AC repair, should I have him come back? (picture)

Had to get my AC Fan motor replaced. When the guy wired up the new one he passed some wires through the top of the unit. It wasn't like that before with the old unit. He said he does it this way to keep the wire from getting into the fan blades. It doesn't look right though and I've never seen it done this way on any other AC. Won't these wires wear out in the sun though as opposed to down inside the unit? Photo...

call him back

I’ve never seen that either

No doubt

I’d call his company and send this photo of this lazy shoddy work!

tell him to fix it or you will call code enforcement.

total bs that way. you never leave exposed wire like that.

That’s stupid

The vibration will eat through the wire shielding in no time. Get it fixed asap

The bad thing about those motors is the don’t have pecker heads.

What kind of jack-leg dilbert azz did that work?

TDLR is the licensing agency for HVAC. I would strongly consider reporting him... and I'd have someone else take care of that...

Well hell, i knew I should have trusted my instincts... I just don't like to hire a "pro" then argue with them since they are supposed to be experts. But that's how I end up here lol.

is he a one man shop or does he work for one of the big cos?

if you can, get his boss out there to fix it.

if not, give him 24 hrs. then call his licensing agency and report it with pics, that is flat out dangerous.

My AC was done like that too

Umm well before i say his name and company I will call the company he works for. Seems like a small shop, all the bonded and insured info on the website and truck.


Wonder if shouldn't just turn off all the breakers and fix it my self, it is just a few screws to lift the top, and rerouting some wires.

Mine too. But my AC man is an old drunk. Been like that for a few years.

He has only been an old drunk for a few years?

60 I guess.

Absolutely should not be like that. The green is the ground, and should be grounded to the case some how. The other two are directional wires and dictate which way the motor spins. Fed up through the vent grating like that will DEFINITLY wear through the insulation of those wires and short it out. When I have situations like that at work, I put the wires inside a small length of 3/4" PVC pipe so they are contained and then electrical tape the [censored] out of the pipe to one of the fan braces, then zip tie it as well for extra long structural security. Don't have a pic with me to show you. And yes, I would certainly call that company back and tell the owner of what this guy is doing. He is jeopardizing many peoples equipment by doing this.

If that is the best way it seems they would come from the factory like that.

The green is attached to a screw under that gray cap, still don't like it exposed like that, couldn't it have been grounded underneath somehow without being in danger of hitting the fan? I should have asked on here who to call in the first place.

Cheap shorted you out of a ground

Factory motors have the direction set inside the motors. A lot of the todays motors are somewhat generic and can be spun either way to suit a multitude of different applications, hence the directional wiring.

I don't know if I'd bother with the TDLR about this techs way of doing that, but I would damn sure make sure he doesn't do it again. Please make it known to his boss. If he IS the boss, don't use them again.

Plus #1.

Is that where you got electrocuted?

Mine to. It is for reversing the fan if needed is what I was told. The main wires the fan run off of are underneath the cowling(or whatever they call it). I had this verified by two other AC people in the last 3 weeks after it was replaced.

Edit:Now drinking with another AC issue. Not related to the outside fan not working properly. I knew this 20 year old system was going out soon.

So what SHOULD it look like. The grounding wire should be run underneath and attached to a screw into the case, fairly simple. However the other wire set? Should it just be tucked under and wrapped in tape? Should it be put in a wiring raceway? If he comes back I want to make sure he does it right his time.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Just cut the metal away and stuff it in there!

It's going to bee

Minimum, wrapped in tape to the raceway that's right next to it. Minimum! A lot of the motors I've replaced, the direction wires are not in the same place as the power wires, which does make it hard to hide them safely. That's why I take a piece of PVC pipe (or electrical conduit which he should have on his truck) and fold them over loosely and put the wires inside, then tape (and zip tie for extra measure) to the nearest support. The wires are protected from the sun and the fan blade that way.

Things like this happen with after market motors.
Direct replacements take time to get but can be worth it.

Correct. Not "NO" but "H3LL NO!". Even if the wiring was not outside the case, I do not like those light-duty plugable blade connectors. They are definitely not weather-proof either. Those two wires carry 110V AC, and I wonder if those connectors are even rated for that. (But they certainly are not meant to be out where a person could get to them.

Take some other photos backed up away from the wiring so they show where the wiring is located (which is readily accessible, and exposed to the weather). Talk to the owner/supervisor, and tell him you want the repair corrected to be code-compliant - by someone capable other than the original technician. Alternative, report to licensing.

I think some sloppy technicians do that (regardless of proper procedure) to make it easy to check for an open coil on the fan motor in the future - nothing more. They can disconnect those two red connectors and read the impedance without having to use a nutdriver/screwdriver to get into the case to a connection point. Great trade-off, huh? (meant sarcastically, of course).

I have see this hundreds of times and have never seen one short out can it happen yes but haven’t seen it yet. As far as getting TRLR involved I highly doubt they would do anything second I doubt the company is going to come back out and I’m sure the owner knows that the tech did it this way and has done it himself. The stake on’s were put on by the factory and are rated for 100, 208/230. Like was said the motor that was used is a universal motor and not OEM and that is why those wires are there just to change the rotation if needed. The universal motor was used to get your unit going and was cheaper than the OEM the ground wire could have been placed on one of the studs on the top of the motor and top of the unit. The reversing wires I would tape to keep the UV light from getting to stake on’s and deteriorating them.

Okay but, after the fan is installed, and verified to be going the right direction, why would you need to reverse it?

Should I have insisted on a OEM part?

Has to deal with the fan blades and which way they blow or suck. (ahem) So, a more generic motor can fit more applications.

Recently had a condenser fan go out and didn't have a spare one. Bought one from a HVAC place and installed. Was about to finish up and the fan was blowing air through the coils instead of sucking air through the coils. Unplugged the lead wires and switched the spade connectors and it was all finished and working great.

This is common, typical, and industry wide. There have been no failures, deaths, injuries, etc related to this practice. The other option is a much more expensive motor that is from the maker of the unit.

In my 32+ years of A/C Wholesale experience I can tell you that is 100% accurate!

We have companies here that will charge you $250-300 to change a motor (it might look like yours) and then there are companies that charge $1500-1800 to do the same job (It might even look like yours)!

they charged me about 500$ motor, service call, and install.

Very common

Wow really? So many opinions either way

Jon, if you think this is bad you should see the advice given to wire a cooktop. I wish people would only answer on here when they truly know what they are talking about. There are people calling for this guy to lose his license for crying out loud.

You have got to be shartin me. I don't get away from the complexes I work at very often, but of the residential I have seen/worked on, never seen this. How can that even be allowed? Seems to me to be unethical and just plain lazy.

Lowew, Doxer has 32 years in the supply chain, I have 18 year in the field on commercial, residential and industrial from cryogenic lab freezers up to 5,500 ton chilled water systems. what is the experience and knowledge of the opinions the other way? Majority of the OT will chime in with " change the cap" for almost any " ac help" thread with no knowledge of why to change it, what diagnostics should be done to see why a part went out, and what steps to ensure the system performs properly, safely and efficiently as possible.

I should take you on a tour that would blow your mind..... So many things i came across and had to correct in my years.....

I hear ya... I mean, this guy went above and beyond a large number of "techs" by actually connecting the ground wire and not clipping it off at the terminal. I have been lit up by 24,120,208,240,277 and 480 because of super techs not grounding equipment.

^^^^^ Would love to see it! Always willing to learn!

I can see WHY someone would leave those out, but it just leads to premature failure of those wires and connectors. Just replaced a fan motor 2 weeks ago that the plastic covering on those leads crumbled to the touch and the actual spade connectors were corroded to the point of being welded together.

That unit had other issues. Likely the fab blade is the wrong pitch, other loose connectors down stream, loose termination of those connectors, etc... All those 2 wires do is route the winding's for CWSE or CCWSE. Low amperage and is part of the "start" winding. Capacitor gives the "umph" to start.. start winding kicks out and motor runs. Just think of how long units would last if they where made with quality parts. Motors and compressors that are not even strong enough to start without a boost, but cheap cheap cheap is the way to go.

Man I knew I should have asked here before I hired someone. I certainly trust in the expertise of Jons3825 and Doxer, but my thoughts were the same as Dave, exposed wiring like that seems to be prone to weathering and premature sun damage.

I agree. Acceptable practice AC company wide or not, I have never seen a New Unit come that way. Looks rube goldberg to me. I would re-do it with the wires inside the case.

when mine went out I got the correct one from grainger. east fix.

Just lazy electrician. I was a electrician for 37 years and I couldn't go to sleep at night if I called this a completed job. Was there a inspection done on this job after it was completed?

He used a universal motor, if I'd known that i would have asked to order the factory motor, or ordered it myself. He offered to come back and hide the wires but some folks in here are now saying that the way it was done is standard.

Who needs A/C? A bunch of pansies on here....

Man I am not saying it is right just saying it is normal.

Well, we all got to learn a little something something. Personally, I would never do that. Where I work, we don't WANT to come back, there's plenty of other stuff to do. From a business stand point, time is money and getting a job done quick is paramount. And yes, I could see where it would be easy to check the windings with those leads available like that. Still wouldn't ever do it though. Hope it gets fixed to YOUR satisfaction. I think I remember reading in NEC something about exposed wires being out of the cabinet at one time. I could be wrong.

I can't find my code book right now but would be willing to bet that industry standard or not those exposed wires are a bust per national electrical code.
from all the electrical work I do on 12v thru 220 (221, whatevah!) those 2 connectors won't last 6 months before the plastic turns brittle, not even heat shrink for water protection.

every job I have ever been on or done only ground wires can be left exposed.

as for his license, if that is the "standard" then so be it, it would not fly with me for a second no matter. if he replaced the fan he had access to the underside just as easy, pc of plastic conduit and if needed some wire ties and done. I am going off what I know of electrical code/exposed wires.



may just be me but I have seen a double truckload of krappy work done for all sorts of reasons and hate seeing others be on the receiving end of it.

well I just didn't like it so I re-routed the wires myself



First I marked the connectors with a marker so I could put the back together correctly. Routed them back underneath the guard and tucked the wires into a piece of pvc with a cap, electrical tape to seal the open end, it should at least keep rain and sun off of the wires and the connectors. Then I used three UV rated (outdoor) zip ties to attach it to the existing raceway, and clipped the ends.




Then I just routed the ground wire up through the hole where the cap pops on, there is extra space in the hole, hard to show on camera, and attached it back to the same post, but this time it is under the cap and out of sun and rain.

What y'all think?

Are we calling the AC police or not?

I would suggest putting a rubber gromet in the hole where you pulled that wire thru

LOL!!!! You rocked it brother! I'm not disagreeing with Ranger1, but that IS a ground wire and a grommet won't help in that situation. Too funny, you did good!

I bet I know where you can get a job!

Hop, I would not bet anything of value on that if I was you.

Is that a pvc pipe nipple?

threaded even! I am impressed, for what little that is worth around here.

So we got nipples and pecker heads...

nothing to see here, move along, sir!

Lowew..... What do you charge an hour? I literally just had an A/C motor lock up.

I’d prefer the peckerheads kept to a minimum and the nipples on the outside.

Well good that is all done then. Thanks to you all for your help! This sort of thing causes me way more stress than it should but I'm lucky to have experienced folks on here in many trades to talk me through it. Thank God I was able to do it (no sarcasm) and thank Him for you guys being so kind as to talk me through it.

Sure looks halfassed to me. Even if it is “ok”, I wouldn’t want my outside unit looking rigged up. I’d demand they take 5 more minutes and do a better job at securing the wiring PROPERLY.

that ground wire will be sliced in no time.

I guess it would do its job even better then.

Nah...it will just be grounded in two places. You know, quality control and extra security. He's THAT good.

DEEP BREATHS, DUDE, DEEP BREATHS!

Uhh okay lol

He would not pay him a dime . He was a sorry excuse for ac guy . Find another service that is ridiculous.
That the way I do it all the time give a break lmao .

Sounds about like this ac heating based hachie I had come out because ac got low on Freon.
I have excellent ac guy he just happened to be on vacation one show.
They came out put some Freon didn’t last a day. Come home hose hot the owner of ac company and tried to tell me to a whole unit in attic can’t remember what’s it called 2500 dollars. My ac guy called told him the deal he laughed needless to say told that service to leave don’t come back.
Two later my ac guy that used 25 years came took apart both out side units cleaned. Checked both units in attic
Then added Freon in the wasn’t working checked the other. Guess what not on problems since.
That was proably 5 y’ears ago.
Just they got a shiny truck doesn’t make them honest.
My ac guy still drives a 90 s. S 10 Chevy truck that Fred Sanford wouldn’t be caught dead in.
So yes there crooks

do i need to re-route the grounding wire for real? maybe drill a wider hole so it wont rub against the metal?

Jons, you are NOT making sense with that statement. The two red blade disconnects are a hot and a neutral. The wires come OUTSIDE the case, where the connector pairs are, then goes back INSIDE the case. Ripping the wrong one of those loose will expose 120V AC to someone who may be standing on Earth Ground, resulting in electrocution. IF the two wires come out and then go back IN, why can't they just stay inside the case? The rest of the wire for that circuit is inside the case, and it doesn't "get cut by the fan blade". The wiring for the factory fan motor is routed in such a way it doesn't get in the fan blade. With a generic motor, you're telling us the wire can't be routed the same way? Why not? It does not make sense.

I can understand that the factory motor may have a particular plug/receptacle that's not on the generic replacement part. To handle that, one would cut the pigtail off the old motor, then butt splice it to the wires on the replacement motor - job complete. There's NO NEED tor bring those wires outside the case.

As to no failures, injuries, or deaths, how on Earth would you know this particular data given the millions of units in the US and the 10s of thousands of technicians? You have no idea what's happened with the 18 units at my business, for instance (where some idiot had wired one like that).

Honestly, you don't need to touch that. If they won't come back out to fix it, you need to call another pro.

I'll call the bluff on Jons3825 for this now as I know what's going on with that gerry-rigged mess. It is NOT "necessary" to do the wiring that way in order to use a less expensive fan motor - i.e., universal motor instead of a more expensive OEM motor. The wiring is done that way for the laziness of the technician, pure and simple - he gets down the road with less effort.

Universal motors can spin either way. Connect the hot and the neutral one way, it rotates clockwise; connect them in the opposite manner, and the motor rotates counterclockwise. He pulls both ends of both wires up through the grill and puts blade disconnects on them and just plugs them together not knowing which way it will rotate. If he guessed wrong, he can unplug and replug to swap the connection, making the motor rotate the correct way for that particular fan blade. For that little shortcut, the technician is bringing a hot circuit that could electrocute outside the case. Does this seem to be a logical way to operate "by the book"?

The ground wire routing? Laziness again! Instead of taking the time to route the wire the same way the original wire was routed, it's just "easier".

The fan motor is supported by a number of struts attached to the framework of the case. The factory wiring often runs out to the motor in a tube typically attached to one of the struts. If the replacement motor is properly installed, it will likely have its wires run through that tube as well. The proper connector would be a waterproof butt splice, as those protect the wire from corrosion, and remove the chance that something could go wrong - we are dealing with 110V AC after all. Before the butt splices are done, the motor would have to be temporarily connected and powered momentarily to see if the rotation is correct. This way, the butt splices get done correctly in one shot. If the butt splices won't go in the tube, the wiring could be cable-tied along the tube inside the case. At no point are any of the three wires carried outside the case.

Those blade disconnects are NOT UV proof, typically. They will get brittle over time and can flake off, exposing 110V AC outside the case. Likewise, a curious child could tamper with them, and end up electrocuted. Those connectors are not waterproof. Water will go in them readily, and corrosion can occur. Resistance could build in the circuit, and the motor might not start, causing winding failure from overheating. Arcing could occur, even jumping to the case of the unit. Does all this sound like a good plan? Do you think an electrical code inspector would say "Aww, shucks, all them AC guys do that - it'll be fine"?

Remember, this is the Internet, and you can be told some wild and crazy things. It's up to you and your sense of what sounds legitimate to know what to believe, or not believe. It's one thing if it's about a fishing knot, which prop to use, or how to set up your sonar unit. For me, it gets serious when I see carp that could cause serious harm to someone one day in the wrong circumstances. If I were nearby, I'd come fix it just to help you out because NOBODY should have something potentially that dangerous - especially if a "professional" has been paid to do the work.

Well, that is why i "hid" the connectors in a piece of PVC pipe and taped up the end (as shown). Is the wire insulation itself Sun / elements proof? Do I need to route that through something too? Can I attach the ground wire to the motor housing itself? Or does it need to be attached to the case.

I honestly assumed he WAS using a factory part, I didn't even ask, lesson learned I suppose. As far as letting him come back, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that if his work is so bad. I originally started this thread to see if this method really is normal, seems like it "ok" but not the best. I really can't afford another pro right now, so I am on my own.

What is the best way to protect that blade connector? It seems every time I hire someone this kind of thing happens, very frustrating.

That will be determined in a court of law when your lawsuit is tried

I would also put a $250,000 claim for mental duress

i cant afford another AC guy I SURE cant afford a lawyer lol.

I have to go to a doctor's appointment soon. I'll post a reply later. A temporary fix won't be bad.

I am glad there are so many " experts" on here that willingly spout off from the hip without a clue. I cringe at just about every " ac help" thread in here as it is only a miracle that someone has not been hurt or killed by the advice given on a fishing forum by people who have zero training. Clearly the guy I am quoting is NOT in the HVAC field, has not worked in a trade, or is just spouting off for some reason. This is as far as this will go. We will not have a pissing contest. the OP asked and it has been addressed. I will leave a parting comment that while the claim these are not UV rated wires or connectors... they last many years in this exact configuration in Texas in the sun and heat and rain.... without failure. So something must be right with them. lol