Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - A/C tripping inside breaker
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Mom2twins97
07-10-02, 10:05 PM
I have read through the past posts and haven't exactly found the answer to my problem. We started out yesterday with the a/c (it's electrical) not blowing cold enough air and when we went to shut off the entire unit discovered that the outside unit would not switch off. Finally used the outside breaker to shut down the unit for the night until the repairman could arrive today.
Had an a/c guy out today and he replaced the contactor, the capacitor for the contactor, charged the freon and put on new electrical connections. All was working fine when he left, but once the house cooled down and the unit shut off, the breaker in the garage breaker box tripped off as soon as the a/c came back on. Now, it is tripping off just about every time that the unit goes on to cool the house. Once we go outside to the garage and flip the breaker, it stays on until the next time it shuts off and then switches back on. My husband replaced the breaker, but it is still giving us the same problem, only this time, the breaker makes a loud noise and then gives us a hard time flipping back on.
The unit is around 12 years old. We moved into the house about three years ago and have had to have something worked on with it every summer.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Had an a/c guy out today and he replaced the contactor, the capacitor for the contactor, charged the freon and put on new electrical connections. All was working fine when he left, but once the house cooled down and the unit shut off, the breaker in the garage breaker box tripped off as soon as the a/c came back on. Now, it is tripping off just about every time that the unit goes on to cool the house. Once we go outside to the garage and flip the breaker, it stays on until the next time it shuts off and then switches back on. My husband replaced the breaker, but it is still giving us the same problem, only this time, the breaker makes a loud noise and then gives us a hard time flipping back on.
The unit is around 12 years old. We moved into the house about three years ago and have had to have something worked on with it every summer.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Sparksone42
07-11-02, 05:32 AM
Hi Mom,
Did you look at the bussbar behind the circuit breaker when you installed the new breaker?? If the bussbar shows any sings of burns it will need to be replaced!! You say that you had an a/c repairman out yesterday, did he put an amprobe on the unit while it started and while it was in operation?? If he did they usually write down the current draw that they saw. Take a look at your repair order and see if they did this for you. If they did, take those numbers and go out to your unit and locate the nameplate on the unit (Hopefully it's still readable) and see if the numbers they wrote down exceed the numbers on the nameplate related to the FLC or FLA. The stand for fulll load current and full load ampereage. If the number are within the limits the manufacturer specifies then it is time to call an electrician and let him take a look at the circuit. It is also possible not probable though that the repairman installed the incorrect capacitor. I mention this only because it is a possibility, it is a rare circumstance that the incorrect capacitor is installed. If a capacitor of a different value than that which they replace is installed, it could cause the problems that you are having. If he didn't have the right one on the truck it's possible he could have installed one with a different value that could cause this problem. The capacitor aids the compressor in starting. Again, don't call him and say you installed the wrong thing!!!
I have to be honest, it sounds like your condensing unit is on it's way out. If it's drawing enough current at start up to trip a new circuit breaker, that's usually a sure indication of the unit starting to fail. It may still be possible to get some extra life out of it!!! You may want to call the a/c man and ask him to install what is called a hard start kit on the compressor. This kit will aid the compressor in starting and help reduce the current draw at startup.
Based on experience it sounds like you could benefit from the hard start kit. If this kit helps then start a savings account because this is only a stopgap, that unit will ultimately fail and need to be replaced.
Before you make any calls though since, you replaced the circuit breaker, go and check your work first. Many time the homeowner will do work in conjunction with an outside contractor and blame the contractor for a subsequent problem, call the contractor back out only to find the slipup was on the homeowners part. Check the breaker and the bussbar again. Make sure that all of the wire terminations are thight(professional torque the connections to the manufacturers standards, using a torque wrench or a torque driver) and the breaker is seated properly and firmly.
Good Luck
Did you look at the bussbar behind the circuit breaker when you installed the new breaker?? If the bussbar shows any sings of burns it will need to be replaced!! You say that you had an a/c repairman out yesterday, did he put an amprobe on the unit while it started and while it was in operation?? If he did they usually write down the current draw that they saw. Take a look at your repair order and see if they did this for you. If they did, take those numbers and go out to your unit and locate the nameplate on the unit (Hopefully it's still readable) and see if the numbers they wrote down exceed the numbers on the nameplate related to the FLC or FLA. The stand for fulll load current and full load ampereage. If the number are within the limits the manufacturer specifies then it is time to call an electrician and let him take a look at the circuit. It is also possible not probable though that the repairman installed the incorrect capacitor. I mention this only because it is a possibility, it is a rare circumstance that the incorrect capacitor is installed. If a capacitor of a different value than that which they replace is installed, it could cause the problems that you are having. If he didn't have the right one on the truck it's possible he could have installed one with a different value that could cause this problem. The capacitor aids the compressor in starting. Again, don't call him and say you installed the wrong thing!!!
I have to be honest, it sounds like your condensing unit is on it's way out. If it's drawing enough current at start up to trip a new circuit breaker, that's usually a sure indication of the unit starting to fail. It may still be possible to get some extra life out of it!!! You may want to call the a/c man and ask him to install what is called a hard start kit on the compressor. This kit will aid the compressor in starting and help reduce the current draw at startup.
Based on experience it sounds like you could benefit from the hard start kit. If this kit helps then start a savings account because this is only a stopgap, that unit will ultimately fail and need to be replaced.
Before you make any calls though since, you replaced the circuit breaker, go and check your work first. Many time the homeowner will do work in conjunction with an outside contractor and blame the contractor for a subsequent problem, call the contractor back out only to find the slipup was on the homeowners part. Check the breaker and the bussbar again. Make sure that all of the wire terminations are thight(professional torque the connections to the manufacturers standards, using a torque wrench or a torque driver) and the breaker is seated properly and firmly.
Good Luck
Mom2twins97
07-14-02, 09:26 PM
Thanks for your help!
I called the a/c guy out again and he put in the hard start kit. It was pulling 60amps and that took it down to 18.1. He also checked the breaker in the garage and discovered that the wires were not tightly attached whatsoever. So, he tightened them and now all with the a/c has been great. Unfortunately, the breaker that is just next to the a/c breaker (it controls the dryer and the oven and it's wires were tightened up the other day, also) has now tripped and wouldn't flip back on. So, replaced the breaker, it works now, but when the dryer is turned on it makes a buzzing sound at the breaker. (I have posted in the electrical forum, but if you have any hints or tips, please advise!)
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks! Appreciate all of the help found here.
I called the a/c guy out again and he put in the hard start kit. It was pulling 60amps and that took it down to 18.1. He also checked the breaker in the garage and discovered that the wires were not tightly attached whatsoever. So, he tightened them and now all with the a/c has been great. Unfortunately, the breaker that is just next to the a/c breaker (it controls the dryer and the oven and it's wires were tightened up the other day, also) has now tripped and wouldn't flip back on. So, replaced the breaker, it works now, but when the dryer is turned on it makes a buzzing sound at the breaker. (I have posted in the electrical forum, but if you have any hints or tips, please advise!)
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks! Appreciate all of the help found here.