Air Conditioner Trips Circuit Breaker

Question: My front ac unit blows the circuit breaker after running for about ten minutes. The rear unit is fine.


Robbie: AC systems are the most complex and dangerous of the appliances you have, so giving advise for you to open, check, start, and run compositors or thermostats would not be a good idea. What you can do is check and be sure you have good voltage. But anytime an AC blows a breaker after 10 minutes I suggest you have a qualified tech do the diagnosis. Special tools are required to check amp draws and the internal parts.

NOTE: Even with the 110V turned off you can be injured or killed touching the wrong wires. Don't open the top cover of the AC if you're not trained and qualified.

Good luck,
Robbie

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Aug 11, 2014
 A/C trips breaker
by: Craig T.

My A/C unit turns on fine, then, after 10-15 min. the compressor shuts off with the fan blowing warm, humid air that you can smell. After 3-5 minutes the comp. comes back on and it blows cold again. That started maybe 3-4 weeks ago. I just thought it might be the comp. cycling on & off. Then about 10 days ago it started tripping the breaker after about 10-15 min. of operation. I'd reset the breaker and it would come on and be fine the rest of the day. Except for the comp. shutting off and putting out the stinky humid air, it seemed to work fine.....until yesterday when it started to trip the breaker multiple times a day after 10-20 min. of running. When it's running it blows cold air just fine. Today, the temperature is going to reach 101 according to the local news. Perfect timimg! I've been informed by a local A/C repair guy (over the phone) that it could be either the breaker itself being old and unable to carry the load, or the compressor circuitry getting too hot from the power load, or the compressor itself is/has going/gone bad. I know nothing about A/C'ing, but I'm not bad with an ohm/power meter to check things out. One last thing I've learned is that the problem could be in the air intake. I took the inside cover off so that it would cool faster by blowing directly on me. Evidently that was a bad idea because I just read that no dirt/dust...NONE...should EVER get into the comp. (fins?)!! I've replaced the cover and filters but could I have damaged it already even though it's blowing cold for periods of time?
As a disabled vet, I need my A/C...BADLY...so if you have any other help & info you can give me, it would be more than appreciated!
Thank you very much,
Craig Turner - Salem, Oregon

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Robbie Warford, San Diego RV Repair

Hi, I'm Robbie. Welcome to Money-Saving-RV-Repair.com!

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