Tuesday night we were sitting in our usual spot, the two chairs on the screened porch facing the backyard doing the usual thing, listening to the FRS on the “radio”1 when it started to rain. This was not unexpected because the weather folks told us is was going to happen. And there is nothing better than a nice rain storm on a summer2 evening. The flashes of lightning in the distance, the muted booms of thunder, the sound of water drops crashing through the surrounding trees and, of course, the 20 degree drop in temperature.
About 9:30 there was a very bright flash that was followed almost immediately by a boom that sounded like a 155mm howitzer firing in our backyard. After nearly crushing my hand in hers because the close-by noise, Donna suggested, “Let’s go inside.” So we gathered our stuff, unplugged the small fountain, shut off the fairy light LEDs, turned the ceiling fans to low and decamped to the living room.
Twenty-five minutes later the whole house A/C shut off. Donna asked, “Why’d it do that?” I replied, “Maybe because it is down to the temperature the thermostat is set to.” “No,” she said, “it is still 2 degrees warmer in here than the thermostat setting.” Oh boy. I turned the thermostat off, then on. I lowered the temperature. I swapped the fan from Auto to On. Nothing. I grabbed a flashlight and went outside to check the breaker. It wasn’t tripped, but I cycled it anyway. Still nothing. Guess we’ll call the repair people in the morning.
We pay a fee each year to a local place so that we can get priority service appointments, free troubleshooting, a discount on parts and a free yearly check-up. I called at 8:00 AM and by 10:30 I was being told we need a new controller board. The fuse had blown, but apparently not fast enough as the heating section had failed (which also controls the blower motor.) Cost, around $500, but he’d have to check. In the meantime he had worked some jumper magic to ensure the A/C part would work.
In the last 4 years, every time they have done the check-up they they tell us that we should think of changing our unit out for something newer because it is getting close to the top of its average lifespan range and it would be more energy efficient. In those 4 years we have had to have two motor capacitors replaced, another controller board go bad and a gas fitting replaced on the furnace side of things. Maybe it is time to replace. We are getting ready to go on another west coast vacation soon, so with the A/C working, we told them to hold off on ordering the board, we’d worry about it all when we got back.