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Learning Thermostat making clicking noise outside at heat pump

Brand667
Community Member

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Thermostats/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-Causes-Clicking-Noi...
My issue seems to be identical to the one at the link above.
I have 3 heat pumps for my house. Recently had the main one rebuilt ...this issue was occurring before and after the rebuild ...when the unit was running and when it wasn't. Took the service techs several trips and fixes to figure out the issue wasn't a reverse valve or main board(both of which they replaced thinking that was the problem) ...it was my thermostat not supplying enough voltage. So once we isolated the problem ...the solution turned out to be simple. We switched Nest thermostat from another unit to this one and the clicking stopped.
Now I just noticed the clicking sound on the smaller heat pump ...not quite as loud and only occurs while running but still an issue and I fear it may cause other issues (techs said our main unit was digital and other two were analog ...digital being more sensitive to voltage fluctuation).
I swapped the thermostats with our other smaller heat pump and then it also started clicking. The techs went through all the settings more then once ...so not a setting issue. Not a common wire issue. It's an issue with the Thermostat itself. I suspect possibly a bad battery causing a voltage drop?
I bought all three off Ebay last year for our new home. Some new, some open box. 2 of the thermostats came in the older packaging and the brand new one came in the google branded packaging, all same model T3007ES ...and after checking the serial numbers just now ...the faulty one came from the google branded package. Not the one I expected to have an issue.
So how do I go about getting this replaced? ...or is there another fix? if it's a bad battery issue can I just replace that myself?

16 REPLIES 16

Brand667
Community Member

So... now the clicking coming from that unit is louder and the AC does not seem to be performing as well... so I am seriously concerned that your faulty thermostat has damaged this unit ...and possibly responsible for damaging our main unit which we had to have repaired at great expense to our insurance company.

Does nobody from google monitor these messages? Guess I'm gonna have to get someone on the phone... since no one here seems to care.

Brand667
Community Member

...so I just want to be clear. Only reason I thought this thermostat would be ok to use on another unit is because the technician who switched them around thought the small voltage drop didn't affect the analog units and everything seemed to be functioning ok. I don't recall hearing a clicking when they tested it ...and they did not notice a clicking at that time. (unit is right next to window near where the thermostat is installed, they checked to make sure it wasn't clicking)
I will be switching out  the thermostat with one I know that works tomorrow to ensure the heat pump unit is still working as it should ...I would like to get a replacement for this defective Nest I bought just 6 months ago ...we used one at our old house for many years and loved it and then soon as google took over nothing but Alexa connectivity problems ...which eventually got sorted ...and now this issue from the only Nest out of the 4 we've owned that was manufactured after google took over the company.

Brand667
Community Member

So I just swapped thermostats again to see if my heat pump unit still worked okay ....and it doesn't It seems the fan for the radiator doesn't spin now ...which explains why the air is barely cool coming out. I suspect this may have caused it to freeze up? Possibly causing multiple leaks in the condenser coil? ...which is what happened to our main unit that leaked all it's coolant and needed a new coil.

I am extremely pissed off ...and I am thinking Google is liable for the damages to both heat pumps. I have a very good case too... 3 heat pumps. two identical. 3 Nest learning thermostats ...one manufactured after google took over is defective. 2 broken heat pumps caused by the same thermostat.

...and from just scanning through a few of the posts here I am not the only one who had this kind of identical problem. I wonder how many of those people also ended up with damaged heat pumps but weren't aware that the thermostat could of caused it?

I am going to talk to the technicians when they have to come out for another insurance claim to fix this one ...and then depending on what they tell me I may be forwarding this information to our insurance which had to foot the bill ...and decide if any other action needs to be taken.

I may even start reaching out to others to see how common a problem this is and if it's resulted in broken heat pumps and expensive repairs.

Brand667
Community Member

Picture of device and clicking sound as requested by DragosC:Video: Heat pump clicking noise caused by Nest Thermostat T3007ES 
20220523_155310.jpg

Brand667
Community Member
Community Specialist

I've checked on the post. The fact that the brand is another one is just that Google bought Nest, but the product is the same nonetheless. Also, is the thermostat connected directly to the heat pump or the Heat Link is the one connected to the heat pump? We'll need a short video to see the setup and the issue in order to be able to isolate it a bit and see what happens in there. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know it's the same product ...but that doesn't mean google didn't source cheaper components after they took over to try a save $$ on manufacturing costs. I figure that's fairly common practice when a company is absorbed by another? Doesn't really matter... point is it's a new one that failed me.

No heat link. (European thing?)

Here is a video of all the settings and information you need?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y9zVANeVXHM 
and here's a pic of the back plate.
20220523_192510.jpg

Brand667
Community Member

https://youtu.be/0OwXOPPIGrU  
Are these voltage fluctuations normal?

Patrick_Caezza
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Do you have a multimeter that you can measure voltages with?

If you do, measure the voltage between the Red and Blue wire at the thermostat. Also, measure the voltage between the Yellow and Red wire.

Does either fluctuate? 

Make the same measurements at the terminal block on the control board in the furnace/air handler with the Nest installed. Check the voltages with the system cooling and off.

 


To ensure that I see your reply, please tag me using @Patrick_Caezza

The HVAC guys already verified voltage fluctuations were coming from the thermostat ...I was just not sure if that issue was reflected in the fluctuation of the Voc and Vin numbers.

It's already been established on my end that this thermostat was responsible for damaging two units. I can only hope this 2nd one doesn't also need a new coil.

Even though our new home owner insurance covered most of the cost we were still out of pocket for about $1500 ...so you can imagine how we feel finding out it was a new thermostat that caused it when it broke another heat pump.

They'll be back out hopefully within a week. I will document what I can and get more details about exactly what happened to both heat pumps.

Brand667
Community Member

Notes from the final invoice for our main heat pump we just had fixed. They swapped Thermostats with one of our other ones.

Brand667_2-1653445261954.png

When they first visited to diagnose our original problem with the main heat pump the tech went through all of our Nests to check the settings. Everything was hooked up correctly (I installed them according to how it was on the old thermostats, following the installation guide) He made some minor adjustments and pulled the black wire from the * connector ...since even though it was hooked up to old thermostat it apparently wasn't connected to anything. They also rechecked the settings on two other occasions. Several different techs came out over a period of 6 months. Huge headache ...and now we get to do it all over again with another heat pump broken by this thermostat 😞

 

DragosC
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there @Brand667. Thanks for letting me know and thanks for the video and the picture. That is indeed a US Nest Thermostat. Are you based in the US? That will work only with US heating systems. 

Brand667
Community Member

Yes, California

Brand667
Community Member

How do I go about filing a damages claim with Google Nest? I need to start this process.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Brand667,

 

Sorry for the frustration you've had with your Nest thermostat. I would love to help you continue looking at the issue here. Before we can proceed, I would like to refer you to a higher tier of support. In order to get that process started, I need you to fill out this form: https://bit.ly/31vCfcQ.

 

Once you have completed and submitted that form, let me know that you have done so here and we can continue on to finding some resolution here.

 

Thanks,

Jeff

Ryan_G
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey everyone,

 

I'd like to jump in here and check if you've seen Jeff's response. Let us know if you need more help by replying to this thread.

 

Thank you for your help, Jeff.

 

Regards,

Ryan 


 

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey all,

 

I wanted to check in, and ensure everything is working properly. Please let me know if you are still having trouble, as I will be locking the thread in 24 hours.

 

Best regards,

Jake

Brand667
Community Member

Technician just finished diagnosing the problem ...same issue we had with our first one. Radiator fan stopped spinning because Freon leaked out of the coil causing the pressure switches to turn the radiator fan off.
He said it is likely the fluctuating voltage to the reverse valve caused a restriction to the coil resulting in leaks.
Interestingly ...while he was diagnosing the problem with the AC running the clicking stopped. So it seems the voltage fluctuation coming from the nest comes and goes. Which explains why it seemed to work fine when we originally swapped them.
So we are going to be out of pocket for at least another $1500 for the portion our insurance doesn't cover. Totaling roughly $3000 in damages we have to pay out of pocket.

@DragosCHow do I go about filing a damages claim with Google Nest? I need to start this process.