furnace blower

[outlawram]

I think my fan on my furnace took a crap. When I turn on the fan it will not kick in. I can hear a clicking noise as i turn it on and then nothing happens. I have tried to turn the thermostat way up and it still will not kick on. Will not work with the central air on either. Do I need the whole blower or is it a switch of some sort?

 

[mgoncalves]

Try spinning the fan by hand. If it stops in a half to full turn from when you release the wheel, then it's probably the motor. It should just keep spinning a few turns, real free like.



If it spins freely, then check out the motor capacitor. You need a meter capable of measuring micro farads.



Usually when a motor goes bad, it takes out the capacitor. and vice versa. So, if one of them's bad, you need to replace them both.



Try that and see what you find. If you can't nail it down, let me know, I'm glad to help.



Matt



P. S. I usually end up billing $400-$500 to change a blower motor on a service call. So, I hope you can fix it yourself with a few tips.

 

[KBennett]

What about the motor starter relay? Check to see of the motor is getting voltage and work your way backward.

 

[outlawram]

The motor spins freely. There is a fused switch on the side of the furnace. When I keep it on i can hear a constant humming noise. When I switch it off it stops. But the fan doesnt kick in when in the on position and the thermostat switched to fan. I dont have a meter for testing it . I will see if my buddy has one. If you can think of anything else let me know. I live in a split level and have been just running the blower to curculat the air in the house. That is when it went out.

 

[KBennett]

Sounds like the motor or motor capacitor to me.

If it has a centrifugal start switch in the motor they can go bad allowing power only to get to the run winding and not the start winding. The motor will just sit and hum because it does not get a rotational boost from the start winding.

 

[outlawram]

Thanks guys it was a 6 dollar capacitor. I saved myself a bunch thanks to you guys! it only took me about 5 minutes.