Replacing TT AC

sayoung wrote:

If the OP uses a meter on those terminals , Have on safety goggles as it's not BS that using a meter on compressor terminals sometimes blows out the terminal.. I know from experience. It's rare but can happen and oil & refrigerant in the face isn't fun.
Original post led me to believe some AC hack had already tested & told him unit needed replacing because the capacitor "cannot " be replaced per tester. Only now shows compressor with appearance of bad terminals. While getting klaxon get a terminal repair wireing kit that has the leads with pre-crimped terminals. Without the crimping tool you'll have bad connections most of the time.

The compressor terminals come through a molded glass block so they won't leak. I have seen overheating cause them to blow out the terminals resulting in the loss of all the gas. When that happens, there's no choice but to replace the compressor or the whole unit. Because there's no sign of any leakage in this case, the integrity of the glass seems to be sound. I can't image why applying the probes of an ohm meter to the terminals would cause any problems.

I always pried the wire connectors off the compressor carefully with a screwdriver using another tool as a fulcrum. (as oppose to grabbing them with pliers to pull them off) That must be done before any ohm readings are measured. The first test should be between the terminals and the copper tube coming out of the compressor. If there is any sign of continuity (even at the highest range on the meter), the compressor is toast. The reading between COMMON and RUN should be lowest. The reading between COMMON and START should be a lot higher and the reading between START and RUN should be the highest. The exact numbers they should show are hard to find without access to the complete documentation for the compressor.