So I thought it was a bad circuit board but further investigation led me in a different direction.
NEW HVACR TOOLS CHANNEL- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-nk0rPOkp_tCS5diKpa-Q
HVACR VIDEOS NEW MERCH WEBSITE - https://www.hvacrvideos.com
Please consider supporting my channel by
Becoming a Patreon member - Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Hvacrvideos
Becoming a YouTube channel member https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Pnrxqqg4BLTsfsUzWw5Pw/join
By purchasing tools via my affiliate links below at TRUTECHTOOLS.COM and use the offer code BIGPICTURE to save 8% on your total purchase (exclusions apply)
Visiting my website and purchasing merch https://www.hvacrvideos.com
HVAC OVERTIME CHANNEL LINK - https://www.youtube.com/c/HVACOvertime
TOOL LINKS
Fieldpiece MG44 micron gauge- https://www.trutechtools.com/fieldpiece-mg44-job-link-wireless-vacuum-gauge.html?affid=36
Fieldpiece 10 cfm vacuum pump - https://www.trutechtools.com/fieldpiece-vpx7-runquick-dual-stage-vacuum-pump-10cfm.html?affid=36
Fieldpiece Infrared leak detector- https://www.trutechtools.com/fieldpiece-dr82-infrared-refrigerant-leak-detector.html?affid=36
Fieldpiece Large wireless pipe clamp- https://www.trutechtools.com/fieldpiece-jl3lc-wireless-large-pipe-clamp-thermocouple.html?affid=36
Viper hand pump sprayer - https://www.trutechtools.com/viper-2-in-1-sprayer.html?affid=36
JB nitrogen purging adapter- https://amzn.to/3iwzaxc
Ratchet tubing bender- https://www.trutechtools.com/BlackMax-BTB300-Tubing-Tools-Premium-Ratcheting-Tube-Bender-w-Reverse-Bend-1-4-in-5-16-in-3-8-in-1-2-in-5-8-in-3-4-in-7-8-in-OD-Tubing?affid=36
Fieldpiece wireless scale https://www.trutechtools.com/SRS3?affid=36
Fieldpiece SC480 meter https://www.trutechtools.com/Fieldpiece-SC480-Job-Link-System-Power-Clamp-Meter?affid=36
Fieldpiece JobLink wireless probes https://www.trutechtools.com/JL3KH6?affid=36
Sman 480 digital manifold https://www.trutechtools.com/Fieldpiece-SM480V?affid=36
Fieldpiece MR45 recovery machine https://www.trutechtools.com/Fieldpiece-MR45-Digital-Recovery-Machine?affid=36
Fieldpiece VP85 vacuum pump- https://www.trutechtools.com/Fieldpiece-VP85-RunQuick-Vacuum-Pump-8-CFM?affid=36
Wireless probes charging tee - https://www.trutechtools.com/AVT45?affid=36
Samsung 8" Tablet https://amzn.to/3bW8QJ6
OtterBox case https://amzn.to/2wgd0M5
Bomber safety glasses - https://amzn.to/2yD6sbs
Bomber safety sunglasses- https://amzn.to/2zmhdPp
BlueVac Pro micron gauge - https://www.trutechtools.com/BluvacProPlus?affid=36
TruBlu pro evacuation kit - https://www.trutechtools.com/Accutools-A10757-3-TruBlu-Professional-Evacuation-Kit?affid=36
Accutools core removal tools - https://www.trutechtools.com/Accutools-S10735-Core-Removal-Tool-1-4?affid=36
Nitrogen purging regulator - https://www.trutechtools.com/Western-Enterprises-VN-500-HVAC-Nitrogen-Purging-Regulator?affid=36
Nylog blue - https://www.trutechtools.com/RT201B?affid=36
Flir One Pro thermal imaging camera https://www.trutechtools.com/FLIR-One-Pro-Smart-Phone-Connected-Thermal-Imager-Android-USB-C?affid=36
Viper coil gun- https://www.trutechtools.com/Refrigeration-Technologies-RT300S-Viper-Brite-Coil-Cleaning-Spray-Gun?affid=36
Viper Condenser coil cleaner Venom Pack- https://www.trutechtools.com/Viper-Venom-Pack-Condenser-Cleaner?affid=36
For Optimizing my videos I use Tube Buddy
https://www.tubebuddy.com/HVACRVIDEOS
Please consider subscribing to my channel and turning on the notification bell by clicking this link https://goo.gl/H4Nvob
Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HVACR-Videos...
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hvacrvideos/
For any inquiries please contact me at chris @hvacrvideos.com
Mailing Address
HVACR VIDEOS
12523 LIMONITE AVE.
440 - 184
MIRA LOMA, CA. 91752
00:00 INTRO
02:11 WOW THE FILTERS ARE TOO CLEAN
03:41 BAD BOARD??
05:17 THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT
09:07 WTF MOMENT #1
14:14 WTF MOMENT #2
15:31 PHASE ROTATION TEST
18:50 SLOW DOWN TURBO, YOU'RE NOT DONE YET....
19:50 NOT MY METER !
25:59 CLOSING WORDS

This video is brought to you by sportlin quality, integrity and tradition. We have got a problem with the bar ac today. It's this guy's right here um. We had some p uh, one of my guys out here to clean the unit up, but they were still having issues with it.

So uh we're gon na go through this and figure it out. Honestly, it doesn't even look like it has power at the moment. Something's going on there, i said it didn't have power, and i come over here and the disconnect switch is off. I don't know why we left it off, so i'm not going to turn it on yet because i want to make sure that nothing is grounded out in the unit.

I don't know why it was left off, so we checked power, three-phase phase to phase nothing and we're double checking to ground, to make sure it doesn't have any power and then we're gon na do a continuity test to see if uh we've got any direct shorts To ground so we'll put it on that one, the select button touch them together, make sure you get a tone there. You go. Let's check it out, see if we got anything, nothing, nothing, nothing. So we don't have any direct shorts to ground.

Now, let's check on the load side of the contactors, because that was just on the line side, nothing, nothing! Nothing keep going! Okay, all right! So i'm pretty confident we can turn on the power and just kind of try to figure out what's going on here. Let's do a visual inspect the blower okay turn that switch off again power off okay belt snug pulleys in decent shape, actually belts. That's a little too tight. Yeah! That's i'll have to check on that.

It seems a little bit too tight to me. Let's go ahead and check the filters this thing's been down for a while huh. I wonder if it was like left off from the filter, changers or something because the filters that were installed in april of 21, don't even look dirty at all. So i wonder if it's off from the filter, changers and we're going to look up in here, it's just all eight! That's weird! I don't know if that makes sense, but it's it's all showing up as three eighths.

That's weird, so we're gon na hit recall i'm going to hit recall right here. So if the past error codes have been, i think there's something going on with this board, because it has all eights on it and it's not responding to anything. That's weird yeah something's up here: that's not good! The heck is this about. Let's go push this back, make sure none of the dip switches are messed up, don't see anything.

It may not come across on camera, but this is just all eights and all decimals i've. Never seen it and notice, there's not a heartbeat indicator on this light right here, and even this one, the heartbeat indicator is solid. It's not see, none of them are flashing. None of the heartbeat indicators are flashing, they're just solid, so that's making me think that we might have a bad board something's funky there.

So when it comes to a board issue like this, this board is just bricked. It's just not doing anything so again, three solid eights, three solid decimals on there, which you never see and then we do not have flashing heartbeats. It's just solid, heartbeat light, that's not good, and then this main board, the m16, doesn't have a heartbeat light at all. Okay, we're going to power this unit down and we're going to pull this board out and inspect it.
Looking at the board, i do not see any burn marks, don't see any issues there. Everything looks decent, no melted solder. So yeah i mean there's not really a whole lot more. I can do other than check voltage.

So when we do put it back together, we'll confirm that we've got proper voltage, but the fact that we had led lights on kind of indicates to me that we do have voltage, but we'll verify that yeah, i'm not seeing any bad solder connections all right. So we put it all back in and we turned it back on. What's interesting is when you power it up the heartbeat light lights up and then it goes away, and then this is the solid 3. 8.

You know it's just totally bricked. So the only other thing we can do, i didn't see any burn marks. Any damage is we're just going to make sure that we've got proper voltage coming from the transformer. So let's go ahead and check um the load voltage, which is going to be this side to see.

If we have proper 24 volts six volts, that's all you got. So that's not good. Okay check the other transformer okay. So what we need to actually do here? I guess we should have done this first, let's check to make sure we actually have three phase power.

So that's a problem. Keep going 48 volts, okay, keep going 213, okay and then do one more okay. Now, let's check each line to ground, i suspect we're gon na have one or two bad fuses. Downstairs: 112.

Okay. 122. Okay. Oh that's odd! So 112, 122.

122.. That's a very odd voltage. So it's not going to be a fuse issue. It's going to be like a burnt bust bar or something so that's line two to three that's line, one to two 48 volts and then line one to three is 177.

okay. So we're going to take a meter and some tools and we're going to go down, find a main breaker or main electrical panel and see if we've got a bad, breaker or bad fuses or what we're going to start at the main disconnect to see. If we've got proper voltage coming in so this guy, real, quick, okay, so the main disconnect okay keep going. Okay, i'll check the last one, one, two three all right, so the problem is not our power switch.

The problem is before that. So we need to get downstairs, i'm making an assumption when i came down here that the unit we're working on is rtu4 just because it's the biggest disconnect switch probably need to go check that, but this is the biggest unit on the roof, so we're gon na Go ahead and check the fuses real, quick um: let's go ahead and test across these guys, we've already verified, there's no voltage. Okay, top fuse is good. Bottom fuse is good all right, all three fuses are good.
So where is our problem? Okay, we were able to get in here and get this opened. 213. 214. 213.

Okay, so we've got proper voltage leaving the panel. We need to make sure this is actually the right ac. So what i did was, i turned it off down at the panel and we're going to confirm. We have no voltage up here, nothing, nothing, nothing! Okay and then i'm going to have my tech, that's down there turn it on and we'll confirm it turns on.

Yes, i did confirm that is the right fuse. Is the right um disconnect? So we need to look between there and here we're going to search all of our electrical connection points. So we've got an lb right there and then we come over here and we've got a large junction box right here with an lb on the bottom of it. So, let's see, if there's any splice points and if there's any potential problems at those splice points, we do have power turned off at the moment.

So so i suspect our problem is in here, and it is look at that whoa boy, the wire is fried mega. Dangerous lucky didn't trip the breaker. I don't know if we can repair that or not, because there might not be enough wire here holy majority wow. That's not good wow.

Look at that splicing lug, it had been arcing and it completely melted. The lug, that's crazy. Huh we've got power, turned off and locked out so but holy macholi man. I don't think i have enough room to repair that, and it doesn't look like any wire is going to pull up, so i'm probably going to have to have an electrician take care of this um.

I can attempt to take this box off if i can get this box off, maybe there's enough wire. I don't know, though i don't think so, so i was able to get the box loose and i just wanted to see if there was enough wire to cut it back and put a new splice on it, and i don't think there is because it feels like The burning starts right here, so we're going to cut it back, though anyways and just see, and i tried pulling up on it and it's not pulling it's not budging um. Well, there's a couple things we could do here. We could also cut this down and cut the conduit and make the wires longer that way too.

This is where i cut it back at, and it's still pretty rigid right here. So there's a couple different options number one. I could cut this down because they've had a new roof put on, so you can cut this down and cut the conduit down and probably get another couple inches of wire, but we still have the problem of the burnt wire going to the load too, and here's The thing i got a bunch of service calls today, i could certainly do this. I'd have to go, get wire run the new wire.

It's going to be a pain to pull that wire too by the way, because it's super tight with those that lb and everything. That's just kind of miserable and needs to be rebranded, but um i'm gon na go ahead and tell them to get an electrician for this because, like i said i could do it, but it's gon na take me all day. I could go get you know three. More calls two more calls done today and have an electrician come and fix this, and then i can go through it and deal with it later.
So i'm going to assemble this back together, we're going to make sure that this is safe and isolated, so no damage we're going to go ahead and tell them to get an electrician out here. Have them fix this? They can determine whether or not they can cut the wire back, but they'll definitely have to run a new feed that way. Um yeah and that's where we're at on this one. So i'm going to do everything i can to help out the electrician number one.

I'm going to advise him that he may want to rerun the conduit because trying to pull if he determines that he wants to use two gauge wire, because this is two gauge trying to pull that through. The lbs is like a nightmare but i'll. Let him make that decision, i'm also going to send him the minimum and maximum circuit ampacity. So this unit does not have a powered exhaust correct, so minimum circuit opacity is 83 amps.

Maximum is 90 amps. So we'll give him that information. This is a 208 three-phase unit. He can determine what size wire he wants to run on this, but i'm just trying to help him out.

So i'm going to send an email to uh the powers that be at the restaurant, with detailed pictures breakdown. What i found what i did and that's the other thing too, we don't ever leave everything all opened up. We closed it all back up taped everything up safely. We even though the electricians come in here.

We don't leave everything half-assed, we put it back together, like we found it as best as possible, and then you know we don't want any liability or anything like that, so we're going to bring it to the customer's attention, give them the pictures tell them what i Found tell them what size wires go into the unit and then let them get a hold of their electrician and they can make the determination now. The other thing, too is: we need to make it so that way we have to come back and check phase rotation once they fix it, because the phases are going to be off, so we got to make sure that the unit doesn't run. So what we'll go ahead and do is go ahead and disconnect the transformer on both of them. So that way it doesn't try to start and then we'll tape, those off and then that way.

When the electrician comes out, he hooks his stuff up. We have to come back because i don't want them being responsible for checking phase rotation with all these scroll compressors plus. We don't know what caused that. I have a pretty good idea, what caused that, and that was more than likely just a loose electrical connection.

Hence why you see the melted molten metal, so let's go look at it real quick, but still we want to verify that the unit's working properly. So this is melted. This turned into molten, and i bet you it was because of a loose electrical connection and that probably caused it to start heating up and arcing and melting the aluminum from this guy. Pretty crazy.
I've never seen one melted that bad though we are back today, so we had the electrician come out, but i can't help but notice someone's been doing some dental work on the roof. Interesting we had the electrician come out and uh. They ended up redoing the entire electrical run, getting rid of all that crap emt stuff and giving us a whole new run all the way over. So we're gon na go through this unit now and figure out.

If everything was done correctly, if the phase rotation is correct, that stupid thing fell off and then, when i was here last time when i found the electrical problem, i permanently disconnected the unit, pretty sure i disconnected the transformer or something i did something to disconnect it. So it wouldn't turn back on so we're gon na go through that right now, so they pulled all new wire all the way down from the panel we're right here we're gon na test to make sure we actually have three phase power. First, before we power it on line one to two line, two to three and then line one to three, so we have three phase power. At this point i have the transformer still disconnected.

I feel comfortable turning this back on, but we're gon na go ahead and put this panel on. First all right, we've got the power turned on we're gon na test. The phase rotation using the sc 480 meter so go from line one to line two okay line. One to line two: we wait for it to say line three.

I don't know why we're getting an error there. You go now go from one to three and there you go line one two three. So our phase rotation is correct on this guy. So we're good.

We're going to bump the contactors sounds good sounds good, sounds good, so they sound good. So at this point, we're gon na go and hook our commons back up to the transformers, let the unit fire up and then test the unit operations to make sure everything else is working properly. All right we're hooked back up. We fired back up we're going through our startup sequence right now.

Okay, we've got no errors. Present. We've got a call for the indoor blower motor we're going to go ahead and quickly fire this guy into test mode and then test the unit operations co1 and we're going to change it to c11. It's a full call for cool hold down the button until we get the decimal there.

We go all right, we're firing up and we're going to go through all operations, we'll probe up on it, we'll make sure all the condenser fan motors are working and all that stuff all right. Here's my first stage running it does not look bad um sub coin's a wee bit lower than i'd expect because we're on discharge line. I would typically see that around 16, but i mean in the approach being zero, i'm a little bit skeptical about that. We got ta look at our probe placement, though.
What's our capacity output right now, temperature splits about 21 degrees capacity output - i mean it doesn't sound horrible, it's probably not very accurate, yet the unit hasn't really stabilized out too well, either so um, let's uh. Let's look at our temperature clamp, it's kind of in the sunlight right now, so i'm going to move it right here in the shade, because this condenser doesn't really get a whole lot of sunlight. I mean it kind of does, but not bad, so we're gon na leave it right there and see what that does and see. If that changes anything all right measure quick, is kind of going back and forth between giving us.

The all clear just gave me a green checkered flag a minute ago, so as it's stabilizing out, it's looking pretty good. I'm not too concerned on this one we're going to go ahead and move over to the second stage. Now second stage is looking pretty good. Um yeah, i'm happy so we're gon na jump to the third stage and see how that one's doing all right.

This is our third stage i mean i'm, i'm not too scared with these numbers, guys, i'm not gon na change. Anything for this. This guy's doing really well so i'm a happy camper, um, temp split's doing good we're going to give them the all clear on this unit. So it was just an electrical issue, but i wanted to come back to check phase rotation and make sure the unit was working properly to where i can troubleshoot it all as well.

We've got a tight belt. All the condenser fan motors are running uh. The condenser is clean, this one's done guys, so today we got a call on a air conditioner for the dining room, not working. It's this guy right here, we're actually just here working on their bar unit, so the power switch is on.

This is weird. This panel looks like it's not incorrect. It's there there's a belt there, let's open this up and see if we have any error messages on the display all right. This is our digital display and we have no contactors pulled in and if you come down here, we have a call for g y1, y2 and the occupied signal.

Let's see we have heartbeat lights, but they're beating really fast, that one's beating normal and that one's beating really fast and that one's beating really fast. So there's something wrong here, so we're gon na test voltage to start with all right so line one to two. We have 207 okay, two to three 207 and one to three two four. So we have three phase power coming in, but something's going on here.

All right, so three-phase power coming in at that, and then that jumps over to all the tops of the contactors and then when they pull in it goes out. But the fact that we're getting that heartbeat indicators a problem, so we need to check voltage on the transformer to see if we have the proper output, so we can actually just test right on the outside of that transformer right. There we get 26 volts. Okay, that's good, so we're bringing power out of the transformer.
Hmm! That's interesting! Those heartbeat indicators, those lights that are labeled hb. They should not be flashing that fast see. This is a normal. Even that honestly looks a little fast to me to be honest with you.

So it's kind of odd. So let's look at our dip switches. Nothing looks weird on the dip switch settings. Let's try to put the unit into a test mode and see what happens so we're going to go to shift and unit test and let's see if the unit tries to go into test mode.

No, it's not! So it's not trying to go into test mode. So, let's turn that off it's very interesting okay, so we need to cycle power to this unit, turned it off there give it a second, then we're gon na cycle it back on and see. If it does the same thing here, we go okay, we're cycled back on and looking we have normal just flashes on the heartbeats, now slow, slow, slow and now the unit started up. That's really weird: let's go ahead and shut that door very interesting.

I wonder if they had like a power problem or something because hmm that's kind of bizarre, so we're gon na let the unit turn on and zone we're gon na wait for all the fans to turn on and everything um and we're just going to monitor it. All right, we had just done a service call on this one where we had to have an electrician, come out and run a new service um then electrical short one of the lugs was completely melted and i'm starting to wonder well in talking to the manager, the Manager said that this unit had gone down at the same time, but they assumed that the bar in this unit were the same and they didn't communicate that to us. So we had come out to work on the bar ac found. An electrical problem took a couple weeks: the electrician redid his stuff.

Then we just came out earlier this week and troubleshooted the unit just to make sure it was working correctly. The phase rotation, like you guys just saw right now and we got out of here assuming we were done and then the manager called us back two days later and says: hey the bar ec is still not working, and then i asked them i go. What do you mean? They go? Well, just the two vents over this dining room and i'm like that's not the bar, you see that's another ac and they, then we kind of put it together and they're like oh. We thought that was the same unit and no it's not the same unit, so this unit was locked out on some sort of an electrical problem.

You guys saw the boards how they were flashing. Okay, now they're flashing normal because we just turned off power down at the disconnect. We went downstairs to the main panel, where all the mains are and check to look at the fuses and make sure there was nothing funky going on there's not so we have proper voltage. So the only thing i can assume is that both of these units went down about the same time.
My assumption is, maybe we had a brown out or a power surge or something and it blew that loose connection apart, and maybe this unit went down at the same time too, but we just didn't know it um yeah, that's the only thing i could assume, because All that we did was restore power cycle power on and off, and then those leds or those heartbeat indicators stopped beating fast and the unit started up and was running so we're gon na give it another opportunity for it to restart right now, and we also went Through in the manual - and it says that a flickering, they call it a flickering heartbeat on the add-on boards is an electrical connection, problem uh, i'm assuming because they're not talking about the a55 board they're talking about the add-on board. So i'm assuming you know it just had a voltage problem at some point and it locked itself out, so we reset it and we're gon na watch. It turn on one more time, but i mean i don't think we need to do too much more on this. One all right, so this is the first stage, and i mean you can't really ask for much better than that.

Remember the sub cooling reads a little bit higher than what people normally expect because we're using discharge pressure, but these units don't really use sub coin as they're charging metric anyways, they use approach temperature um, but uh yeah. I mean we're looking on point there: temperature splits, a hair on the low side, but we're still stabilizing i'm liking that a lot so uh we're gon na check the other stage now and see what the other stage is doing, and my second stage is pretty much Doing the same thing: 10 degrees, superheat, the txv is working 15 degrees, 14 degrees, sub cooling. I mean that's, not bad guys. It's really not that bad temperature split, like i said earlier, we're still stabilizing out it's much better.

I don't see anything wrong with this unit. Other than a potential electrical problem and the board was basically bricked and locked itself out on those fast flashes, so just cycling power is all that we did and we're just gon na have to tell the customer to keep an eye on it. I mean it's always a possibility that they have an intermittent electrical problem and or a circuit board failing, but i'm not going to condemn a board when it's working right now. You know so the the new style of video you guys are seeing um i've been working with an apprentice a lot.

So, that's why you see other people's hands and me kind of instructing people, and i think some people have caught on to that and i will say two before i'll say this right off the bat in the end of the video. I do not use the uei meter, the dl429 or whatever. That was that's my apprentices meter. Okay, so i was letting him use his tools on that nothing wrong with it, just not my style of meter.

So i know there'll be a bunch of people that are commenting. Oh my gosh, you got rid of the field piece. You know all this stuff, no, okay, so um the original service call started uh. Obviously you guys saw the whole video.
So you see that there was a miscommunication there, okay, but the original service call started in the beginning of the summer. When we were slammed, we were super busy, and so what had actually happened was we were getting a lot of these service calls for acs and i would have to go out and spend hours cleaning the rooftop equipment. So what i started doing was when i got calls at these restaurants that i personally hadn't been to in a very long time i started sending someone out just to clean the equipment before i even troubleshooted it i was just like. I don't have time to go through and clean all this stuff and then troubleshoot in the midst of the summer.

So i had sent someone out there. All that they were there to do was clean it. They were not a service technician, you know to go through and stuff and we knew that the bar ac was still a problem. Um, i'm still kind of confused about that.

Other ac though, but anyways that's a whole nother thing, but so then i came out and we diagnosed the bad electrical connection. So in hindsight, after looking at everything, i really think what happened was. Maybe they had a lightning strike. Maybe they had some sort of a power surge and it just affected those two units.

For some reason, i think both the units went down. At the same time, there was a lack of communication between the managers and myself. You know they thought, and it's funny too, because the day that i i came back to start up, the bar ec, you know, after the electrician did all of his stuff. They were like oh cool, it's so great.

They never once said anything to me about their other ac. That was down, and then it's funny, because two days later, i get a service call and it came through our system through our uh dispatching system, as a service uh as a callback, they were like yeah. The ac you just fixed, still isn't working, and so then i called - and i talked to them, i go. What do you mean? The ac is not working.

The bar ec is now working and they're like no. You know you, you fix it that day and it's cold in the bar, but it's not cold in the other side of our dining room and i go wait a minute. The bar you see in the other side of the dining room are not connected and they're. Like what no it is, and i go no, it's not like that's that's two different acs and they you know it took some convincing to make them real.

I mean whatever you know, but even when i went out there, they put it in as a callback. So like the not to exceed value was zero and all this stuff, and i was like guys this isn't a callback. This has nothing, it's it's a totally separate ac and they were like. Oh, we thought, and it's like yeah.
No, you guys never communicated that. She had a whole nother, dining room down, anyways, whatever it's all good. We we rectified everything still don't know why that ec, the circuit board was bricked like that or locked up, you know froze, but you know once i restored power, everything was fine. So that's why? I can only assume that the bar ac and that ac went down at the same time, there's no way that the electrical short caused, this other ac to go down because they each have their own individual circuit protection and breakers fuses and all that stuff.

So that's not the case, so the only thing i could think of was some sort of a a brown out. We get those in california where we get low voltage. We lose power that kind of stuff, or possibly some sort of a power surge, which we also get occasionally when uh, when the power uh. You know when we have a power outage or something like that, and they turn it back on.

The voltage will spike and it'll wreak havoc, too kind of like a lightning strike. So it's hard to say we are also going through our monsoonal season right now here in southern california, so for the last two three weeks, which doesn't really make sense for this one. But we've we've had a lot of lightning and stuff in the area. So who knows this is one of those mysteries? You know i.

I could only do my best to make sure everything is working properly and the acs are doing everything they could so not really a whole lot more to check on this just more procedural, troubleshooting and also knowing when to say, hey. You know what i need to get an electrician involved in this situation. It was just better. There was a bunch of things i could have tried to do to get them operational, but it you know i just i didn't have time to spend an entire day there.

Trying to run an electrical circuit, you know up on the roof. The electrician does the stuff down below the roof, but you know i didn't have time to deal with that. So that's why i just got the electrician involved, so it is what it is. I really really appreciate you guys, um.

All your support has been so awesome. You know, uh, you guys are amazing. It's very humbling, um again, i'm just another service technician like i'm, just a normal dude. There's, there's many people out there much better than i.

So it's so humbling to see the encouragement and support from you guys, um. You know it, it's just it again. It's just so humbling. I don't know what else to say, but thank you.

You guys are amazing. Okay, um, if you guys have any interest in supporting the channel um, you know you. Can you can't whatever it doesn't matter? If you don't, i'm gon na keep making these videos it's all good, but if you guys have any interest in supporting it, the easiest way to support the channel simply watch the videos from beginning to end without skipping through anything. That's the easiest way guys.
You can also support the channel if you're interested in purchasing any tools you can go to truetechtools.com and you can actually use my offer code. Big picture. One word you can get an eight percent discount as of today all right july. 31St.

2021. I haven't heard anything, but there's always the possibility. They can change that. And i have to say that, because some of these videos sit on my channel for years and i don't want them to change something.

And then you know whatever you guys get. What i'm saying. But as of today, there's an eight percent discount um you put in that offer code. I get a small commission from that.

If you do know what kind of tools you're going to purchase, you guys can shoot me over an email, and i can generate an affiliate link which will give me a little bit of an extra commission. But you guys still get to use the offer code same discount. Okay, you can also support the channel via patreon via youtube, channel memberships via paypal. By going to my website hvacrvideos.com, we have merchandise, available hats, beanies sweaters.

I know summer's still here, but as we come closer and closer to the fall, we have zip up hoodie sweatshirts available on the website. We have beanies available, we have cuffed and non-puffed beanies, so those are all there ready to go. We have a couple different shirt designs like i said the hats anyways. You guys are free to check that stuff out.

If you want to other than that, i appreciate you guys so much remember that i try to go. Live monday. Evenings 5 p.m. Pacific on youtube.

To do a live stream, where i do a q, a where i answer questions and answer comments and different things, and then i also try to go live on the hvac overtime, youtube channel, with my buddies on friday evenings about 605 pm pacific, where we just kind Of recap: the week, of course, with the crazy summer, i've been missing. A lot of live streams, been missing a lot of the overtime show, but i've just been so busy with family stuff and work stuff and whatever. So i try my best, but i really really appreciate all the support. You guys are amazing and we will catch you on the next one.

Okay.

49 thoughts on “Electrical failures are fun”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joe Kromer says:

    sealtite is max 6ft

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars James Moran says:

    The hung condition of the second unit illustrates the usefulness of watchdog timers.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Bradley Dobie says:

    That wire was pretty much totally shot, but if you don't cut it we can sometimes fix cooked insulation with a heat shrink tube. Service area Orleans??

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Reaktanzkreis says:

    I like people they fullfill their tasks in a conscientious way. Not letting faith decide over anything. More craftsmen like you. 👍Utmost care must be taken when work with danerous power.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars CaseyRedDragon says:

    Wouldn't you check the other units while you were there?

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Mattex says:

    that wiring in the main board compartment is not at european standards by any means 😂

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Minepolz320 says:

    My YouTube recommendations gets really odd after that delta P crab i like it XD good vids

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars CSXRockford says:

    yeah, you dont want to reuse that wire…Its junk

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Martin Widmer says:

    R22 coolant is 100% illegal already since 2000

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars backpackbrady says:

    dood you are pretty good with electrical. speaking from an electrician haha. you like what you do more than electrical?

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Larry Poole says:

    great info. great vid. lol @ roof dental work.

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jeff Smith says:

    Frankly if you worked for me you would have had your ear chewed. Always check supply voltage.
    Kudos for closing everything up before leaving job site.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hola! Jakob Thompson says:

    Ah, the magic of “turn it off and turn it back on again” Are you in Nepean ?

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Eugene Pohjola says:

    Howdy. Absolutely great.
    You saved the elctrician a lot of time and headache by your fault localizing work. And probably your customer a lot of money.
    And yes. Always check both the phase to ground volages and between phases voltages. If one or two phase fuses have blown the circuitry could still deliver a ghost voltage on the blown phases. An induction motor motor would do this. And a control voltage transformer too. Control voltage tranformer primaries are often connected between two phases. This reduces the loading unsymmetry of the power line.
    In high regards.

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars edd xtrastrange says:

    I don't have a clue about anything in this video but it's interesting watching you find the cause of the issue and solve it. Subbed

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Bobby Biggs says:

    The copper showing at the disconnect is a bit shitty mind

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Smart Home says:

    I was testing the circuits on a Hobart dishwasher, specifically the Hatco booster heater 480 VAC 3 phase & as I set a test lead on, my beeper went off and scared the hole bejesus outta meh. Beeper, google em, way before cell phones.

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ss ss says:

    The electrician needs firing for leaving those feeds bare on the first 1/4" – such a monkey job. Are you in Kanata ?

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars genome616 says:

    You made the key error of testing your supply phases while load was connected, this will likely distort your readings as you get feedback from many onboard equipment like transformers, the voltages you thus measured were not representing the true state of the incoming supply although they still headed you in the right direction.
    When testing your incoming supply always do so at the isolation point with it off and load disconnected, plus like you actually commented on, it should be one of your first live tests to do, before you energise the unit not after, you could fry the boards if say there was an incoming neutral that had dropped which could raise a floating N at voltages higher than intended for any of the equipment using a N, before you note it, yes there was no N in this case but the procedure should still be the same as you can mimic that floating point post TX, in this case it would seem the pcb boards were running under voltage hence the 888 display and lack of response. Are you in Ottawa ?

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars 3D Werk 44 says:

    disgusting wiring…

  21. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joshua Amann says:

    This random recommendation, i like it very much. Gonna watch some more videos of your work 👍🏻
    Very interesting content

  22. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Peter Stegman says:

    My god what a mess. No cable trays?

  23. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Manish Mandal says:

    Yes it is fun till your house burns down or you get burns or you die.

  24. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars KnightsWithoutATable says:

    I know you knew what was wrong before recording this, but just calling for a power off at the disconnect when you put your hands on a belt attached to a motor was a violation of basic lock-out, tag-out rules that keep you safe. It is bad to show because somme idiot is going to see you do it and thing LO,TO is not needed and get their fingers or arm ripped off.

  25. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Thomas Vogel says:

    Whats that spiderweb installation in this cabinet?

  26. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Thaddeus Troyer says:

    Never watched your channel, just showed up in my feed… thanks YouTube. They say, "those that can't do, teach" and I must say that is true in most cases but you "can do AND teach while doing"! Very impressive, loved your logical approach and getting it right. Keep up the good work.

  27. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Dr. Harold Weinstein says:

    I don’t even work any trades and I thought this was a cool video of things exploding. Now I can’t turn it off 🤦🏻‍♂️ good job!

  28. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Robert Gift says:

    What caused the burned conductor? Just a bad or loose connector? Why not scrape the copper conductors clean and reconnect with a new connector?

  29. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Kraken wood floor service Mcmahon says:

    Awesome vid. I repaired locomotives electrical systems for 12 years. We ran into all types of problems like this.

  30. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Smuli says:

    Nice video I wouldn't test contactors with voltage on that is a death wish Service area Ottawa??

  31. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Badang Zen says:

    try use bodycam next time.

  32. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Lacey Barbee says:

    Man, that was a rollercoaster from start to finish.

  33. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars David Handley says:

    Fault finding is an art. You might now how to install and commission something, but finding faults requires a much more in depth knowledge of how it works. It’s a dance. This guy is amazing.

  34. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steven Stetler vote TRUMP 2024 says:

    With meter already in hand , lets rip the board out but first put the METER down . Now lets check the voltage. Put the meter back down reinstall board . It's been a long day . I'm just say in Are you in Barrhaven ?

  35. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars keef71 says:

    You're not related to Scotty The Bus Grease Monkey are you? You sound so like him and you have an identically thorough, concientious and professional approach to any problems you come across. You don't bodge anything, keep it honest and let the client know exacty what's the score. Excellent stuff

  36. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars YouTube Junky says:

    Yes, checking your power first is always the best check before pulling stuff apart.
    I also have had fuses that ohm out. Sometimes there is just a small hair of the element left behind. Sometimes you need to check the power at the fuses. That is before your breaker on the handler, so it would not have tripped that switch/breaker. It should have blown a fuse down below.

  37. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Eric79 says:

    Very professional! Hopefully the owner watched this video, because they should have noticed the way you diagnosed the system and handed off the duties, then came back to finish the duty bad ass! Thanks for this vid! We as HVAC-R techs are basically electricians but our responsibility is box to unit, electrician responsibility is pole to box! Obviously the unit not working is why you got the call, but this time it was the box great work!

  38. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Kdo Baggins says:

    Great video, Noticed a few things that you do that here in the UK is a big No no..
    Those test probes need finger guards, Units cannot be opened without a tool of sorts, Any tool just not with bare hands..PPE (personal protection equipment) is lacking, especially in HV environment.
    HV warning signs?? Public notices
    Those connections are just wrong.. No copper on show when terminated, Those terminations are very amateur and not great, Neater job to ferrel /crimp the connections..
    No labels to indicate supply – load or phases..
    Considering the unit is a metal case I seen little evidence of Earthing.. Those metal conduit pipes would need to be bonded as well as grounded to maximise safety…
    Overall good video tho,

  39. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars pan con kisu says:

    restart… holy medicine for computers and AC control boards.

  40. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Taunter Atwill says:

    "Electric failures are fun" is what they used to say at Fukushima. 😎

  41. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hola! Jay Leoneil Dormal says:

    More videos like this please. 🥺

  42. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars MinecraftPro97k says:

    No they're not 🙂

    Seriously, I had an electrical panel blow up on me before while hosing down a window unit.

  43. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Bob Russo says:

    Most excellent troubleshooting, seriously excellent. My only comment would be with the 3 phase electrical supply. Copper lines / aluminum connectors ? Personally think the initial electrician should have used NoOx . . Big time. Also very excellent narration.

  44. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars mnrobards says:

    Flex is too long. Depending on which state you are located, this is a code issue

  45. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Honey Bear says:

    I am learning lots of stuff watching you. I love your OCD work ethic.

  46. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars CHLEOMENTE TV says:

    Very helpful..nice one sir.. Shout out Service area Barrhaven??

  47. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sovek says:

    Speaking from experience on this, either one of two things I would do.

    1. Pull all the existing wire out, mark the burnt wire and replace that leg.
    2. Pull existing wire and then refeed with entirely new wire.

    You are not going to be able to pull the single wire out in that conduit. Frankly speaking, that conduit is undersized for whats in there.

  48. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Troy Belding says:

    As a computer consultant, who has had to work with other computerized systems (phone systems, etc), I can attest to some of the other comments here. The initial blowout likely surged through the local power network, which gave dirty signal power to the other units. Some probably managed to reset themselves, but in this case, the system locked down into a "I have no idea what to do, so I'm going to do nothing and run a warning light" mode. If there had been a power outage after that occurrence, the board would have lost residual power, allowing a clean startup. I had an exploded outlet that did just that to the battery backup connected near to it. The UPS went into a lockdown mode, requiring it to be unplugged, powered off, plugged back in again, then powered up – after which it worked fine.

    If you have any piece of electrical equipment that's doing strange things, one of the first things to do for troubleshooting (besides checking that the input voltage is correct) is completely disconnect all power and leave it to sit long enough for all the capacitors to discharge. On a PC, that can involve popping the coin battery out as well as pulling the power cord. On a car, it involves disconnecting the battery terminals. (I always do both, many only do the positive) (Your car will go through a learning cycle after that, so don't panic about weird performance until it lasts more than 15 minutes of active driving). In this case, shutting down the main breaker does it.

    I'm actually astonished that nobody on site turned the stupid thing off once they knew it wasn't working. If something electrical has failed/isn't working, and you don't know how to troubleshoot it – turn it off! I keep telling customers that as well "Unplug it, and I'll come as quickly as I can" (then I find they've been flipping it on and off until something worked, switched parts around, etc).

    It was definitely interesting watching your breakdown/troubleshooting method. I've never worked with 3-phase power, so it's still very unusual for me.

  49. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Thomas Kirby says:

    To me, the only option is to hire an electrician. As soon as you saw there was an issue in that box, that should have been it. Is there a minimum distance the junction box has to be off the roof? If so, shorting the conduit wouldn’t be permitted. And if you did repair that wiring, wouldn’t that make you / your company liable if anything happens to your repair? Service area Nepean??

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.