I am in a home that is 8 months old. We turned the AC on tonight only to discover that it wasn't doing a thing to keep the house cool. An emergency tech visited and informed us that our compressor is dead! WHAT? The unit is 8 months old! It is going to be at least a week before the parts are in, and we are going to suffer through a heat wave this weekend in a brand new home. Thankfully, we are under warranty and should get it replaced for free.
The worst part is that there are 20% of the homeowners in this neighborhood that has had a complete AC breakdown within 2 years of installation. All of these units are York. Some of my neighbors have not been lucky and are out of warranty and have put out a lot in out-of-pocket expenses.
So my question is what the heck causes a compressor to die after 8 months? Can I trust what is going to be installed to actually last a year, let alone 10 years?
Is anyone aware of a neighborhood that has gone against their building for crappy equipment and won.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
York is junk , generally speaking but not the cause of your problems . The reason the compressor went out is most likely a bad install. If not done properly the compressor will not last. If they did not install dryers in system it will fail prematurely, among other reasons. If the whole hood I would say the same crew did them all. So if going after some one I would question the installer. If the compressor is a burn out make sure they take measures to remove acid if present in the system (additive), and replace the dryer. Being only 8 months old the contractor can supply you with a extended warranty, which I would do. I sell www.jbandassociates.biz. to 95% of my customers. This is one of the best in the biz. Make sure that it is a third party insurance company and not the contractor or the manufactures as these in most cases suck and you do not want to be dependent on the contractor staying in biz.
Sounds like the contractor bought the cheapest crap he could find, although, the york brand is not that bad, Go to a york forum on computer, see what is going on. Something I learned a long time ago, is all compressors are made from the same components with a different brand case, the first thing they will do is change out the capacitor, It should run about $125, and you will be all set, the capacitors are notorious for blowing, made in Mexico. You can do this yourself, real simple job, capacitors hold a charge, discharge with screwdriver across the prongs,, after the power has been disconnected. A new can be bought at the hardware store. Ask them there if you need more help, they will be happy to help. Or,, if they are crooks like the ac men, they will try and sell you a new unit for $2500 a ton.!!