Help connecting unused C wire for Smart Thermostat

thermostatthermostat-c-wirewire

Looking to connect a newer WiFi thermostat which requires the connection of a c wire. My old thermostat didn’t use a c wire however there is a c wire present in the bundle of wires ( unconnected at thermostat and inside air exchanger/furnace. However I am a little lost on where to connect this loose C wire inside the air exchanger compartment. My furnace doesn’t use the typical screw terminals I’ve seen while looking for the solution to this. It uses a clamping type of connector ( see pics) there is a C terminal however this is already used. The wire from the c terminal goes to some black block ( I believe is a heat sequencer through some googling) then another connection off of that “heat sequencer” connects to the red wire from the 2 wire cable that I believe goes to the air conditioner? Any assistance on where I need to connect this c wire would be greatly greatly appreciated!!!! If any additional pics are needed I can do that ASAP enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here

Best Answer

This is easier than it sounds

Since we know that your air conditioning is turned on by the thermostat putting 24VAC on the yellow (Y) wire that's connected to a wire in the 2-wire low-voltage cable to the compressor contactor (the white wire in that cable, in your case), we know that the other wire in that low-voltage cable (the red wire, in your case) must be connected to C. If it wasn't connected to C, your air conditioning could never work, as current needs to flow in a closed loop from the 24VAC transformer, through the thermostat contacts, through the compressor contactor's coil, and back to the transformer in the furnace in order for the contactor to be energized by a closed circuit.

So, since we know the junction of the thick blue wire and the thin red wire is where the C wire from the compressor connects, you can safely add your new C wire to that wirenut junction, install your new thermostat, and enjoy!