Yesterday I walked up on one of our managers who was talking to a junior tech diagnosing an intermittent controls issue on a pool heat pump.
In the background, you could hear an extremely loud compressor.
The IoT and communicating equipment is pushing the next level of diagnostics for HVACR technicians. Onboard and advanced diagnostics are becoming more commonplace as technicians continue to redefine their daily diagnostic and troubleshooting challenges.
Much as a doctor performs tests to gather clues about a patient’s ailment, service technicians use tools and procedures to accurately pinpoint why an HVACR system will not function properly. The principles guiding these troubleshooting steps are universal, even if their implementation is not.
New demand is pushing for enhanced tool capabilities and functions. Both the HVACR installer and service technician are experiencing a need for these enhanced tools, and manufacturers are working to provide just that.
While many of those R-22 systems have been replaced with R-410A units, a large installed base still remains, meaning that technicians will have to know how to troubleshoot and service both types of equipment for many years to come.
This month’s troubleshooting situation involves a Rheem RRMA-A048JK10X gas pack. The customer called for service because, instead of warm air being delivered from the supply registers, all they are feeling is cold air.
If you are making a refrigerant circuit repair, weighing out and weighing in makes perfect sense, especially since microchannel condensers and scroll compressors make pumping down less viable anyway. But there are many cases where you just need to check the charge to make sure the system is working properly, and in these cases, weighing in and out is just plain silly.
The book is clearly written and easy to understand, providing a basic foundation for learning how to use wiring diagrams and test equipment to troubleshoot HVACR electrical systems. Designed for HVACR students, apprentices, and technicians new to the craft, it can be effectively used in training programs with guidance from instructors and service managers to help technicians develop their troubleshooting skills.
Bob and Tim are at a job where a technician from another company could not figure out the electrical, so he just put the panel back on the electrical compartment and left the job. It is a heat pump and the compressor wiring is all loose. They need to figure out how to wire it back and find out the problem.