Noisy as heck furnace


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Old 01-08-20, 02:32 PM
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Noisy as heck furnace

So my wife told me today that the furnace was making an odd noise, so once I got home I checked it out. Slight buzzing/humming sound while operating, still getting heat just an annoying sound.

I channeled my inner Tim Allen with some Youtube videos to get an idea of what's going on and then cracked open my furnace (American Standard Freedom 80). I tightened everything up with my ratchet just thinking something might be loose but the noise was still going on and it sounded like it was coming from the blower motor. I started it up and let the flames kick on, then watched as the fan rotated as slow as molasses even after about two minutes of the flames kicking.

I figured this might be the problem so I cut power, turned off the gas, and then pulled out the blower motor. I cleaned it off the best I could, spun the fan (works just fine it looks like), didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I hooked everything back up (thank goodness for cell phone pictures) and got it running and it's still making the same sound. It actually started getting louder after I finished this video and started uploading it.

I'm out of ideas so I'm looking to see if anyone else might know what this issue is. It's going to be a cold one tonight and the hardware store is still open until 8pm so if there's a chance I can get this fixed today I would greatly appreciate any assistance. Ya'll have helped me on some big issues already and this place is a gold mine.

Video of my furnace with the noise -
https://youtu.be/8LGRcS7SZf4
 
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Old 01-08-20, 03:17 PM
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I just tightened the mounting bolts and set screw again. One thing that did strike me as weird - instead of two screws holding the blower motor in place, there was only one. I checked all inside but it doesn't look like one was ever installed. This is the first time the furnace has made noise since I bought the place 12 years ago, so I'm not sure if this is a common thing or if it's weird. I may try to run out and grab another screw if I have no more ideas by 7pm.
 
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Old 01-08-20, 04:32 PM
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I feel like it maybe my capacitor. Here is a picture of my current one and a picture of what I think should work as a replacement. I’m going to order it just to be safe since it will come tomorrow and it’s inexpensive. I just want to make sure that this is the correct one so I don’t blow up my house.

https://imgur.com/a/vQKr5kc
 
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Old 01-08-20, 05:33 PM
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That does appear to be the correct capacitor. Could end up being the motor. If you don't have a multi meter with the ability to check the cap, just replace & hope.
 
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Old 01-08-20, 05:41 PM
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Sorry...... that's not the cap. That's bad bearings.
 
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Old 01-08-20, 06:13 PM
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PJmax thank you! Is there anything I can do for that or is that something I need a pro for?
 
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Old 01-08-20, 08:23 PM
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It would be time to replace the motor. It's a DIY job if you're handy.
New motor will need a matched cap.
 
 

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