AboutHoward Livingston Expertise Can answer questions on electrical control circuits, power supply,airflow & distribution, electrical components,refrigerant problems,gas, electric & propane furnaces.No boiler or refrigerator or oil fired furnaces experience.Just HVAC questions please.
Experience 35 years experience in residential & light commercial repair & installation.
Question As the weather warmed we noticed our AC was not working on the main floor
(we have a separate unit upstairs). When I looked further i noticed the breaker
was kicked off. When I flipped the breaker back on, the unit worked (and
cooled) fine for about 5 minutes and then kicked the breaker off again. I tried
again with same results. Unit will stay on for 10 seconds to 5 minutes before
kicking breaker off. We moved into the house as new construction and just
passed the two year builder warranty mark last month (go figure). I am just
wondering if there is something simple I can check/replace before i get into
expensive repairs. Thanks
Answer Could be a bad capacitor on the outside unit fan. Have you watched the unit while it was running ?? Also check for loose screws on the power supply to the outside unit - both ends. If the capacitor is OK, the motor could be bad. My bet is on the run capacitor.
