Goodman ac / heat pump

Lux thermostats are not very good in my opinion, a heat pump is an AC unit that reverses operation so if the AC works and the Heat works then it is OK as far as the refrigeration cycle which is good, replace with a better thermostat such as Honeywell , try Lux 800 # too just in case.

Include the model and serial for accurate results, that being said the standard wiring is RGYW (C)
R= (red) low voltage power from the transformer to "R" on the thermostat
G= (green) to "G" on the thermostat to the fan relay
Y= (yellow) to "Y" on the thermostat to the AC contactor (relay) coil. (usually outside in the AC unit).
W= (white) "W" on the thermostat to the heating terminal/gas valve, controller (varies with manufacture).
C= (common) not used much these days but some thermostats have to be "powered" by the low voltage transformer because they have lights, rechargeable batteries or other functions that require power.

Heat pumps defrost which is the AC mode, if the heat strip isnt working during a defrost, the air will be cold, A heat pump only feels warm if the heat strips are on too! the refrigeration cycles heat output is much less sensible to our 98F skin. heat pumps that satisfy a room setpoint are working at least, all heat pumps feel drafty to most.

Red wire goes to Rc with a jumper wire to Rh
White wire goes to W
Green wire goes to G
Yellow wire goes to Y

It probably has a low refrigerant charge. The air coming out of the outside unit should be warmer than the outdoor temperature when in the cooling mode and if it's a heat pump it should be colder than the outdoor temperature in the the heating mode. Check the big line going to the unit, it should be somewhere around the 40 F range and the small line should be hot.

Because the outdoor unit works in cooling, it sounds as though the contactor and other components outside are working correctly. The problem sounds as though it might be somewhere in your thermostat. Has the thermostat been replaced recently? If so, make sure it was wired correctly. If not, check all of the connections and contact points in your thermostat. In order for your outdoor unit to run, you must have 24vac at your "C" Common and "Y" connections. You must have this in COOL mode. Now it has to be determined why you don't have it in HEAT mode. Definitely a thermostat issue.

Hope this helps and good luck! :-)

Most heat pumps have an auxillary heat. Many are electric auxillary heat with a heat strip in the air handler. A common malfunction is for the electric auxillary heat to operate when the heat pump is set on cool. To confirm this, locate the conductor that runs from the heat sequencer to the connection on the heat strip. You will see this on the top section of the air handler. Use the clamp on part of the amp meter over that wire. If the thermostat is set on cool and the heat strip is drawing amps, it means the heat is coming on while the heat pump is set on cool. There is usually one or two causes for this, either the sequencer is bad or there is low voltage wires usually behind the thermostat or in the air handler closet that are touching that shouldn't be touching.

If this is not the case, if its not a problem of where the heat is coming on with the air conditioner, it could be a case of the reversing valve malfunctioning. The way a heat pump works is it reverses the flow of the refridgerant. For instance, many heat pumps the reversing valve is activated in cool. That would mean that there is a low voltage circuit that activates the reversing valve when the heat pump is in cool. I'm not sure what model/brand your heat pump is, Goodman and Janitrol for instance, the heat pump reversing valve is activated in cool. In any case, if the reversing valve is not operating properly, when the air conditioning is set to cool it will actually be heating. Or you could set it to heat and it may actually be cooling instead of heating. Please check these two items first and if you have any further questions, please let me know. Especially if you know of any additional problems like the evaporater is icing up or if the air handler fan is not operating when it should.

is the system zoned? if so maybe the zoning control board to the damper motor is wired improperly. when a system freezez its because of 1- restricted air flow across coil, (maybe dirty filter) or 2-low refrigerant charge. again could depend on how its zoned.

ok...where to start.lol ....the thermostat is just a switch.It will tell the unit to run or not run.if you measure the temp with the heatpump running,the air is warmer than 68 but it feels cool to you because your body is 98.6.The unit will run more often and for longer periods when the temperature drops outside for a few reasons.First,your house has more of a load to heat,meaning you have more heat loss because of the difference in temperatures outside and inside.Second,your heat pump pulls heat from the outside air.The colder the air outside,the less btu's for it to pull.If you have anymore questions [email protected] Hope this helps,Dave