The Whalen Company Heat Pump Actuator Troubleshooting

Component failures don’t have to leave your customer stuck. Quick remedies and troubleshooting tips can help you get HVAC equipment operational even while you wait on replacement parts to arrive. This guide for The Whalen Company heat pump actuator troubleshooting can help a new or seasoned technician find out why equipment isn’t working properly and get the fix faster. 

Heat Pump Actuator Diagnostics 

• Step 1. Remove the actuator head – The first step in diagnosing the actuator on the heat pump chassis is removing the actuator head. The easiest way to do this is to manually open the valve and lock it into the open position. Then you can press the gray button and the actuator head will come right off. 
• Step 2. Remove the cover – Now that you can freely access the actuator head you need to take off the cover to access components inside it. It’s held on with a single phillips head screw that can be loosened to remove the cover.
• Step 3. Check the wires – There will be two sets of wires inside the actuator head. There’s the water valve wires and then a set of red wires that are the end switch. Make sure these are connected and not damaged. 
• Step 4. Check the motor – The chassis won’t fire if the motor is bad. To check it, see if it strokes open all the way. 
• Step 5. Check the end switch – If the motor is working, the end switch could be the issue. To do this, take the two end switch wires and cut them. You need to strip them out and tie the two wires together. This will shortcircuit the end switch. If the chassis fires after this, then you have a bad end switch. 
• Step 6. Set up the unit to operate – Downtime isn’t acceptable for a customer. So to keep the unit functioning while you wait on replacement parts, don’t reinstall the actuator head. Set it down in the space between the compressor and evaporator coil. The valve will automatically open and allow water flow so the customer can continue to have heat and air conditioning.