20 Most Recent Carrier 38BRC036 Air Conditioner - Page 2 Questions & Answers

The remotes for the mini-splits send very complex digital codes each time you press a button. If the batteries are not working at nominal voltage the remote will not send the signal correctly even though the screen seems to work fine. Try switching out the batteries.

No, it is a 12 SEER 3 ton straight air condenser.

Hi,
No there is no reset button "per se" but you can check the fuse box/disconnect to see if the fuse is blown.

Three tons 036. One ton 12, Two ton 24, Three ton 3, Four ton 48

First, I would not advise anyone to use water around electricity!!!, And what you are doing by hoseing down the condenser coil is transferring more heat, what it sounds like is that the unit is to small for the space you are trying to cool, rule of thumb is one ton of air (12,000 BTU) to every 450 square ft of space. So a 16000 sq ft home would require a 4 ton A/C system.
Also, the unit will work harder in the daytime , during the hottest part of the day, because there is more heat load on the unit. Check your insulation in your attic.
Some other causes of this problem are low on charge, or a leak in your system, will also get worse as your system will go flat.
A dirty condenser coil, you can turn off Electricity to unit , spray down coil w/ 409 cleaner and hose off, then turn back on, a dirty coil will stop transfer of heat and make your system work harder.
A dirty air filter will also cut down on cooling, if you can't get air into the system, you can't get it out!!
Start w/ your filter, then wash your coil (outside coil) called the condenser, again make sure power is off first!!
If you still have a problem, call a service tech, preferably not the guy who told you to water it!!
HOPE THIS HELPS!!

sounds like it's cycling on the high pressure cut-out switch. Note: it could be a low-pressure switch that is causing the cycling but most units (today) don't have low pressure switches. If your unit has either of these two switches it will (usually) be the high pressure switch, although it's possible it has the low pressure switch too. My guess is it only has a 'high pressure cut-out.'
I would seriously look at the coil again and make sure you've cleaned it real good.
Many Carrier Air Conditioners have what is called a SPLIT coil. If this is what you have you will need to (WITH ALL POWER OFF) disassemble the outside unit enough to where you can manually pull these coils apart (be careful - you just need to get a small gap between them) and wash IN BETWEEN the two coils.
Pretty difficult to do - but doable.
It's possible you have an overcharged unit - but unless you've recently had it charged I would not suspect this.
If it is not the high pressure switch - and 'you do have' a low pressure switch - chances are you're out of refrigerant and you will need a serviceperson to (a) fix the leak and (b) re-charge the unit

Please visit the below site to enable u to get more information:

www.residential.carrier.com/

Hi,
The best thing to do is to call Carriers customer service line or their tech. support number... often times the customer talking to the co. directly will get better results then the dealer talking to them...
The dealer does need to recover thier costs also... they do not make that much money on the initial installation...
It is worth a phone call or two for you to call the factory and tell them how you are going to tell all of your friends NEVER to buy any carrier products because they do not stannd behind them!!!

heatman101

Hello RR Hard start can't hurt BUT dosen't sound like the problem.Do you have a scroll compressor?They don't need a kit.Does it start every time?It could be short cycling on LOW PRESSURE SWITCH.If the unit is (pumping down) during the run time you have a restriction in the system.Make sure the service valves are open ,do you have a filter dryer colgging up or a bad TXV valve also could cause short run times.20-30 PSI the switch cuts out.

Follow this link to the search page for the Unit need need literature on. If you want to change models (i.e. from the 38BR to the 38RE, both of which you list in your question), just enter the 1st 3-4 characters in the search box. this link is for the 38RE. Good luck!
http://www.commercial.carrier.com/commercial/hvac/technical_literature/1,3063,CLI1_CNT1_DIV12_ETI9039_MID4442_QRYY,00.html

Ok, sorry for delay but I fit this in around my regular job.....here is the manual for the 38TDB. 6 flashes is still compressor fault related. http://www.docs.hvacpartners.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/38tdb-4si.pdf

See page 33 here - http://www.docs.hvacpartners.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/38-10sm.pdf

It lists a problem with freon level, mechanical issue with compressor or dirty coils. I would eleminate the easier items first by cleaning both coils, and then have someone get some test gages on the unit too make sure the compressor is ok.

When compressors are on their way out, this is a symptom that is common.

The unit not starting until you removed power from the control board suggests you had some kind of fault. Where there any blinking lights on the control board before you turned it off. These would give you an error code and help in diagnosing the problem. I'm not sure about it sounding labored before it stops. You could check on that by connecting a clamp on ammeter to 1 of the compressor wires and checking the current draw when it stops normally and stops sounding labored.

Portable air conditioners have a huge range in pricing, if you buy through a local heating and cooling company, you will probably pay a higher price. Usually you will get the best price from a large hardware chain store, they usually sell for cheaper than a local HVAC company can buy it for.
So make sure and shop around, not knowing where you are located, it is pretty hard to get you much more information.
Have a great Day.
Paul

does it operate at all? if it does, then it could be in the driver display on the control board or possibly just a fuse in this portion of the control bd