.

You could have already done some serious damage to your A/C condensing unit if you've had the cover on. And besides, it's costing the same amount of money to run it right now as if it was the middle of summer, since the A/C and exchanger are both running at the same time.

I would call in a qualified HVAC person ASAP before any further damage is done.

EDIT: You may need to/want to invest in a good thermostat (I.E. Honeywell Vision Pro) that has a separate programmable output for the exchanger.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by hillegom

The fan on the ac unit is turning. But is it turning because the motor is on, or is the fan turning because the air is being pulled through the duct to replace the air that the air exchanger is pushing to outside?

there is no conection between the outside AC fan motor and an air duct, the outside AC fan is just to cool the condensing unit.

I would get a real HRV guy and bite the bullet for a few bucks and get it fixed properly. this should not be comming on and a AC unit fan is not a cheep one to run. Also you are using the aire exchange in the summer that fan will be running twice as much and I imagin replacing that fan will be a lot more expensive than getting the aire exchange hooked up properly.

Steve

[hillegom]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

there is no conection between the outside AC fan motor and an air duct, the outside AC fan is just to cool the condensing unit.

Steve

I didn't know we were talking about the outside fan motor. I thought the fan was on the inside of the house, blowing through the evaproator