Compressor hot to touch?

by Wayne
(Richmond VA)

I've been suspecting issues with the heat pump in our new home. Today was a mild day and the unit did not need to run at all throughout the day. I opened the unit to clean out some leaves and noticed the compressor was hot to touch. On occasion the unit has tripped the breaker in the breaker box. Is it normal for the compressor to be hot to touch even when it has not been running? If not, and I cant imagine why it would be, what could cause this. The unit is a Trane BWD730A100B1.

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Oct 24, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Hot Compressor
by: Ex-HVAC Instructor

How hot is the compressor? If it is just warm, it might have a crankcase heater. Is there an external band with wires going to it around the compressor toward the bottom? Some reciprocating have internal crankcase heat which uses the motor windings to produce the heat, some recips have a plug type heater near the bottom of the compressor and will have wires running to it. Scroll compressors will have the band type crankcase heater, if installed. In warmer areas, scroll compressors rarely have a crankcase heater.
Apr 07, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		OHM
by: mark

OHM OUT THE Compressor C-R-S SOUNDS like a short to ground in the windings

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