Electrical – How to protect A/C condenser wires

air-conditioningelectricalhvac

I bought a replacement condenser fan motor for my outdoor A/C unit. The old unit was CW direction only. This one is CW/CCW and has 4 wires stick out of the side that change direction depending on how they are connected.

I'm concerned with leaving them out in the open subject to getting rained on. There are rubber boots that cover the wire, but I'm not sure that's gonna be enough. I've used zip ties on the wires and wrapped the seam between the two rubber boots that protect the connections with electrical tape, but I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for further protecting them from the rain.

I was thinking about taping it to the side of the motor, but I'm concerned the motor will get too hot. Should I just wrap the wires and boot with more electrical tape and let it hang? Should I not worry about it?

Best Answer

I'm not sure why the wires would be exposed to the elements, however if you want to seal them, wrapping in electrical tape and tie wraps is definitely not the right solution.

I would utilize heat shrink tubing:

Heat Shrink Tubing

Thin wall heat-shrink tubing is great for cable insulation, marking or bundling, with superior mechanical, abrasion and moisture protection

Basically you slip this over the entire connection and then use a heat gun to shrink the tubing tight against the connections. It's a cheap and effective way to protect electrical connections.