My window air conditioner keeps tripping the breaker.
It starts out pulling 140 watts then after like 10-15 mins it jumps to over 2000 watts.
I just bought it last year, it worked fine the whole last summer.
It's a big of a hot day but why should that have made it do this?
plug it into a 20 amp outlet
It was totally fine in a 15amp all last summer.
It's a 10000BTU window air conditioner. It shouldn't be drawing that many watts.
>What's the rating on the unit itself
10000BTU
>Could be that you have something else plugged into the circuit that you didn't have last year?
Nope.
I reset the watt reading device to zero then let it run. It ran at only 140 watts for about 10-15 mins then it trips the breaker. I go back and check the max wattage ever recorded and it was around 2040 watts.
I did this twice with same result. Second time max was 2090 watts.
I didn't keep the warranty on this thing unfortunately so I hope I can fix it.
It it's an instantaneous measurement, the 2000 watts is probably the start of the compressor. It's not uncommon (actually pretty normal) for mechanical equipment like pumps to have a starting wattage that's higher than their running wattage, and most fuses/breakers won't trip on the few seconds that it takes to transition. If it's running at 2000 watts, that would be an issue.
May be a short inside the compressor's motor.
>It it's an instantaneous measurement, the 2000 watts is probably the start of the compressor. It's not uncommon (actually pretty normal) for mechanical equipment like pumps to have a starting wattage that's higher than their running wattage, and most fuses/breakers won't trip on the few seconds that it takes to transition.
Okay. Then why is mine tripping the breaker? Do you think it's fixable?
>May be a short inside the compressor's motor.
Maybe.
It worked perfectly find all last summer.
Missing some information here. What's the rating on the unit itself, is it a 24k BTU unit? Because anything shy of 15k BTU should only need about 1500 watts running.
Could be that you have something else plugged into the circuit that you didn't have last year?
140 watts at 120v is only 1.2A I’m calling bullshit.
you misread my post
it starts at 140watts and when the compressor kicks on or whatever it jumps to over 2000 watts.
tried it
didnt work
tried replacing the receptacle
tried swapping the breaker with another one
same result
it's gotta be the air conditioner.
Unplug it and plug it back in again
Are you using a GFCI or AFCI?
no
just a regular breaker
literally nothing else changed from last year
it only flips the breaker when it reaches that 2000+ watts
bump
kindly help?
thanks
Checked.
To give you a bump… a simple thing is to open it up and do a quick visual check for loose connections. I had a portable AC unit that had a loose connection to the compressor and the connection got all hot and crusty from barely touching. Maybe if something got loose or a little corroded, could be a high resistance connection causing it to draw lots o’ amps for the same job as before.
Also just to rule out the breaker, assuming that’s a quick 2000w startup spike, get a beefy extension cord and plug it into an outlet on another circuit.
But I’m no HVAC goyim, just an armchair engineer.
>To give you a bump… a simple thing is to open it up and do a quick visual check for loose connections. I had a portable AC unit that had a loose connection to the compressor and the connection got all hot and crusty from barely touching. Maybe if something got loose or a little corroded, could be a high resistance connection causing it to draw lots o’ amps for the same job as before.
Okay, I guess I'll have to do this. It sucks because I just bought the thing and dont have my warranty paperwork.
>Also just to rule out the breaker, assuming that’s a quick 2000w startup spike, get a beefy extension cord and plug it into an outlet on another circuit.
I actually swapped the breaker with another one, same issue. It's not the breaker.
Thanks.
Depending on the manufacturer, sometimes they will help you out based on the manufacture date of the item if you don’t have the receipt. If it has a 1 year warranty and you bought it 11mos ago, it’s probably over a year since the manufacture date though.
replace the motor start or motor run capacitors.
seems like a lot of work for an AC I just bought
Shitty Chinese caps are shitty.
Sure does but your piece of shit = broken so fix or replace.
^This
This. The compressor is obviously drawing lra. I would also check the potential relay or whatever fricked up starting component those small systems have. Could be a shit compressor too, if you get a meter and verify that the caps and the relay are working correctly, and that the connections are good and the proper voltage is being received at the compressor, hit that b***h with a hammer while it's drawing the high current. Give it a good tap and see if that makes it unseize.
Only AC thread so I'll ask here.
Mini split won't blow cold.
Outside unit freezes one line.
No error codes in unit.
Everything is clean and un blocked.
What's wrong with this shit?
Got memed by the Mr. cool DIY scam.
think your evaporator coil , the part inside your house, is blocked or dirty or the fan isnt running. if it freezes up like that then you have no heat exchange happening.
IIRC valve with service port is a return on mini splits. So one that is coming out of compressor is iced up, which means gas leak (most likely), or faulty expansion valve inside outdoor unit (least likely).
Call their warranty shit, tell them to replace fricking unit because their shitty hose leaked.
Next time get EPA loicense (lol), or hands on e-bay gas, vacuum pump, flaring tool and install mini split like real man. And save $500.
Most likely their shitty quick connects or flexible hose. Because it takes like 20 years to clog shit good and proper.
Yep. Oil stains kinda suggest gas leaked here and thin line is ice now.
So yeah. Leaky lineset. Warranty case (but in reality just shit design, because copper leaks, brazed one, and u want fricking hose not to leak)
I cracked open the outdoor unit to check for damage or clogs.
Only thing I found was this temp sensor clip thing loose.
Not really sure where it is supposed to go. So I clipped it back on a line that was close to it.
Not really sure what it does
Usually chinks braze a piece of pipe where shit goes on neatly. could have been smth else.
Well, it could have caused a weird behavior. If it doesn't cool after this, well. Gas leak.