# Condenser fan motor



## Tonnyray (Jul 13, 2007)

I replaced my condenser fan motor it was bad my old one had 3 wires the new one has 5 wires. it had 2 ways to hook it up one with 3 wires it would not work that way then with 5 wires but I only hooked up 4 to get it running now it will not shut off after call for cooling is done can any one help?


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## glennjanie (Sep 10, 2007)

Welcome to the Forum Tonnyray:

I'm surprised you haven't had an answer to your delima by now. The condenser fan motor is turned on by a 24v contactor. It has a solenoid in it that is powered by 24v, while there is 208 to 240 connected to the larger termianls. When the thermostat calls for cooling it sends the 24v to the solenoid to pull it in and it bridges the gap of 220 from one side  (line) of the contactor to the other (load) side. You are working off the load side and you need two hot 110v wires to the motor, the third wire was for grounding.

If you still have the instructions for the motor they should tell you which wires are for hot and which is for ground. The mechanical ground is almost always green. The hot wires will be colored (red, black, pruple, yellow, etc.) The green wire out of the way, now hook up the red and black for the hot wires. That should make the fan motor run and when the contactor turns loose it should stop. There is a possibility the contactor is bad; with the power on but the thermostat not calling, you can push the contactor in carefully with a screw driver to make the fan and compressor run, when you turn it loose it should stop. 

A contactor is bad when the 24v coil will not pull it in or when the contacts are welded and won't pop back out. Peaked and pitted contacts will make the contactor rattle loudly when engaged. They can sometimes be sanded smooth but usually need to be replaced.

Let us know how it works out or if we can be of further help.

Glenn


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