Walked in the house today and I could tell immediately the air conditioner
was not working properly. Walked out to the unit and noticed fan was
not turning. So I opened up the top of the unit and looked at the capacitors
and they looked ok, so I figured it was time for a new fan motor. Pulled the
motor out and put it in my car so I could get a new motor in the am. Later
I decided to put it back in and give the fan a spin to see if maybe it was the
capacitor after all. Put it back in and plugged the fuse back in and away it
went with no help, everything is normal again. Kind of confused now,
any guesses as to my problem?

 

My guess is that it's likely either a marginal capacitor, or the motor is overheating. Removing it gave it time to cool down sufficiently to start again. I would suggest that you keep a close eye on it and if the fan motor fails to start again, try giving it a spin to see if it starts. If it does start with a spin, try a new capacitor. Also, if/when it stops again, try feeling how hot the motor is. It should be warm, but not hot enough that you would burn your hand on it. Also check to see how easily the fan spins, as it could be bad motor bearings.

 

Test the capacitor with your meter.