Subject: [Shop-talk] Air conditioner

From: Scott Hall <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2015 13:14:55 -0500

Guys,

New house has an air conditioned (!) garage. Yes, that was a reason I liked
that house.

Air conditioner seems dead. Digital thermostat not functional (as in not
getting power).

Near the air handler (all these terms may or may not be accurate) in the
attic, there's a junction box/fuse box/single-purpose breaker box. The
function of this box, as near as I can tell, is to be a cutout for the a/c
system. So you pull the power to the box if you want to service the system.
That way you don't have to get at the breaker box in the basement of the
house.

Anyway, in this box, there's a...contraption. The contraption consists of a
male/female setup. It looks like it's there to stop the power to the
system, you pull the male "plug" out of the female sockets in which it
fits. Like an old-timey lever-and-contact electric thing you see in
cartoons when they're electrocuting Bugs Bunny or something, but it's not
attached. You just pull it out.

The male part is sitting next to the box. Probably why there's no power to
the system. Flipping over the male part, I see two fairly-large cylindrical
fuses (I'm pretty sure they're fuses). They seem to be okay. There are
various copper blades sticking out of the male part that fit into ports on
the female part.

So...I'm going to just stick the male part into the female part and see
what happens, but the "voice" kicks in. The Voice is a recent addition in
life and it seems to be interested in me not killing myself or screwing up
too much. It says, "You might want to think about this first." This is the
same voice telling me not to install my own torque spring on the garage
door, or to grab another jack stand when working under the F250. It seems
less-stupid than I am. I decide to listen to it.

There's another little electrical-looking jobby sitting next to the male
part on the air handler, I can't tell what it does. I thought it might fit
into the male part then the whole thing goes into the female part, but I
can't tell how that'd happen. It's an irregularly-shaped plastic part a few
inches big.

You guys are far smarter than I am about Not Killing Myself With
Electricity. Should I go throw the whole-house breaker (to off) and plug
the male part into the female part for the garage a/c, flip the whole house
back to on and see what happens, or should I investigate what that other
part does first? Or are there procedures of which I know nothing and I'm
asking to set the whole house on fire and destroy the air conditioner and I
ought to be on the phone with the HVAC people?

Useful to note the system is disabled (male part is out of box) because the
house was a foreclosure, I'm sure, not because something's broken. And I
can take pictures of everything if it's useful.

Normally I'm less of a sissy about this stuff, but I know zip about HVAC
systems, and electricity'll kill you real good. But I am looking forward to
an AIR CONDITIONED GARAGE. WHOOP.

Thanks fellas.

Scott
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From: David Scheidt <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2015 18:03:29 -0500

> On Jul 16, 2015, at 13:14, Scott Hall <[email-masked]>
> attached. You just pull it out.

That sounds like a typical av disconnect.
> various copper blades sticking out of the male part that fit into ports on

But the fuses are usually (always, in my experience) fixed on female side of
the disconnect.  They're time delay fuses, sized based on the ac. A picture
would be nice. I can't tell if you have an unusual disconnect or a broken one.

  One thing to remember is that the supply side terminals in the box are
always hot when the breaker is on.  You can check there is 240 between them.

> So...I'm going to just stick the male part

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From: Todd Walke <[email-masked]> mail.com> localhost.drteeth.p.blarg.net
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2015 16:56:30 -0700

Is this roughly what you're seeing?
http://www.diversitech.com/Product-Line?id=a0jC0000005QcxgIAC

         In doing some searches, it appears that on many of these 
"electrical disconnect" or "ac disconnect" boxes, just opening the door 
cuts power, then you can pull out the fuse pack.

         Some have a pull out "handle" that cuts power when the handle is 
pulled out. Like this:
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/127/ac3w.jpg
or this:
http://i.stack.imgur.com/8aMRPm.jpg

         Does the disconnect box have the manufacturers name and model 
number on it?  If so, Google that to see if you can find any instructions 
online that details how the box works.

Todd
Seattle,WA
'86 GTI, Red of course. (exciting racey car) 276,000 miles
'01 Golf TDI, silver.   (new work car)       523,000 miles
'87 Golf, Polar Silver. (retired work car)   654,000 miles <- Gone to a new 
home :(
http://www.pureluckdesign.com <-Ferrari & VW stuff
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