Central AC question, compressor not kicking on

Perhaps the Capacitor - you know how check? Probably 80% of repair calls this time of year. Voltage surges, and heat, are two of the main factors that cause capacitors to fail. Good to have a surge protector on the outdoor condensing unit.

If the capacitor, you can DYI replace for $40-50 with a good American made capacitor. If you need to call a tech to fix this evening, $250-300?

Does the fan on the outside condensing run in cool mode?

ETA:

Last summer we had a power blip and a small surge. Fried capacitors on 2 of our 3 units.

Fan to Ace hardware and picked up 4. Had them both replaced in maybe 30 min.

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Turn the unit off for 30 minutes then try again.

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Did that and just turned it back on and it's working again. I think the thermal overload had kicked in. It's cooling now, but only after I went into my storage shed and carried my heavy arse 12,000 BTU window unit into the house and started to set it up

There is always a delay when turning the power off and then back on again. The delay is to prevent damage to the compressor. Keeps it from going on and off rapidly.