We hear Phoenix-area homeowners ask, “Why does my air conditioner keep tripping the breaker at the control panel?” First off, if this keeps happening then don’t turn the circuit back on. The circuit breaker’s job is to keep your home and appliances safe by shutting off the flow of electricity when the current flow gets too high. If it keeps tripping, something needs to be fixed. If the air conditioner is the source of the tripping, it may be overheating. When an air conditioner overheats, it draws more amps (a measurement of electrical current) from the circuit. That may be pushing the circuit past the number of amps it was meant to handle. So the breaker usually trips after the air conditioner has been running for awhile. So now we need to know what’s causing your air conditioner to overheat. 1) Dirty air filter: Dirt on the filter impedes air flow. This causes the AC to run longer to circulate enough cool air to achieve the temperature you want.

This then causes the air conditioner to overheat. Change the filter and see if that helps. 2) Dirty condenser coils: The condenser coils are in your air conditioner’s outside unit. Refrigerant runs through these coils. A fan blows over the coils to dissipate the heat that the refrigerant absorbed in your home. This is done so the refrigerant can flow back into the inside air conditioning unit and absorb more heat from your home’s air. (See how an air conditioner works exactly.) But if the condenser coils are covered in dust, dirt and leaves, then the coils can’t properly dissipate the heat. So the air conditioner has to work harder and longer to cool your home and overheats as a result. In the Phoenix area, it’s easy for air conditioners to get covered in dust after haboobs (dust storms). Learn more about why you need to clean your condenser coils. You could wash the coils off, or you could have a contractor do it professionally as part of a pre-season air conditioner maintenance visit / A/C tune-up.

Spring is the perfect time for one of those! 3) Not enough refrigerant: Without enough refrigerant, the air conditioner has to work longer to cool your home. The air conditioner overheats in the process. You’ll know if you don’t have enough refrigerant if the air your air conditioner puts out isn’t very cold. A contractor will have to add more refrigerant and seal the refrigerant leak. 4) Condenser coil fan malfunction: This is the fan in the outside unit. If it stops working, it can’t cool down the condenser coils properly. Have a contractor repair the fan. These certainly aren’t all the reasons of what can cause the circuit to trip the breaker. But they are some common ones that you can see. Try changing the filter and cleaning the coils. If that doesn’t work: Call a professional to repair the air conditioner.Breakers are a safety device. It is designed to protect not only the equipment but the wiring and the house as well. So when it trips, there is a reason and it should be taken seriously.

One very common cause for breakers to trip are loose electrical connections and can easily be corrected by tightening them. 1997 honda civic ac compressor oil capacityTry one time to reset it by turning it to the “off” position and then back to the “on” position. haier ac units indiaDo not just keep resetting it and try to ignore the situation. used ac units greensboroIt is trying to tell you something. And while it may be just a weak breaker or the result of a thunderstorm, always remember that you are dealing with high voltage, high amperage and possibly high temperatures which can cause serious damage to life and property. Note that breakers should not feel hot to the touch. If it is hot, it indicates a problem and not to be ignored.

For example, if when you reset it, it immediately trips, that is usually indicative of a direct short. Do not even try to reset the breaker again. Sometimes the breaker for the outside unit trips because the compressor is having a hard time starting and will require a “hard start” kit to get it going again or it may be as simple as replacing a defective capacitor. can be addressed or fixed by the homeowner. usually require a service call. Low voltage to the house as in a brown-out Under-sized breaker or wire Locked up motor or compressor Excerpts of the preceding information has been compiled by Hannabery HVAC, which has graciously permitted us to include them on this web site as a service for all homeowners. These "Common HVAC Problems" are provided FREE and as a consequence Climatemakers does not assume any liability resulting from any information we provide. Our air conditioner recently stopped blowing out cold air. When I went to check on it, I noticed that the outside unit wasn't coming on.

We had had problems with ants in the contacter in the past, and so I went to take off the lid and check it out. I noticed that the circuit breaker marked "AC" was tripped. Like a good DIYer, I turned it all the way off and back on. It immediately tripped again. In an effort to isolate the problem, I went to the outside unit and pulled the safety connection to disconnect the main power of the outside unit. When I went back and reset the circuit breaker as before, the breaker didn't trip. Reconnecting the outside safety switch caused the breaker to immediately trip again. Later, we tried turning off the air conditioning in the house, resetting the circuit breaker, and turning the AC back on. The circuit breaker didn't trip as soon as it was reset, but when the AC was turned back on inside, it immediately tripped as before. My question is what should I check in this situation? This seems like it can't be an uncommon problem, so I'm sure HVAC professionals encounter this frequently and have a checklist of things to try.

What are the possible causes, remedies, and safety precautions I should consider in this situation? Answers to some comments: No, I didn't see any obvious damage to the wiring near the outside unit. I did look pretty carefully, since I had already taken the panel off to check for ants in the contacter. I didn't try to spin the fan with my hand, and I'm not in a place that I can try this right now. I will try it later today; perhaps in the meantime that could be a step in the diagnosis of the problem if anyone gives an answer between now and then? Likely, future readers of this question will encounter the same problem and some will have a fan that spins by hand and some will have one that is stuck. electrical repair hvac air-conditioning circuit-breaker Start by turning off the breaker, and pulling the serviceman disconnect, which will typically look something like this. This will insure no electricity is flowing to the condenser unit while you're working. Next you'll want to disassemble the unit, to allow access to the electrical parts.

This will vary from unit to unit, so check the owners manual for the procedure for your unit. Once you have the unit opened up, make sure to discharge the capacitors. These things store enough power to kill you, so you don't want them to discharge accidentally. Resistance is not futile Once the power is completely removed from the unit, it's safe to start poking around (electrically speaking, don't go busting the refrigerant lines). Start by tracing the wires from the condenser fan motor, back to where they connect in the electrical box. There should be 3 or 4 wires. In my unit, I had Black, White, Brown, and Brown with a White stripe (your model may vary). To determine if the motor is good, you'll measure the resistance across each coil. To do this, you'll have to disconnect the wires, so the motor is no longer part of the circuit (make note of where the wires connected). Typically you'll have 3 wires, start, run, and common (we'll ignore my 4th wire in this answer).

Set your multimeter to measure Ohms, and start measuring. You're going to measure the resistance between each combination of two wires to determine what each wire is, and if the motor is still good. Let's start with Black and White... Black -> White = 15.9 Black -> Brown = 35.4 Brown -> White = 51.2 Common -> Run = Lowest resistance Common -> Start = Medium resistance Start -> Run = Highest resistance We can determine that... If we also know that the two lower readings should always add up to the larger reading, we can safely say this motor is still good. If you measure 0 or infinity between any pair, that means you have a shorted or an open winding and the motor should be replaced. Repeat the same procedure for the compressor motor. Shorts on the ground The other thing you'll want to check for, is shorts to ground. Set your multimeter up to test impedance. Put one probe on the equipment grounding conductor of the feeder, and the use the other to find a solid ground on the motor.