AirConditioning & Breakers

Of course you've religiously cleaned the condensor of all flying debris it may have picked up over your colder season?

How long have you had it? Is it possible the wiring may have shorted due to age or wear?

My $0.02 worth.

H.

Some things to check:

1. Make sure that the outdoor condensor is clean. Use a hose to flush out any blockage, not any tools that could puncture the metal.

1. Make sure the fan is working.

2. Turn OFF all the power to the unit, check with a voltmeter, then make sure all connections are tight and there are no discolored wires near a connection. There may be connections to check in the circuit breaker panel (if 240V check both red and black wires, if 120V check the white wire) , a disconnect near the compressors, where the home wiring connects to the A/C unit, and internal to the A/C unit. Check that the contacts on the relay/contactor that operates the compressor are not burnt. Any poor connections will produce a voltage drop and because of the characteristics of the electric motor in the compressor, increase the current.

1. Check that the utility voltage is not low (below 108 volts if 120V, 216 if 240 volts), consult your utility for service standards.

2. If you can, check the running current with a clamp-on ammeter and compare to the nameplate data (FLA should be listed).

1. If the running amps are well within the rating of the circuit breaker, you may have a degraded circuit breaker.

Above all, be careful!

Bill Kaszeta Photovoltaic Resources Int'l Tempe Arizona USA snipped-for-privacy@pvri-removethis.biz

Have you noticed anything about WHEN the breaker trips? Does it happen immediately when the condenser starts, or anything like that?

The equipment is 15 years new.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will check the thing out tomorrow. A few years back I had read an article saying that keeping the outside units in the shade was a good thing and planted these bushes on either side of the two units, the plants are not 10' tall and keep alot of the sunshine off the units.

Well: The first 3 responders have given good advice, if that doesn't take care of it you will need to have it checked for gas & recharged it accordinlgy (the 15yrs. clued me) if the gas pressure is slight or low it will work harder to reach it's temperate zone and heat up & draw more current than usual to get it's designed job done., so if all electrical connections & devices are good and measurements check out within tolerance that may be the next step to take to resolve the tripping.

=AEoy I work as a door to door GE AC Technician in the late 70's damn I'm getting old };-)=AE

From: (Jim=A0Douglas) Thanks for the suggestions, I will check the thing out tomorrow. A few years back I had read an article saying that keeping the outside units in the shade was a good thing and planted these bushes on either side of the two units, the plants are not 10' tall and keep alot of the sunshine off the units. "Jim Douglas" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com... A/C unit has tripped the breaker twice this week, never done it before, very hot here. Anything a handyman type could look at before calling the big guns out?

Very first thing, check to see if the wires to the breaker are loose/corroded/overheated. (Turn main off first!)

Another suggestion to add. Utility brouwn outs. They are becoming more and more common, especially on hot days. Low voltage causes the motors to pull more current, tripping the breaker. Once a breaker has tripped, it takes less to make it trip the next time, and less the next time etc. etc. I had to replace my breaker last year, it just wouldn't hold in when the AC started.

| Another suggestion to add. | Utility brouwn outs. They are becoming more and more common, | especially on hot days. Low voltage causes the motors to pull more | current, tripping the breaker. Once a breaker has tripped, it takes | less to make it trip the next time, and less the next time etc. etc. I | had to replace my breaker last year, it just wouldn't hold in when the | AC started.

Thermal element degradation?

Probably. I like to think of it as "thermal memory". Most thermal elements in breakers are bi-metal strips. As current flows, the strip heats up and because one side expands faster than the other, it bends and hits a spring loaded trip bar that activates the breaker mechanism. Do that several times, and it no longer comes all the way back to the original position, meaning it takes less time to trip again.