Location: SLO County, California. Average summertime high, 91 F, Heatwaves of 100+F not uncommon.
Model: Ruud Achiever 10
So, quick summary. HVAC system was installed when the house was built in 1996. All original. We purchased the house in 2013. First summer we had the house, I had the relay replaced due to it being fried and the condenser not coming on.
System worked fine until Sunday when again the condenser wouldn't turn on. No Fan, no compressor, nothing. The forced air unit in the attic was turning on though. So I go outside to the condenser and hear a buzzing sound but nothing running. I did some google searches and watched some videos with similar sounds. All of these pointed towards capacitor, so I went and got one and swapped it out. No dice, same symptoms.
Now I've called out an HVAC tech, he tests the new and old capacitors, they're both fine. Takes the little cover off the relay and immediately we both notice the burn marks and loose pieces of metal in the relay. He blows it off, says it was caused by dirt or dust getting in there, gets the condenser to work, but says he thinks the compressor is getting ready to go out. Charges me 100 bucks and leaves.
5 minutes after he leaves, I go to turn on "cool" on the thermostat and again nothing happens but buzzing outside. So now I'm kind of annoyed and go take it apart myself (After taking the proper lock out tag out precautions, I'm pretty handy, just don't know much about HVAC). I remove the relay, take it to the HVAC wholesaler I got the capacitors from. I explain to the owner what's going on and he says it's not burn out from dirt or dust, it's from switching on and off too much. Likely caused from an old thermostat without the 5 minute delay feature, and a +/- 1 degree option instead of a programmable one. He also said the poor contacts being made when the burnt up relay was working was probably the reason for the compressor not sounding right. Seeing as how the thermostat is 20 years old, I figured it was probably no longer accurate in temperature reading also. So, I head home with a new relay, and a new thermostat. Install both and it's all working great now. Compressor didn't sound like it did when we got it to turn on with the burnt relay. AC is blowing ice cold inside.
SO, with all of this background info. My questions are the following:
-In your opinion, was the bad relay/bad connections likely the cause for the compressor sounding "off" while turning on before, but sounding ok now?
-This system is using R22. How feasible is it to replace the condenser outside only? I know the new ones use R410A, which isn't compatible. Would any parts need to be replaced in in the forced air unit in the attic? Is it better to replace the entire system, condenser and air unit in the attic?
Sorry if this was a little disorganized. Thanks for your time!
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