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AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS AGE of AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS AIR CONDITIONER TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES AIR CONDITIONER NOT WORKING AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR HANDLER UNITS APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS BACKUP HEAT for HEAT PUMPS BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BOOKSTORE - Air Conditioning "How To" Books CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA COMPRESSOR & CONDENSING COIL BURNED-OUT COMPRESSOR CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS CONDENSING COIL FINS, SUPPORT PADS HARD STARTING COMPRESSOR MOTORS INSTALLATION ERRORS, COMPRESSORS MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH NOISY COMPRESSOR UNITS PRESSURE READINGS, COMPRESSOR REPLACING A COMPRESSOR TIGHT or SEIZED AC COMPRESSORS CONDENSATE HANDLING CONTROLS & SWITCHES COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch COOLING CAPACITY, RATED FROM MODEL # FROM EQUIPMENT RLA # COOLING RULES OF THUMB COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DUCT SYSTEMS DUCTS - Asbestos DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper DUCT INSULATION for SOUNDPROOFING DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe DUST FROM HVAC? ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEMS FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS HEAT LOSS (or GAIN) in BUILDINGS HEAT PUMPS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET INSPECTION CHECKLIST - OUTDOOR UNIT INSPECTION LIMITATIONS LOST COOLING CAPACITY What to check first Compressor failure diagnosis Duct & Air Handler diagnosis MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH OPERATING COST OPERATING DEFECTS OPERATING TEMPERATURES Air Conditioning System Temperatures Instruments Used to Measure A/C Temperatures Procedures for Making Temperature Measurements REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C REFRIGERANTS SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS SYSTEM OPERATION SWAMP COOLERS THERMOSTATS THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES CRITICAL DEFECTS on A/C SYSTEMS More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
This chapter of "How to Inspect the Central Air Conditioning or Cooling System" discusses the how to diagnose and replace a burned out air conditioner compressor, including evaluation of air conditioner compressor noises, hard starting, lost cooling capacity, and detection of a burned out compressor or A/C compressors at or near end of their life. Maintenance tips including attention to compressor support Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. How to Diagnose a Burned-Out Air Conditioning CompressorAir conditioner failure warning signs: Before an air conditioning compressor fails solid you may notice that the unit is hard-starting, particularly when starting against a head pressure (someone switched the system off while the compressor was running, then tried turning it right back on). See CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS and see MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH. Another sign of a failing air conditioning compressor is noisy motor operation, such as buzzing or clanking sounds coming from the outside unit housing the compressor motor. See NOISY COMPRESSOR UNITS. Another sign that might indicate a failing air conditioner compressor motor is an increase in the building's electrical bills even though the air conditioning system "on" time has not changed. See TIGHT or SEIZED AC COMPRESSORS. When a sealed compressor motor has "burned out" this means that the internal wiring of the motor has become irreparably damaged: the compressor motor windings may be burned and shorted together or shorted to the steel shell of the motor, or the windings may have burned and simply become "open" or disconnected. If the motor has burned out in either of these ways it needs to be replaced. When an air conditioning compressor has "burned out" by shorting of internal components - it will fail to start at all. This failure is detected by disconnecting all power and wiring from the unit and measuring resistance (ohms) between the motor start/common and run/common terminals. If there is zero resistance the winding is open or broken. If you measure the resistance across a compressor winding and your meter's needle is stuck over at infinity, or "OL"/"OVER" on a digital meter, that would indicate the compressor winding is open (burned through). The same effect can be observed from simply connecting the meter to absolutely nothing. If the resistance measured across the air conditioning compressor winding is too close to 0 ohms, it's shorted. The compressor should blow the fuse or trip the circuit breaker when power is turned back on. But watch out: we get field reports of equipment burn ups and even fires when the air conditioning circuit breaker for the compressor happens to be an old FPE Stab-Lok or Zinsco unit. If there is resistance between the motor terminal and the motor casing, the motor has become shorted to ground internally and the unit needs to be replaced. If there is no resistance between the start and run terminals to common, but there is resistance between the start and run terminals, this means that the internal motor overload protection circuit is open. In this last case, allow the motor to cool and re-test it before replacing it. See REPLACING A COMPRESSOR. Share this Article
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
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AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS Air Conditioning "How To" Books More Information InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
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