SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA — Chances are you won’t think too much about your heating and cooling system until you notice something wrong with it. One of the problems that we get calls about is the unit turning on, running for a short period of time and turning off again — over and over again. “When an air conditioning system is rapidly starting and stopping, it’s called short cycling,” says Gabriel Carini, the founder and owner of our San Diego air conditioning and heating company. “It’s a problem because it shortens the overall life of your HVAC system and can drive up your energy costs.” There are several reasons that can cause a heating and air conditioning system to short cycle, but most of them can be prevented or corrected with a few simple steps. A short cycling unit may be the symptom of a refrigerant leak somewhere within the AC unit. The simplest fix is to add refrigerant and recharge the air conditioning unit; however, that is only a temporary solution.

Instead have an air conditioning repair and service technician find and repair the leak to prevent the refrigerant from leaking out again and causing the system to short cycle. When the evaporator coil or cooling coil of the unit gets covered in ice or frost, it can cause the unit to malfunction by turning on and off in short bursts. This can typically be fixed by turning off the air conditioning unit and letting the ice melt, then checking the air filters, cleaning or replacing dirty ones. When a unit is sized correctly, it is capable of removing the heat as quickly as it comes in to the home or business Ideally, the system should be able to keep up with the incoming heat without gaining on it. An over-sized unit will be able to cool the space too quickly and cycle on and off. Every time the system starts up again, it requires a lot of electricity, decreasing efficiency and increasing the electric bill. “Another drawback to an over-sized unit is that it may not run long enough to remove water from the air, which can result in humidity problems,” says Carini.

Sometimes short cycling is caused by an electrical fitting, control board or control switch that has been damaged, jiggled loose or completely broken. Simply replacing, repairing or reconnecting the fitting will resolve the problem and eliminate the short cycling. “Most of the causes of a short-cycling unit are issues that would have been inspected and fixed during a routine heating and air conditioning service,” says Carini. does my ac unit need a filter“Investing in biannual tune-ups and changing your air filter every month will keep your HVAC system from having this type of problem.”how to install ac unit outside Biannual tune-ups can be scheduled separately or purchased as part of the routine maintenance agreement. prices for window air conditioning unit

During a tune-up, the technician performs a 22 point inspection of the unit, making adjustments and minor repairs where needed. As for over-sized units, they can be replaced with a unit that is the proper size. If it needs any expensive repairs or if it is 10 or more years old, homeowners may be better off replacing the unit with a two-stage unit. “A properly-sized two-stage cooling unit is the ideal option for  homeowners who are replacing their unit anyway,” says Carini, who also specializes in business heating and air conditioning services. “These systems are very efficient and effective, particularly for people in San Diego’s relatively mild climate.” Two-stage cooling means that the air conditioning unit or heat pump has a compressor with a high setting for extra hot weather and a lower setting for milder weather. The maximum output is rarely needed for San Diego residents since temperatures are typically mild, so the system is running at the lower, more efficient setting.

“These systems are more efficient and less expensive to operate than regular systems, but they also provide more consistent temperatures and more effective humidity control,” says Carini. With some basic monthly maintenance tasks and twice a year service appointments, you can avoid most short cycling problems. If you need to replace your system, we would be happy to assess your home or business and discuss the options for your situation. © 2013 Gabriel Carini. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Gabriel Carini is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links. The Blower motor on my AC unit turns off at random times while the outside unit continues to run which is causing the coil to freeze up. The blower won't come on for 30-45 minutes after the AC has been turned off, but after that it seems to turn back on fine. I have been trying to track the problem down for the last couple months, but it literally only happens every 2 or 3 weeks.

Last night it stopped again and I tried to just turn the fan (from the thermostat) on without luck. I took a look at the blower and it seemed to turn just fine. I put my hand on the back of the fan motor and it wasn't hot to the touch. About 45 minutes after it turned off the blower came back and it was working normally. What could be causing this problem? I ended up calling a buddy of mine who is an HVAC tech and he pointed me in the right direction to check the fan wire on the back of the thermostat. I checked the wire and it was just hanging in the terminal. I'm pretty sure that was the cause of the problem. It makes sense because there wasn't anything wrong with the blower motor itself. The fan wire on the thermostat was in fact the problem. I fixed the connection and it has worked fine for the last 3 years. I have a ruud rheem heat pump, I had this same issue. The unit was installed in 2006. After going through the typical steps of checking air filters and electrical components on the unit, I found the wiring from the thermostat for the blower control to the control board was rusted in the wire nut.

I cut the wires and stripped them back and reconnected the wires and the AC unit is running with out any trouble now. Remember to keep it simple. HVAC service companies love these type of calls that an experienced tech can track down quickly. If you have a basic understanding of how circuits work you can fix this easily and save a bunch of cash. My central AC unit decided to stop on the hottest day of the year. It would start and run normally for a few minutes and then the blower would shut off. After checking the breakers, thermostat and overflow shut off (did not have one) I saw something about a blower motor capacitor. This was easy to get to and replace and my last hope before waiting for someone to come fix it. The capacitor cost $4.04 with tax and had my AC working again. Needless to say I was beyond happy. I hope this can help others with a similar problem. Check your drain lines for water run off. Make sure they are clear and then check the float for the excess water shut down reset them

Also check your ground. I just ran across an intermittent blower issue (cycling on and off constantly during call for heat from the thermostat) that was due to a poor ground connection on my 120 volt to 24 volt transformer on an old Janitrol furnace. The ground side of the 24 volt half of the transformer had 2 wires connected to it. The good one went to the mounting screw of the transformer. The bad wire went to the circuit board. It was bent over perpendicular just above the connecter, and many of the strands were broken. There was also some minor corrosion. Replacing these ground connections resulted in satisfactory operation. This was difficult to troubleshoot because operation was okay if the air filter was not in place, and the issue showed up only when an air filter was installed on the supply side (dirty or clean filters both had the intermittent problem). Thank you for asking. Your thermostat 24V wire line is lose, interrupted, broken or oxidized. Solution : disconnect old 24V line, and run new line, if this restores your blower motor function the old one was defective.