Air Conditioner Contactor - How To Check If It's Actually Bad

Do you think your air conditioner contactor might be bad? Wondering how you can check it? Is your air conditioner not turning on or not blowing cold air? In my other air conditioner fixing videos
I have gotten a similar comment quite a bit. It usually sounds something like this, "My AC does not work! I have already replaced my contactor and my thermostat but it still doesn't turn on! Any idea what it can be?" It seems like the contactor is one of the first things people go after, along with the thermostat. But most of the time those two are not at fault, they are simply not getting power. In this video I go over the contactor and how you can check it. Also, keep in mind that there is 240 volts going to the condenser unit. If you open up the electrical panel make sure you confirm that the power is off. Do any checking or repairs carefully otherwise you can get seriously hurt. Good luck and stay safe!

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⚠️ Disclaimer:
This video is for educational purposes. All appliance and HVAC repair work should be done by a trained professional. Word of Advice TV is not responsible for any possible damages or injuries caused by the use or misuse of the provided information.
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❄ Other A/C Videos For Reference:

Top 5 A/C Problems:
Complete A/C Troubleshooting Guide:
How to Clean Condenser Coil:
How to Replace a Capacitor Full Guide:
How to Replace a Contactor:
How to Replace Condenser Fan Motor:
How to Replace A/C Control Board:
How to Replace a Thermostat:
How to Program a Thermostat:
How a Thermostat Works:
How to Check Freon Level:
How to Wire A/C Condenser Unit:
How to Order Correct HVAC Parts:
How to Read A/C Wiring Diagram:
How an Air Conditioner Works:
When Should You Replace A/C:
15 Air Conditioner Maintenance Tips:
Should You Get an A/C Inspection:

[roamingroadtrip]

❤ We fixed it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I live out in the middle of nowhere with my uncle, a senior citizen. His AC went out, and we've had 100-degree days. It got up to 89 degrees in his house. Getting a service person here is a nightmare, so we tried on our own to see if we could fix it. He needed my help, so he showed me how to use the multimeter and guided me with installing a new contactor. I learned SO much in the process because there was a lot of troubleshooting and because he had me do a lot on my own and showed me how to work safely. He has me do a lot because he doesn't want me to have to ask a man for help. I can't even describe how happy I was when the AC came on. Definite confidence booster. I'm excited that now I can help others. Thank you so much for the tips for troubleshooting. You're awesome! Blessings!

[stefansidahmed]

My contractor was buzzing like crazy and the unit was not turning on. I took the contractor out and was searching the web for a new one, then came across your video. As soon as you said "bugs", I found the small screws on the back plate, opened it and dead bugs everywhere and one live earwig. Cleaned it up, reinstalled and it works like a champ. Thanks.

[warveteran-]

You saved me a lot of money sir!!! My central air kept blowing the 3amp fuse on the board when I switched it to cooling. Checked every wire, everything and started losing hope, watched this and checked the contactor, had 1.9 ohms on the sides to eachother. Order a new one for $20, checked the new one and got 17.8 ohms from the box. Changed the part and it works mint now!!! Thank you very much, I owe you a beer man

[timothypastore]

Thank you. You addressed the resistance across the coil in one video, but only talked about an open coil. In this video you answered my question, "what is the resistance value of a good coil?"
I have one of those less common shorted coils.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

[JerichoRally]

Fantastic video!! Pay attention, y'all. My issue was self-inflicted. I disconnected the ceiling receptacle in my garage for the garage door opener as part of a winter renovation project. Turns out, that circuit powers all the outdoor gfci receptacles AND my crawlspace receptacles; the condensation pump was plugged into one of the crawlspace receptacles. Winter turned into spring, with the garage receptacle still disconnected, the condensate pump filled up, tripping the safety switch thus not allowing the ac to kick on. Lol lesson learned. 🤣
Many thanks for the video!!!!

[norbertbismark]

Saved me over $650, which is about what I was quoted. $18 at ACE, some sweaty hours later, and I was up and running again. Great video!

[jasonk]

After watching some videos and reading articles online, I came across your video on testing the contactor and replacing. I took mine off, tested with the multimeter and got 0 for a reading. I then went to local store and bought a replacement contactor. I then tested it at home and got a reading. This further enforced that my old one was either not working or the multimeter was not working 😆. I then proceeded to install new contactor and then turn on AC. presto chango, it works. Thank you sir. It only cost me under $35. Saved me money getting someone here and paying an arm and a leg for diagnostic/parts/labor 👍🏼. Plus I look like i know what I'm doing 😎

[wesleysmall]

Jay, thank you so much for your most informative and practical videos. With your help I have not only saved $$$ but I have learned so much. My condenser fan would not run when the outside temp exceeded 85F. My service provider, who has serviced the system two times per year for the past 11 yrs, diagnosed the problem and changed out the capacitor for $400. However, the problem still existed. With the help of your videos, I have replaced the condenser fan motor, thoroughly cleaned interior and exterior coils, blower wheel motor, coil drain pan and lines, and changed the air filter. Lastly, I changed out the contactor ($20 item), and eureka??, the system has been running great even with outside temps in the 90s

[mpinkerton]

I fixed my AC myself! First I replaced the capacitor - that wasn’t it but I kept working on and thanks to this video I eventually found a loose thermostat wire in the furnace control panel. 3 ac pros had been here and none of them even tried troubleshooting the equipment. They all just wanted to replace because it’s an older unit. The quotes were between $6, 000-$28, 000! Thanks you!!! I'm making a donation to your Paypal.

[patrickconnolly]

Jay! Jay, Jay, Jay, Dude, I got man handled the last time I had an HVAC repair guy come out. When he left I was thinking those HVAC capacitors were made of diamonds or something. Anyway, AC went out and this time I figured I'd dust off the old tool belt, grab a can of elbow grease, and get down to business.

Initially I thought the fan motor was bad. It wouldn't spin very easily, not like my other AC unit, so I ordered one, replaced it in 10 minutes, and pounded myself on the chest in a way that said to all onlookers (mainly my dogs), "I'm a handy guy, yeah boy!!". Unfortunately, the new motor wouldn't come on after I powered everything back on.

So, I ordered a capacitor. It just had to be the cap. It's always the cap. Last time it was the cap. Amazon dropped one off in about 2 days of searing hell flames heat (upstairs thankfully). It came, I popped it in, I patted myself on the back. The dogs were cheering for me, or would have been if they knew what a feat I'd just performed. Hey, they're dogs. They lick their butts. What do they know? By the way, they aren't made of diamonds. The capacitors, I mean.

Well, that didn't work either.

I was just about to turn in my man card and phone an AC repair crew. I wasn't happy. The dogs weren't happy either, but being dogs they probably didn't understand why.

Then I found you, Jay. You mentioned that the little cover on the "Contactor" comes off, or "Thingamajiggy", as I was calling it. Well what do you know, I took the cover off and there were about a million tiny little dead ants piled up under it. I didn't know a million tiny dead ants could fit under that cover. I didn't actually realize it WAS a cover, but then neither did the dogs, so I don't feel too bad about it.

Anyway, I pulled out the my air compressor, shot some high powered air into the thingamajiggy, dead ants were flying everywhere, the dogs were happy as hell and licking their butts, and when I powered the sucker back on the fan was moving, cold air was pumping inside, and my man card went right back in my pocket. Nobody's taking that bad boy.

Thanks Jay! You saved the day.

By the way, beer tastes a lot better after a guy fixes something. I don't know why, but here's to you, Jay, my man!!!!

[kennethswann]

Once again YouTube to the rescue for all its fault I've never learned more in all my life than watching videos of people like you and you explain yourself clear you don't lollygag it's great thank you

[condor]

I took my old one apart and refurbished it. It is pretty easy to do. Took a little wire brush and a drywall sandpaper pad to remove the pits and wear/carbon on the old contact. Hardest part is the spring that you see on the top plunger. It has to go on a dimple on the top and the bottom to keep in place. Just took a little finesse to get it back in. There are 4 contacts to smooth out. I will now keep this one as a backup since I replaced the whole thing. Good little project to understand the inner workings of the contactor. Thanks for posting!

[gregbuckner]

Your casual mention of the condensate overflow switch @5:34 saved me from a service call. Thanks a bunch. Great Channel!

[condor]

I checked out my contactor yesterday and lo and behold I had put the Line ins on the T side! Doh. It really doesn’t matter which side you use as long as you know which side has the single pole side versus the shunt side. The L1/T1 side is actually the single pole (contact/pull) side and L2/T2 side is the shunt side. Spade counts on both side are the same too. Great video thank you

[panduka]

Bro, you saved me close to $500 by educating how to troubleshoot a short and finally locating it as the AC Contactor. Cost me only $20 for AC Contactor and $7 for a pack of 3 Amp Fuses. Superb video and excellent instructions! Wish you all the best...

[channel-nvxc]

Great video. I had the AC maintenance company come by and tell me that the contactor was working inconsistently. I hadn't noticed anything amiss myself, but they said their inspection uncovered it. They wanted $400 to replace it, and another $500 to replace the capacitor. After watching this video, I've come to realize that they're probably full of it (or I can just blow away the insects myself for $0). So thank you for saving me a lot of money!

[unclemercy]

this is the stuff. have seen lots from lots and most have shown less. well done. my first time seeing you but not the last. good job doing a good job 👍

[whitleyca]

Big thanks to you for these AC videos! AC was blowing hot air into house and I found the condenser fan not spinning. Thanks to your content, I assumed it was a capacitor and ordered a new one. When I went to change, I noted NO physical signs the original cap was bad, but DID notice the contactor was full of ants! W/ everything shut down, cleaned out all the ants w/ a pic and wire brush and turned everything back on. System fired right up. This unit is at a remote property of ours, so I'll check all again next time I am there. For now, I'll take the win and I now I have an extra capacitor should I ever need it. THANK YOU

[robburdine]

You saved me a fortune man. I had gone through all of your troubleshooting tips. Capacitors, fuses, blowers, boards switches etc. In the end, all it was was a bad operator who was waiting just short of a minute or maybe seconds. I was not giving the system time to delay and could not figure out why the Emergency heat was kicking on full on gas 112 degrees out of the register. Finally, cool breezes and my cats are no longer giving me the finger because it is 92 degrees in the house...! Cause they can't they could only give me the "claw"....! Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.