Learning Center » A/C & Heating » What To Do When Your HVAC Compressor Won’t Turn OnWhat To Do When Your HVAC Compressor Won’t Turn OnIf your air conditioner is leaking into your room, it may not be installed properly. When the temperatures start to rise, a window air conditioning unit can be a convenient, affordable way to beat the heat. From time to time, though, problems may arise with your unit that affect its performance. Being able to troubleshoot your air conditioner can save you valuable time when you notice there's insufficient cooling. That way, you won't wind up frustrated -- and sweating -- in the middle of the next heat wave. Not Cooling Well If your air conditioner turns on but isn't cooling the room properly, check to see if the front of unit is blocked. Any item, including furniture, blinds or curtains, can restrict its airflow and reduce its cooling performance. If your unit isn't blocked and still isn't cooling effectively, however, check the condensing coils on the side of the unit.

Cool air must pass through the coils before exiting the unit, so if they are dirty, it may be difficult for the air to emerge. Over time, the coils are likely to become clogged with dirt, dust and lint, but you can clean them by removing the unit's cover and using a soft brush or can of compressed air to gently remove the debris. If your air conditioner still isn't cooling effectively, its air damper may be open. An open damper allows the air conditioner to draw in outside air, which can decrease its efficiency. Close the damper, and the unit's cooling performance should improve. No Air Blowing If you can hear your air conditioner running but it isn't blowing air into the room, there may be a problem with its fan motor. A window unit typically has two motors – the fan motor and the compressor motor. The compressor motor may be functioning, causing the unit to make running sounds, but the fan motor may be damaged. To check, turn the unit off and remove its cover. Try to rotate the fan blade by hand – if it's stiff and difficult to turn, you should have your fan motor replaced.

If you find that the fan blade is easy to turn, the motor's circuit is likely experiencing an electrical problem. The issue may be with the unit's selector switch, capacitor or the motor, so you should contact a licensed electrician to handle the problem. Water Sounds Inside Unit From time to time, you may hear water sloshing around in your window air conditioner unit. The sound may be alarming, but it's actually normal. Your window unit cools the room by drawing in warm, moist air and passing it through the indoor coil to cool it before blowing it back into the room. During the cooling process, moisture is removed from the air and usually collected in a pan at the bottom of the unit where it can be evaporated by the condensing coils. While the evaporation process is ongoing, it's common to hear water moving around inside the unit. You don't need to open the unit to try to remove the water – the only time to take action is if you notice water dripping out of the unit and into the room.

Water Dripping Into the Room While your window air conditioner is designed to evaporate most of the water that it removes from the air inside your room, excess water does build up inside the unit. The unit should be sloped slightly out the window so any excess drips outside the home. If you notice water dripping into your room, check to see if the unit is angled downward toward the room. where to buy wall unit air conditionersIf so, adjust it so it is sloped outside the window. ac unit plugYour air conditioner may also drip into your room if the filter is dirty, so you may need to clean or replace the filter to correct the problem. calculator for ac unitCompressor Overheating Troubleshooting | Air Conditioner RepairWhat you will learn from Compressor Overheating Troubleshooting article:

1) Avoiding the problem of compressor overheating 2) how does compressor overheating effect the refrigeration system? 3) diagnosing compressor overheating 4) repairing the problem of compressor overheating and future prevention 5) lots of related links to help you learn Compressor Overheating Troubleshooting | Air Conditioner Repair – There are some problems with air conditioner or heat pump compressors that can be avoided with proper maintenance. Other problems result in a mechanical or electrical problem with the systems that need to be resolved. Compressor overheating is an issue that can cause serious problems with your air conditioner or heat pump system. A compressor that overheats can still operate and provide cooling or heating but if the temperature inside the compressor rises too high then the oil in the compressor can break down and reduce the lubrication and cooling effect the oil has inside the compressor for proper and necessary lubrication.

This leads to possible mechanical failure and other problems that will occur to the compressor and in the refrigeration system that results from compressor overheating. When the oil becomes overheated it changes chemically. Through a lack of lubricating and cooling it becomes like an acid when the oil overheats. This eats away at the windings and will cause compressor failure.pressor Overheating Troubleshooting | Air Conditioner RepairThe check for excessively high temperatures is to take a discharge temperature on the discharge line at least 6 inches from where it leaves the compressor. Temperatures over 300° Fahrenheit inside the discharge port of the compressor means there is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.Related Link: Air Conditioner Compressor Troubleshooting - Diagnosis and Repair (opens in a new window) What are the causes of compressor overheating and how to fix it:High Head Pressure - This can be caused by dirty condenser coils, a bad condenser fan motor, a recirculation of air back into the coils, improper rotation of the condenser fan, non-condensibles (air, nitrogen or other gas)

, and an overcharge of the refrigeration system. Another thing found that can cause this is any extra heat source near the condenser such as a drier vent which can introduce extra heat into the system.I have a customer who called me for a bid to install a new system. The customer received 3 different bids from 3 different contractors. My competition got the contract and installed the new split system air conditioner. The next summer I got a call from that same customer asking me to check out their air conditioner. It seems my competitor had installed the condenser under a deck and near many bushes. The condenser could not breathe and the air and heat was simply recirculated back into the unit. Once the recirculated heat rises about outdoor ambient temperature you lose effective cooling because the condenser was no longer rejecting the latent heat picked up in the evaporator, suction line, and the heat from compression. I moved the unit to a better location and the customer called me later and told me the difference was like night and day.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out this problem for anyone and who knows why the competition chose that location but I used the experience to teach a few junior technicians about heat rejection and compressor overheating. I had them take temperatures and pressures and let them come to the conclusion of the main problem. Once the line was cut to move the unit I also had them test the oil to make sure it was acid-free. After all, when everything was said and done I did not want to have any warranty issues replacing a compressor because I did not do my homework.Improper Voltage - This can be a power company issue that needs to be corrected by the power company especially high voltage but low-voltage can be a problem in the circuits providing power to the compressor. Lose connections and corroded wires or terminal connections can cause low voltage and high amperage problems that result in compressor overheating. This can also be the result of a power company transformer issue along with the high voltage problem.

High Superheat - this can result from a low refrigerant charge, a restriction in the refrigerant piping or a faulty metering device. It can also result in a liquid line too close to a heat source such as hot water piping loops. In that case the liquid line needs to be insulated from the hot water piping or relocated.Short Cycling of Compressor - this can be caused by a low charge or faulty metering device. Air flow across the evaporator coil can also result in this issue and can be from a dirty or clogged air filter or frozen evaporator coil. A bad capacitor can also cause the problem.Other Possible Causes - A failure of the internal overloads inside the compressor or bad compressor valves can cause issues with overheating. These problems can be difficult to resolve in hermetic compressors without replacing the compressor. pressor Overheating Troubleshooting Additional TestingBoth hermetic and semi-hermetic compressors are difficult to troubleshoot sometimes and many times the problem is external to the compressor or a result of poor installation skills by the installation technician if the compressor was recently replaced or it is a split system where the system was evacuated by an HVAC technician.