"New" GE A/C on the fritz

[perc-o-prince]

Hey all!

So this unit is about 10K BTU. We bought it 2-3 years ago and use it about 3-4 months a year. I put it in yesterday as it's finally needed downstairs and the compressor doesn't seem to kick on. The fan works great, the temp sensor seems to be reading correctly, but I can't hear the compressor and the room isn't cooling. Pretty much ambient air coming out of the unit- feels a little cooler than the room because of the velocity.

So my question is, do these newer units have any kind of a temp limiter or reset on the compressor? I can't imagine a temp limiter tripping as it was working when I put it away last year and it's stored in a heated basement, but...

Thanks for any ideas. I have a feeling I'm going A/C shopping today. :-(

Chuck

 

[jmm63]

That's a shame Chuck, especially being only a couple years old. Unfortunately, it seems anything made in the past 5 years is total junk. If you do get a new one let us know how you like it. I bought a Frigidaire 8K btu 2 years ago for the living room at Lowes and I hate it. It cools ok but is so annoyingly loud we have to turn it off to watch tv. Keep hoping it self destructs so I can get a new one. Could not imagine it in a bedroom.
Good luck!

 

[stevet]

Noisy Frigidaire?

Jim, this may sound strange but was there any mention in the installation instructions that said to release any shipping or hold down bolts on the compressor prior to using the unit?

If the compressor is still mounted to the baseplate it would definitely be much noisier. We had 3 Frigidaire built units when we were in NY and they were all very quiet.
Might be worth checking that out or pull off the cover and see if there is something hitting against another component.

 

[stevet]

Time to check further

Chuck,
I would pull the covers off and check that the wiring on the compressor is all intact. One of the wires may have fallen off or rusted away and will need to be repaired and the same goes for the wiring inside the control box. There is no telling what quality of components were used in these machines.
Every penny saved is another penny in the pockets of the manufacturer.

 

[vacerator]

Thats cheap

quality, either from China, or Mexico. I doubt their is a window unit made stateside today, and the parts used in newer central A/C units aren't what they were for quality either. High efficiency until you get the repair bill.
Oh well, if you have hot water or electric baseboard heat, central air is not an option unless you can mount it in the attic, hung from the side of a building with iron girders, or on the roof, and feed ducting in the ceilings.

 

[gusherb]

GE units are made by Electrolux and some Chinese company manufactures them. I see identical units at Menards under various brand names such as Soleus.

 

[jmm63]

Steve,
The compressor is pretty quiet, its the fan that's loud, only run it on low as that's all i can stand. This one replaced an older GE that was perfect in the living room, very quiet but the compressor went on it. Sure miss that one.

 

[askolover]

Our Haier 8k in our master bedroom has started making noise too...it's something with the fan. It cools great and was very quiet until the fan started rubbing something. I've read about other brands having the same problem. I'm gonna take it out and open it up to find out what's hitting. I'll probably stick some boom mat onto the styrofoam while I'm in there to make it dark...the sunlight shines right through.

 

[vacerator]

Like the

"new" blower motor I put in my '03 Impala last year. Made in China. Noisy, and squeaky as heck.
Cheap bearings. The brand is Bosch, or VDO. I spent $80 bucks on it. Pep Boys told me it was the best one thy had.
Old beater never let me down. Rust is finally getting the better of it. Still runs like a champ. Point A to B second car.

 

[vacerator]

Like the

"new" blower motor I put in my '03 Impala last year. Made in China. Noisy, and squeaky as heck.
Cheap bearings. The brand is Bosch, or VDO. I spent $80 bucks on it. Pep Boys told me it was the best one thy had.
Old beater never let me down. Rust is finally getting the better of it. Still runs like a champ. Point A to B second car.

 

[retro-man]

Chuck is this a window unit? If so was it sitting upright during storage? These need to sit in the window for about a day for it to work correctly. The gas and liquid need to flow back to their normal position to work. Now if this is a stand alone unit like you had in the living room before that I saw than its a different story. You could check that with a volt meter to see that the compressor is getting power. It may be a relay that is defective or the start capacitor. Hope this helps.

Jon

 

[launderess]

Don't think anyone builds home/domestic ACs in the USA

Any longer. Friedrich long moved production to Mexico and IIRC they were one of the last holdouts.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Hey Jon,

Yes, it was sitting on its "back" during the cold weather, but that didn't affected it or its predecessor before. Nor the one upstairs in the bedroom. However, even after 24+ hours, it wasn't working. The compressor didn't even kick in.

I bought a new one at Wally World yesterday based on the EER and customer ratings. Went up to 12,000 BTU and it's the same physical size so I was able to use the same foam and plastic that I used to install the 10K in the casement window. The additional BTUs will be helpful because we use a fan to push cooled air to the right, toward my office and the loo, and to the left for the common area and kitchen.

The "old" one is in the back of my van and when I have a chance, I'm gonna check the warranty. It looks like a lot of units have a 1 year warranty but either 3 or 5 years on the sealed system. If the wiring to the sealed system is bad, or the compressor is bad, maybe I'll have it repaired under warranty and we'll have it as a spare.

BTW- the new one is an Arctic King at 12K BTU on 115VAC. Works great (so far) and isn't that loud at all! I could always turn the fan down off of hi if it bothered us.

Thanks,

Chuck

 

[toploader55]

Bought a Friedricht 4 years ago. They suck. First year quiet. Second year noisy. Third year... Horrible.

Carrier went to Mexico as early as 1986.They're Siesta models were the earliest of manufactures to head south.

The US has been such a disappointment in manufacturing.

 

[gusherb]

I miss Carrier window units. They were built like a tank and very quiet.

 

[mrb627]

Consumer Reports?

I would be curious to know what CR says, if anything, on window ac or portables. Anyone in the know?

Malcolm

 

[vacerator]

When

I was a kid, my dad was given a huge Hotpoint window unit from a hair salon. He put in in an upstairs bedroom window in our 1,000 square ft. house, and it cooled the entire house.

 

[joe_in_philly]

Did you keep it plugged in long enough for the compressor delay to time out? I unplug my Frigidaire wall unit during the winter, and it needs to be plugged in several minutes before the compressor will start. Same thing with my dehumidifier - it too needs several minutes after being plugged in before the compressor will start.