The ability to troubleshoot problems with your major appliances can come in handy. The goal should be to eliminate certain common, easily fixed issues before you call for licensed repair. For instance, if you think your air conditioner is tripping the breaker, you’ll need to know if it’s something that you can easily fix. Then, you will have to decide between calling an electrician or an HVAC tech.
Here are some tips for troubleshooting an air conditioner that’s tripping the breaker:
Troubleshooting A/C Breaker Issues
In general, when a breaker trips just once, you can reset it and carry on. If after resetting it, it trips again right away, you likely have a problem.
- Wiring. Over time, wires expand and contract and can loosen in the breaker box. This requires attention from an electrician.
- Breaker goes bad. The signs of a bad breaker are a burning smell, a scorched area, the breaker is hot or wires are frayed. Again, you need an electrician.
- Dirty air filter. When your air filter gets dirty, it impedes air flow, making your air conditioner work harder, drawing more amps to reach temperature set points. Try changing the filter to see if it stops tripping the breaker.
- Dirty condenser coils. The condenser coils are located in the outdoor unit of your A/C. If the coils are dirty, the refrigerant traveling through the coils will not be able to cool properly so that it can absorb heat once it’s pumped into the house. If you know how, clean the coils,; better yet, call an HVAC tech.
- Short in the motor. When the A/C motor runs hot too long, the insulation in the wiring can break down and cause a short. The short will cause the tripper to break.
- Capacitor is bad. The capacitor helps the compressor start. When it goes bad, the A/C pulls more amps trying to start and can trip the breaker.
For more on why your A/C is tripping the breaker, contact Ace Hardware Home Services. We serve Dayton and the surrounding area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
