Do I need a new condensor and air handler?
I have a 2008 Goodman central AC.
The other day we were experiencing a heat wave and by the 4th day, my AC stopped working. I called an HVAC guy to come and he tried changing the capacitor but couldn't get the compressor to run. The old capacitor was so fried that he couldn't use it as a reference when connecting the new capacitor. He tried a few times but wasn't able to get the compressor to work. He assumed the compressor was on its last leg and said I needed a new system.
I called another guy and he was able to get the compressor running by using a new capacitor. However, a few days later I noticed the compressor stopped working again and was only blowing out warm air from the fan. I called the hvac technician but due to it being a holiday week here he said he's on vacation so he couldn't come by.
Another guy came and ran some diagnostics and said everything appeared to be working. And the compressor definitely was not defective as it does work, but the problem is that it would sometimes stop running. He thinks it might be a thermal detector of some sort that is inside the compressor and that it may be causing the compressor to stop because it's overheating.
When the compressor is working the AC works fine. Refrigerant levels are fine as well. But when the machine is running for a few hours and it gets really hot, it will have trouble kicking the compressor on.
Is there anything these technicians are missing? Could it be that the compressor or on its last legs and so it's having trouble even with a new capacitor and proper refrigerant, air filter, and clean coils?
Posted Jul 4, 2025, 1:27 AM UTC