Many troubleshooting issues aren't cut and dry such as a heat pump that is frozen up in the heating mode or the high-pressure switch that trips intermittently in the heating mode. This will re-set the unit. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Low head pressure may occur simulataneously with high pressure on the suction side of an air conditioner, heat pump or refrigeration system compressor system. Plugged up condenser coils is another big problem commonly encountered with high head pressure. We noticed the HP sounded especially loud. Temp was always 82 deg and now it dropped 78. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. The clueless tech only used an ammeter to check current draw, said that 6 degree drop from intake to out wasn't the best, but was not a solid indicator of a problem. Has the system been accessed recently by someone? EA. Some of these, such as a bad TXV or clogs in the refrigeration system are cited as the most common causes of high compressor head pressure. Learn how to diagnose common issues before calling in backup. Coolant pressure too high Heat consumption of heating circuit is too low. I like to assume just one snafu at a time: Certainly if they added freon and didn't fix the leak you'd be low on freon again. The test resulted in 200 RPM’s lower than what it was supposed to be turning. One cause of high head pressure is clogging or crimping in the condensing coil. Check the air filters, as these can get dirty, and this will cause the pump to stop working. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Ambient outside about 80 degrees. Geothermal Heat Pump Has Lost Heat There isn't much point in having a heat pump which doesn't produce heat, and this is a problem that you need to deal with right away. for evaluating the condition of the air conditioner compressor motor, which in turn, is a step in how we evaluate Taking into account the maximum working pressure, the type of reset on the high-pressure side and the required switch points you are already half way there. Hit that sweet spot on your superheat or subcooling chart, and everyone will be happy, and you can avoid high head pressure in the system. High Head pressure for a refrigeration system, including a heat pump or air conditioner can cost you more money and possibly lead to premature failure of the compressor. He guessed and bled some charge. Non-condensables? Ultimately a high head pressure fault is caused by excessive heat in the system. Condenser coil blocked air circulation (dirty, blocked, damaged) 3. condenser fan is … It can also cause a malfunction in the system that will lead to reduced capacity for cooling and heat (for a heat pump) or the system not functioning at all. present at the heat pump/defrost control. If this switch needs resetting on a heat pump, it means the head pressure or the high-pressure side of the heat pump is exceeding maximum pressure. Every so often, the unit will go into defrost mode to remove that frost. Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly. 10 days after first incident, the compressor locked up and gave up the ghost. Technical Resource: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology. Shouldn’t I insist the HP switch be replaced? High Pressure fault - high water temperature: Check water temperature - is it in range? Otherwise, you are just guessing. Technician saw pressure fluctuations of 450-580 or so high side and a 10 psi range on low side centered around 132 or so. The heat pump can start again after a 60 minute wait at the earliest. Should have 120 volts to ground and 240 volts across power legs. We have a brand new Jandy heat pump ee-ti, it worked fine for 2 weeks and now it stops after 5 sec with the message fault: "High Ref Pressure". Maybe it won’t turn on, or it no longer heats up appropriately. That is also probably the easiest one to solve, provided you have a water hose nearby. Time for a replacement if you have this problem and then take precautions for re-occurrence. How to fix it: Check that pool pump is receiving enough water. If the tech was convinced that the blockage was at the condensing coil it would be reasonable to replace it. I have an air source heat pump installed in my 1800 sq foot bungalow. They do not use proper procedures when charging the system. Hi; I have a package unit Lennox CHP16-060-1G. Make sure all necessary valves are open or in the proper positions to allow proper water flow to the heat pump. Choose the best rating for coastal areas and then purchase a special spray to spray the coils before putting into service if its an animal problem build a fence around the unit. High Pressure Switch Open: High - pressure switch trip. But I have to keep studying. 28: Coolant pressure too low Brine side/well water side is supplying too little heat. What has me wondering is how did I get a high head pressure (faulty switch?) When the heat pump tripped on high pressure the emergency heat light came on because in most systems, this will automatically switch to the electric heat only. Yes, it needs to be replaced. You may experience low pressure in the air source heat pump, which can be again caused by a lack of enough refrigerant, or a dirty air duct. if the compressor now starts in auto or in manual test there might be a fault in the operating pressure switch, replace the operating pressure switch. Never stop learning. They bought the unit online and decided to install it themselves to save money. REFRIGERANT HIGH HEAD PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice. When a compressor has problems, both or at least one of these functions stop happening, and very likely the heat pump won’t do its job as expected. Ducane heat pump is reading high pressure fault and high pressure lock out, I've reset it several times but it does the - Answered by a verified HVAC Technician. Compressor kicks on and runs for 3-4 minutes and the high pressure trips. many techs have seen it and they all recommend different things like board is bad, metering device on the heat pump is blocked, pressure to high etc etc.. Once I found the TXV, it was frosted. In the case of heat pump units running in heat mode, the most common causes are dirty air filters or other indoor air flow restrictions (because the condenser is now inside during heat mode) In short… high discharge temp can commonly be caused by – Low charge (high suction superheat, low suction pressure, low subcool) – Severe Overcharge We have cleaned all pipes and flow is normal (even those internal Jandy). Actuation of high pressure switch (HPS) Dirty outdoor unit heat exchanger Clogged refrigerant piping Defect of HPS Fault Condition: HIGH REFRIG Alarm: Refrigerant high pressure switch is open. Check the air filters, as these can get dirty, and this will cause the pump to stop working. Verify water pump is on. I live in Central Florida and we experience some very hot and humid days in the summer. My AC technician bypassed a bad high pressure switch and says I don’t need it. Or at least above normal head pressure for the air conditioner or heat pump. Of these, debris clogging or malfunctioning TXVs seem to be the most common problems. Temp was always 82 deg and now it dropped 78. was 95 degrees. We do get a small commission from any sales for our affiliates for which we link. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. That can happen as a result of living near the coast (environmental issues with the air) or animal urine. LP alarms are common with leaks and occur due to low pressure in the refrigerant due to poor flow on the brine side of the heat exchanger, effectively cooling it right down. Check all your filter driers. In order to take heat out of the air, the refrigerant inside the heat pump's evaporator tubes must be about 10 to 15°F COLDER THAN THE AIR so at about 42 to almost 50°F (5°C) air temperature the heat pumps outside coil is approaching 32°F (FREEZING-0°C) and any moisture in the air will begin to FREEZE on the coil and ice it up. So I'm thinking that the prior problem contaminated the system, the freon was leaking out, the TEV was clogged so it couldn't shut off flow to the evap coil, and since the return line wasn't cold enough to cool the compressor, it overheated and locked up. Mis-wiring fault between FTC and Ecodan – check S1,S2,S3 also check voltages and comms. Perhaps the thought was that internal corrosion was causing the condensing coil, check valve, or a refrigerant metering device to clog, risking blowing a compressor? Wants to just start replacing starting with the lines because they are cheapest. During the cold winter months, your heat pump’s outside unit will sometimes be covered with a coating of frost on the sides, or even light ice. Most HVAC systems are designed for a maximum outdoor ambient temperature of 95° F. So, if the temperature is at or above 95° with high humidity, then you will likely also experience high head pressures. It seems their dog thought the condenser was a fire hydrant and continuously did his business on the condenser. Firstly you should check the systems valves, strainers and pumps to make sure they’re all working and allowing the correct flow rate to pass through. In any heat pump you will generally find one high-pressure and one low-pressure switch. Replaced the TXV and the system returned to normal operation. I’ve heard customers say, “I think I need some more Freon to make it colder.” They don’t understand that adding more Freon in properly charge system will make it not colder. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Condenser Fan Motor | What Causes High Head Pressure? Hours. Clean two-year old Carrier 3-ton system. It keeps triggering the high-pressure cut-off on the outdoor unit. Because the control circuit runs through the safety switches before it completes the circuit to the compressor contactor. The problem I have is, in the heating mode by thermostat, this heat pump unit runs for less than 1 minute then the high pressure switch cut-off. I had a call from a residential customer with this problem. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Make sure the condensing unit stays as clean as possible, and you can avoid this problem. It could come from the accumulation of heat from a poorly functioning condenser unable to throw off the heat the system is picking up and many other reasons including overcharging the refrigerant. Another example was a TXV. This was installed by people chosen to do so by the builder. Troubleshooting Guide Alarm high pressure I learned last night that the system had to be recharged 7 years ago and all they did was add freon. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. by High Performance HVAC | Refrigeration | 11 comments. The lockout in this case was thru a latching relay that had to be powered down to reset. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. In most cases, I give the homeowner a warranty on my work. Member Is it a new installation? This commission helps us pay for the overhead of running this website. temp. Mon-Fri: 8am – 7pm Saturday: 9am – 5pm Sunday: By Appointment This may be caused by a pump failure, low antifreeze level or air pockets in the loop piping (see resetting the unit section, below). Off the top guess a bad switch or something screwy with defrost board. As far as the high pressure trip, if someone moved the thermostat setting down and right back up when the compressor was running this will often happen. If you have a high hear pressure in a condenser and the fan motor is working fine, and the coils are clean, then you need to go hunting. As a new HVAC Tech in training I am lucky to have a well qualified Tech to properly train me. With that in mind, below are some of the most common heat pump problems, as well as … A heat pump that doesn’t turn on is a fairly common and easily remedied problem. + Change the Control Box if the Gas valve is OK. When you read information on the web double check that the information is correct. What does your service manager say about the repair? Luckily, the solution is simple. With no abnormal pressure conditions it … Lost Pressure. Status LED Description: System pressure trip discharge or suction pressure out of range or compressor overloaded Status LED Troubleshooting: 1. They were clueless. Continue reading at REFRIGERANT PRESSURE DIAGNOSIS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX. just before they evacuated the system, and the amb. This pressure differential can be converted to GPM using a pressure drop table for each unit at the correct EWT(Water In – Water Out = dP) • Fluid Factoris the ability of a solution to transfer heat in a certain period of time. Check refrigerant charge, outdoor fan operating and coils for airflow restrictions: 32: Low Pressure Switch Open: Low - pressure switch trip. He is sticking to his claim it is all the condensers fault. 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Have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website can look at these... Absolutely essential at getting it right the first action if a fault code appears is switch... For which we link to help our site visitors find products they need to enhance repair. Believe the products we link to help our site visitors find products they need enhance. Than what it was frosted fires-up but safety shutdown from the Ignition Control Block the metering device cause side! 64 degrees pump without having to replace it motor, visually inspected the Coolant line crimps! Driers without the pressure issue and saved my system even those internal Jandy ) CHARGED of,. Those symptoms before and the system tape to be turning lower than what it an... Of the website small commission from any sales for our affiliates for which we to. To 64 degrees low sides were going up together and down together fault finding… A/C or heat system! 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