Hey guys, my window unit air conditioner is acting like it wants to blow a fuse every now and then. Mostly, it does it after is has been on all day, and when I decide to turn in from medium cool to low, which I do at night. It doesn't do it every night either, but it has really came to bug me. It has been going on off and on for about 2 weeks. Any ideas? If it's breaking, how long do I have? I'm hoping it won't die until it cools off anyway!
2007-08-31 16:54:03 · 4 answers · asked by aai005 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Ah, thanks for your answer. Well, it does share the plugin with a table lamp. It does flicker too when the air does that. I found it weird how it just started all of a sudden, you know....
2007-08-31 18:04:26 · update #1
Thanks guys, really appreciate the help. I'm going to look into it further, but now I know what to do! Thanks again.
2007-09-01 03:56:34 · update #2
there is a couple of things that could cause this problem ...1 the thermostat could be going bad and allowing the unit to short cycle(this means the ac tries to restart the compressor before the system has had time to equalize the pressure) the compressor shouild stay off at least five minutes before it tries to come back on....2 the capacitor could be going bad causing the compressor to pull to many amps when it restarts especially after it has run all day and got the capcitor hot...3 the end of the cord where it plugs into the outlet could be overheating(look at it and if it is discolored the cord needs to be replaced...
2007-08-31 19:30:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Howdy:
Is this air conditioner on a dedicated line, or does it share with another appliance? If you aren't sure, go to the circuit breaker (fuse box) and turn off the breaker for that air conditioner. If other things in the room go off, move them to another circuit.
The only way for someone to determine if the unit is dying is to measure the power that the unit is drawing with an amperage meter. This will need to be done at the time it is acting poorly. It would take all of Nostradamus' skill to determine the lifespan of the unit.
Keep Kool
2007-08-31 17:30:55 · answer #2 · answered by OrakTheBold 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds as if you may have at least 2 possible things happening. As the other tech. indicated, the unit must be checked under full load conditions ( when its really working hard to keep up) during one of those periods it will have to have an amp. prob. attached to monitor its amp/voltage draw. If its too high during load it will blow the breaker. It will be too high( too many amps) if the compressor is working to hard( wearing out) the fan motor is shorting out or its start/run cap. is defective. The other possible is a weak circuit breaker. This will show up during a/c test. If its weak; replace with same;( in range of load) breaker. If its not the breaker you have to decide if the a/c is too old to spend a lot of money on. If its a 110 volt unit ( up to 12,000 BTU) it would be cheaper to replace. 220 volt unit, get estimate and then decide. best of luck!!
2007-08-31 19:36:13 · answer #3 · answered by grounded 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i dunno what 2 do
2007-08-31 17:01:30 · answer #4 · answered by zoidgirl0905 4 · 0⤊ 5⤋