Fan Motor Changed - Now Wiring Sticking Out?

[Jennifer Bauer]

We had a local HVAC company, highly recommended on Yelp, come out to repair our central a/c not cooling down the house. First they replaced the capacitor, said the fan motor would last another 1-2 years. After, the a/c would not go above 76, something was definitely wrong.

They sent out a different guy who tinkered with the system for 3 hours and then tried to tell me that DTE was cutting back on our electricity during the day because it was so hot out. I told him that was straight up BS. He figured nothing out, except that it was the fan motor, the one that was supposed to last another 1-2 years according to the first tech the day before.

We had them come out a 3rd time to change out the fan motor, they charged us $82 for 2 of the 3 visits, even though this should have been able to be addressed in one visit. This guy left the wires sticking out of the top of the unit, on top of the fan grille. I have attached 4 photos. This seems like a very lazy job and not done properly by a certified and licensed HVAC technician. Was this done properly? Any small child or animal can come along and pull these out, not to mention it's Detroit and we get very harsh weather here. Thanks.

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[Casey Greene]

HVAC unit can fail for several reasons it can be because of Compressor, Condenser coil , front panel or grill, fan or blower, filter etc. My friend got her HVAC unit fixed from furnace replacement NJ professionals when my heating unit was diagnosed with Condensate drain tube issue. She recommended me the same professionals as they are well known for their work. I think you should also go with experts service to sort your problem.

[Jerry Peck]

This guy left the wires sticking out of the top of the unit, on top of the fan grille. I have attached 4 photos. This seems like a very lazy job and not done properly by a certified and licensed HVAC technician. Was this done properly? Any small child or animal can come along and pull these out, not to mention it's Detroit and we get very harsh weather here.

All to common, and I mean w-a-y- t-o common ... and not per code.

It is simple, quick, and easy, and I suspect that they figure no one with any sense will see it later and pin it back on them.

Simple answer is: No, it was not done properly.

I guess I should give the person credit where credit is due, though - at least they used a black cable tie (only black ones are suitable for use outdoors) ... that said ... no cable tie should have been needed or used if it had been done properly (but I wanted to make note of the black cable tie).

[Phillip Stojanik]

This guy left the wires sticking out of the top of the unit, on top of the fan grille.

That is a "universal" replacement motor and the orange and yellow wires in your photo are used to change the motor rotation so that it will match the needs of the particular unit in which the motor is installed. The tech did not want to the wires to drop down and possibly be hit by the condenser fan blade so he tied them to the top grill with a wire tie. That is a good thing but what he should not have done is loop the wiring up over the the grill leaving the wires vulnerable to potential damage from above. The odds of this being a problem for you is admittedly small but there is always some slim chance. The green wire with the yellow stripe is a ground wire that is used to assure that the body of the motor is grounded to the unit. I can't really tell for sure in the picture if its actually connected to anything but it should be connected with a screw to the metal of the unit.

I don't think you can really say the service tech was being lazy since it took just as much time and effort to do this wrong as it would have taken to do it right. This is a case of the tech being sloppy about the work although he likely thought that his way was going to be better at keeping the wiring away from the immanent danger of the spinning fan blade. Have to give him credit for that at least but he should also have taken into consideration the potential risk of something happening to the wiring that he has sticking up above the grill.

I however would be more concerned about that fact that it took two guys and two trips for the company to ultimately decide that the motor needed to be replaced and the fact that the guy who replaced the motor also told you that the power company was cutting back on your power during the day. Based on your description of the problem after the capacitor was initially replaced, I have to doubt that the unit actually needed the new motor.

[Jerry Peck]

That is a "universal" replacement motor and the orange and yellow wires in your photo are used to change the motor rotation so that it will match the needs of the particular unit in which the motor is installed. The tech did not want to the wires to drop down and possibly be hit by the condenser fan blade so he tied them to the top grill with a wire tie. That is a good thing but what he should not have done is loop the wiring up over the the grill leaving the wires vulnerable to potential damage from above.

What he should not have done is leave the wires exposed.

The typical way is as shown, below the grill is also not correct - protecting and enclosing those wires in a piece of raceway is the correct way. Typically, a piece of nonmetallic liquidtight is used for that purpose.

[Gunnar Alquist]

Thread drift.

Jerry, I hope you and yours are ok. While not in the direct path, it looks like Ormond Beach still sustained damage and flooding. I noticed a tornado went through your area.

[Jerry Peck]

Thread drift.

Jerry, I hope you and yours are ok. While not in the direct path, it looks like Ormond Beach still sustained damage and flooding. I noticed a tornado went through your area.

Thank you for checking.

Gunnar, still no power (been out since Sunday evening); cell service has been spotty (mostly not there); Internet on the cell system has been almost non-existent ... I've had more Internet this morning than the last 3 days combined.