Carrier Air Conditioner Fan, needs a push start with a stick.... HELP!!!

[57413k]

Brand:Carrier
Model: 38CKC030-341

Well as of yesterday my 6 Year Old AC Unit that is located in the backyard stopped working, after many troubleshooting by me a COMPLETE NEWBIE to AC repair, I found out:
I tried the Circuit Breakers, ON OFF, still did not function
I Tried different Settings in Thermostat, still did not function
Unit HMMMMS, but Fan does not spin, after about 5 mins of Humming, it turns off, some air enters the house during this.
I opened the AC panel and the Capacitor looks fine, No Bulging, No leaking.
The Contactor works fine also, Nt burned, Not Stuck.

I finally decided to give the fan a push with a stick during the Humm, and to my surprise, it worked fine, until it reached the level of coolness programmed and then shut off, then when it got warm again the unit turned on outside, but again with no fan.

I don't know what to try next?
I don't have anything to test the capacitor, can I still take it out and test it with a screw driver? I read somewhere if there is a spark, it still works? If not then its dead. Is this ok/safe?

I only see 1 capacitor, is there 2? I believe I have a Dual Run Capacitor on the unit, but again I only see one.

The Fan is not stuck and doesn't seem to wooble, although I have not took it out to fully test. I also read that I can add oil to it, should I do this?

Thoughts please.

Thanks in advance, GREAT SITE, glad I found it

57413k

[hvactech126]

most likely it is your capacitor. Replace it and go from there. Cheaper to buy a capacitor than the meter to test it.

[57413k]

Solved

This morning, I took the Capacitor out and took it down to a local Electronic Motor Repair shop, and had it tested for free.
The FAN side of the dual capacitor was ZERO'd out; so it was dead.

I bought another capacitor of the same rating at the same shop for $25.64, and took it home and replaced it.

Fan Worked Perfect!

Now we can bear this weeks 95+ Degrees !

Thanks a bunch.

So the lesson learned, is even though the capacitor did not show any signs of it being dead (example: Swollen, Leaking, etc) It still visually looked fine, but in fact that was problem.

[tempritespokane]

I'm glad you checked that before replacing the entire AC. I have had people replace their entire AC as apposed to calling me for a simple fix.