Air condtioning unit outside fan will not move

Remove the rear cover and clean the unit throroughly. Use a can of air duster with the little hose to carefully clean the drain holes in the drip tray under the evaporator (upper radiator) let the unit fully defrost, drain the unit from the bottom plug. Clean the fins wth a toothbrush and windex if needed. Reassemble and run the unit in fan mode for an hour to let it dry out.

It sounds like the unit is cycling on internal overload. The overload is switch the protects the motor from getting too warm. This would explain your cooling "cycling".

Check the condenser (the outside coil with vertical fins, the back of the unit). Is it clear of any debris? If not clean it using water or compressed air, using care not to bend or damage the fins or electrical wires/components.

Check the condenser fan motor. You can usually see the condenser fan motor through vents in the sheet metal. Check to see the the condenser fan motor runs when cooling is turned on, secondly check to make sure the fan blade is not broken, usually the blades are plastic. If the motor or fan blade is bad, you need a replacement.

1) Replace both fuses if there are any out by the unit
*also make sure the breakers are not tripped. there will be two
2) if you get the unit running inspect the outdoor coil under the outside fins to see if the coil is stopped up with dirt,grass, etc.
*if the coil is dirty, disconnect the unit from power, take the 4 screws out on the top of the unit that hold the fan motor assembly in place. Carefully set the entire motor, blade and assembly off to the side and be careful not to pull the motor wires loose. With a water hose and sprayer, carefully wash the condenser coil from the inside out. You will see a lot of debris on the outside fins you will have to wash off. Be careful not to have so much water pressure that you bend the aluminum fins on the coil itself.
** many times if the coil is stopped up this will cause the unit to overheat and trip breakers

clean outside fins and check freon level

cold air goes down helping downstairs

Check outside unit if unit and compressor are running feel the large line to see if it is cold. If compressor is running and line is not cold possible charge problems. You may have a capacitor problem outside. they go out quite often. You can change this yourself, Open up outside unit and the cap is the silver bullet with terminals out the top. Bad cap can cause compressor to not operate and also the fan. You need to clean the coil inside or at leat check the coil to see if it is clean. You can clean theis with a toilet brush do not go against the coil bit brush with the fins. You may need to call a service tech but try these options first. russ

if the fan outside is turning on and inside fan is blowing too, then you have a compressor problem. could be a capacitor gone bad (or needing a hard start kit) to the entire compressor failure

hi In most air-conditioning systems, the condenser unit is located outside the house and is prone to accumulate dirt and debris from trees, lawn mowing, and airborne dust. The condenser has a fan that moves air across the condenser coil. You must clean the coil on the intake side, so, before you turn off the power to the air conditioner, check to see which direction the air moves across the coils. Here's how to clean the condenser:
Step 1: Cut down any grass, weeds, or vines that have grown around condenser unit; they could be obstructing airflow.

Step 2: Clean condenser with commercial coil cleaner, available at refrigerator supply stores. Instructions for use are included. Flush coil clean (do not use hose); let dry.
Step 3: Clean fins with soft brush to remove accumulated dirt. You may have to remove protective grille to reach them. Do not clean fins with garden hose, as water could turn dirt into mud and compact it between fins. Clean fins very carefully: They're made of light-gauge aluminum and are easily damaged. If fins are bent, straighten them with fin comb, sold at most appliance parts stores. A fin comb is designed to slide into spaces between fins. Use it carefully to avoid damaging fins.Step 4: Check concrete pad on which condenser rests to make sure it's level. Set carpenters' level front to back and side to side on top of unit. If pad has settled, lift pad with pry bar or piece of 2-by-4, then force gravel or rocks under concrete to level it.

It sounds like you may have lost line voltage to the unit. What you hear is most likely the buzzing of the compressor relay which is energized by 24v from the indoor unit. Look at your condenser coil, are the aluminum fins clogged with debris? If so this is likely the cause of the tripped breaker and will need to be cleaned. Before you go to the trouble have someone go to your breaker panel and flip all the 220v DPST breakers off and back on while you watch and listen to the condenser to insure that the fan and compressor will come on line as soon as this is confirmed turn the breaker off and clean you condenser coil, the correct way to clean the condenser coil is to remove the disconnect plug at the unit or turn of the line voltage at the breaker, remove the top panel that supports the fan , flip it over being carefull that it's weight is supported in a way that wont stress the wireing harness to the fan motor. Spray the inside surface of the condenser coil with a heavy foaming cleaning solvent and let it have time to saturate the grime compacted between the fins then spray from the inside out and from the top down until the water runs free and clean from the inside thru the coil. Replace the top panel and allow time to insure that any water that might have gotten into the fan motor housing has evaporated, Then start it up if that was the original cause of the thrown breaker (very often is) then your in good shape and just saved a service call, Gratz!

Behind the filter there should be a small metal tube that senses the temp. entering the unit sometime this is too close to the metal fins and sense the cold from the fins and not the air coming in. Make sure this is away from the fins and try a different temp. setting.And relocating the unit. These units tend to give off more heat that cooling because the hot air is returned to the inside of the room and not vented outside like window units.This is an  EdgeStar 12,000 BTU unit, correct?