Heat Pump - Fried Wires. Looking for cause and replacement contactor

[4rings6stars]

Hi all - My heat pump recently stopped heating. It’s an Aqua Comfort ACT1100. Fan still works but seems compressor isn’t working. I opened it up to find that the wires coming in and out of the contactor are fried.

The label on the contactor is toast so I can’t read the specifications. I’m trying to buy replacement. Does anybody have the specs for what that would be? This looks like it matches the existing one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019HY5NHO/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A1MLQIZEGMA3U0&psc=1

More importantly, does anybody know what could have caused this? The heater was working fine until a few days ago. I recently had to move the heater a foot or so as we were doing some work and needed access. It could be a coincidence but the unit was working fine before I moved it. My initial thought was that I had pulled a wire out when I shifted the unit around, but I was surprised to find the burnt wires when I opened it up.

The heater is out of warranty and was a DIY installation several years ago…

 

[ajw22]

Confirm you have the right contactor with these folks....

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AquaComfort Heat Pump Parts | Medallion Energy

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Be sure you replace the burnt wires with the proper gauge.

Hard to say what causes burnt wires and contactors but it is fairly common in HPs and AC units. They are high amp units and contactors often develop a high resistance connection that causes heat. IT is an area you should check annually as preventive maintenance.