Bastrop AC Repair (888) 217-3739

An independent referral line for AC and heating calls in Bastrop County, TX. Not a contractor.

Bastrop County, TX

The outdoor unit hums, but the fan on top is not turning

Inside, the blower runs and moves warm air. Outside, the unit hums or buzzes and the fan does not spin, or it sits completely silent. This is one of the most common summer calls around Bastrop, and the usual cause is a failed capacitor, a part a technician carries on the truck.

(888) 217-3739

The line is answered 24/7. Calls may be recorded.

Switch the cooling off now

A compressor trying to start against a failed capacitor, or running with no fan to carry its heat away, overheats within minutes. Its internal overload trips, it cools, it tries again. Each attempt shortens its life. Turning the cooling off at the thermostat until the visit protects the most expensive part of the system.

Do not push the fan blades with a stick to get them started. It sometimes works for a day, and it puts hands near a unit that is live.

What usually causes it

The run capacitor. A small can that gives the compressor and fan motor the boost to start. Heat wears capacitors out, and Bastrop's outdoor units spend about 124 days a year at 90°F or above (NOAA normals for the Smithville station). A swollen or leaking top is a giveaway, though a capacitor can fail without either.

The contactor. The switch the thermostat closes to start the outdoor unit. Pitted contacts, ants packed between them, or a failed coil keep it from closing or let it close badly.

The fan motor. If the compressor runs but the fan does not, the motor's bearings or windings may have failed.

Silent instead of humming points more toward power: the breaker, the disconnect beside the unit, a blown fuse in the disconnect, or a thermostat that is not calling.

What a technician checks

Power at the disconnect, the capacitor with a meter, the contactor, the fan motor, and then whether the compressor starts and draws what it should. If the compressor has been short-cycling on its overload for days, ask what its readings say before agreeing to a capacitor only.

What to say when you call

  • Humming, clicking or silent, and whether the fan moves at all
  • That the cooling is now off at the thermostat
  • Whether the breaker has tripped
  • The install year from the outdoor data plate
  • Your ZIP code and access to the yard

Common questions

Is this usually a big repair? A capacitor or contactor is a part. A compressor that will not start even with a good capacitor is a bigger conversation; see AC replacement.

It worked again after I reset the breaker. Then the fault may be intermittent. See the breaker page before resetting it again.

Know the symptom and the install year? That is enough to start. Ask whether a contractor is taking calls in your ZIP code today.

(888) 217-3739

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ZIP codes on this line

Bastrop 78602Cedar Creek 78612Elgin 78621Smithville 78957Paige 78659Red Rock 78662McDade 78650Rosanky 78953Giddings 78942

Updated

Call — (888) 217-3739

Calls may be recorded.