What could be wrong with my heat pump?

Question

The other night, my heat pump (the outside unit) started to work intermittently. The blower fan in the furnace works fine, and so do the heat strips.

When the outside unit works, it works great. But it will run for two cycles, and then it won't turn on a third time. The furnace fan turns on every time. If I turn the thermostat off for a couple of hours and turn it back on, the outside unit works again. But after a couple of cycles, it quits again.

Answer 1

Sounds like to me it may be a compressor problem, maybe oveheating. IF the unit works for a few cycles and then quits for a while, the compressor may be getting hot and switching of on its own overload. When it cools, it closes and allows the compressor to run. May need to call a HVAC Tech and check it out. Switch the t-stat over to Emergency heat and that will lock out the heat pump until the tech gets there. Hope this helps! Good luck!!

Answer 2

Yuor heat pump works in reverse of your central air. at lower temps outside your unit can freeze up or even go into a lock out mode. if that happens you can switch your thermostat to the central air setting for a few seconds. Then switch it back to heat.