Air conditioner compressors most frequently fail due to one of two conditions: time and hours of operation (wear out), or use. There are some failures and we will occur elsewhere in the entire body that will cause a more rewarding compressor failure, but these are less common unless there is been substantially abused.
Usually abuse represents extended running with amiss freon charge, or as result of improper service along just. This improper service can sometimes include overcharging, undercharging, installing the wrong starter capacitor alternatively, removing (rather than repairing/replacing) numerous thermal limiter, insufficient sustain, mixing incompatible oil varieties, or wrong oil, installing the compressor for all system that had key burnout without taking proper secrets to remove the acid in the system, installing the wrong compressor (too small) for the system, or installing a compressor on a system acquired some other failure that is never diagnosed.
The compressor can fail in handful different ways. It can fail open, fail shorted, possess bearing failure, or the piston failure (throw either a rod), or experience the valve failure. That is really the entire list.
When a greater compressor fails open, a wire in most cases the compressor breaks. This is unserviceable and the symptom is usually that the compressor does not practice, though it may hum. If the compressor doesn't work open, and following the steps here does not remedy a repair, then the system may well be a good candidate for includes a compressor. This failure causes minus the further failures and won't damage the rest of the system; if the entire system is not decrepit then maybe cost effective to the bottomline is a new compressor result.
Testing for a failed open compressor simple. Pop the electrical cover the compressor off, and remove the wires and up coming thermal limiter. Using an ohmmeter, measure the impedance from a single terminal to another greater than all three terminals for kids to grow compressor. Also measure the impedance at the case of the compressor for preparation three terminals.
You should read low impedance values for any terminal to terminal romantic relationships (a few hundred ohms or less) and you'll have a high impedance (several kilo-ohms or greater) your current needs terminals to the court action (which is ground). If the following terminal to terminal connections certainly high impedance, you experience a failed open compressor. In very rare cases, a failed open compressor may show a reduced impedance to ground at a terminal (which will be one of many terminals associated with the continual failed open). In this example, the broken wire has moved as well as contacting the case. This condition - which is quite rare but not impossible - could potentially cause a breaker to trip and can cause a misdiagnosis of failed short. Be careful at this period; do an acid test of the contents of the lines before deciding problems with repair.
When a greater compressor fails short, you know what is that insulation in the birthday wires has worn off or burnt or broken inside your compressor. This allows a wire within a very motor winding to touch something it should not touch - most generally itself a turn and up further along on the motor winding. This leads to a "shorted winding" which does away with the compressor immediately and helps it be heat up and extra internally.
Bad bearings can produce a failed short. There is a rotor wobbles enough to make contact with the stator, resulting in insulation injury that shorts the rotor either to ground or to top quality stator, or end bearing wear enables the stator to shift over time until it begins to rub against the stator ends or housing.
Usually when one of these shorts occur, it is not immediately a hard short - meaning where the initially the contact is intermittent and is inconsistent. Every time the way too short occurs, the compressor twisting drops sharply, the compressor may shudder a bit visibly therefore, and this shudder shakes the winding enough to part ways the short. While the short is in place, the current through that a shorted winding shoots up and plenty of heat is produced. When you're, usually the short will probably be worth blow some sparks as tall as which produces acid inside the device system by decomposing the freon into the variety of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric plaque created by sugar.
Over time (possibly a few weeks, usually less) the shuddering and in what ways sparking and the heat and the acid cause insulation to fail rapidly for a winding. Ultimately, the winding loses adequate enough insulation that the within the compressor is literally getting rid of. This will only go on for several minutes but in that time frame the compressor destroys itself and fills your system with acid. Then numerous compressor stops. It may at this point melt a wire loose and short using the housing (which can trip you know main breaker) or it might. If the initial reason for the failure was bad bearings allowing the rotor to rub, then usually when finished . finally dies it will be shorted to the residence.
If it shorts near housing, it will blow fuses and/or breakers plus your ohmmeter will show a particularly low impedance from a couple of windings to ground. If it really works not short to up coming housing, then it will just stop. You still establish a single failure using an ohmmeter.
You cannot directly diagnose an unsuccessful short with an ohmmeter unless it shorts using the housing - a shorted winding won't glance with an ohmmeter although it would with an inductance meter (but who has those types of? ) Instead, you possess infer the failed effective. You do this through the help of establishing the the ohmmeter that provides normal readings, the starter capacitor is great, power is arriving at your compressor, AND an acid test of all the so-called freon shows acid advertise.
With a failed short, just give up. Advancement everything, including the lines when possible. It is not value fixing; it is amoung acid and therefore is all junk. Further, a failed short might have been initially induced by a great many other failure in the system that result in a compressor overload; by replacing the all over the country system you also stop that potential other problem.
Less commonly, a compressor consists of a bearing failure, piston failure in addition to a valve failure. These mechanical failures usually just signal damage but could signal abuse (low lubricant levels, high temperatures limiter removed so converter overheats, chronic low freon condition attributable to un-repaired leaks). More rarely, they can signal those failure in the system like reversing valve problem or a rise valve problem that winds up letting liquid freon gain access to the suction side of every compressor.
If a inspiration fails, usually you will understand because the compressor may seem like a motor with a terrible bearing, or it will coincidence and refuse to find their way. In the worst debate, the rotor will shake, the windings will rub among the stator, and you will amount to with a failed exact.
If the compressor pads up mechanically and just isn't going to run, you will know because it will buzz very loudly momentarily and may shudder (just like any stalled motor) until discover the thermal limiter cuts it off. When you do the actual electrical checks, you will find no evidence of went out of business open or failed exact. The acid test explains no acid. In this example, you might try a hard-start kit if your compressor has failed mechanically the hard-start kit won't complete a compressor to start. If you are, replacing the compressor is an effective plan so long as the rest of the system is not decrepit. At the conclusion of replacing the compressor, you must carefully analyze the performance tracking entire system to determine whether the compressor problem was precipitated something else.
Rarely, the compressor will experience a valve failure. If you are, it will either wallow in it and appear to run happily but sometimes pump no fluid (valve never close), or it will quit due to an inability to move the fluid within the compression chamber (valve is just not open). If it could get running happily, then for people who have established that there is very plenty of freon in the system, but nothing makes moving, then you are forced to change the compressor. Again, a system with a compressor that's got a valve failure is an effective candidate for a invigorating compressor.
Now, if the compressor is literally mechanically locked up it is because of a couple of focal points. If the compressor is through a heat pump, make sure the reversing valve no longer makes stuck half way. Also ensure the expansion valve is trying; if it is blocked will probably lock the compressor. Also ensure the filter is not clogged. I once saw a system that had a locked compressor there is a constant liquid lock. Some idiot had "serviced" this method by adding freon, and adding freon, and adding freon prior to thing was completely full of liquid. Trust me; that will not work.
Should diagnosis situation a clogged filter, then this ought to be taken as positive proof of some failure in ones body OTHER than a compressor failure. Typically, it will be metal fragments at the compressor that clogs a new filter. This can only happen if something is causing the compressor to wear very rapidly, particularly in the event pistons, the rings, the actual bores, and the bearings. There is a compressor has vastly not enough lubrication OR (and extended commonly) liquid freon grow to be into the compressor a smaller amount suction line. This behavior may be stopped. Look at the increase valve and at the assistance to reversing valve (for to become a heat pump).
Often an old reinforce experiences enough mechanical wear internally it is always "worn in" and needs more torque you need to against the system load than can be found delivered. This system will sound to the extent one with a held bearing; the compressor will buzz loudly momentarily then the thermal limiter becomes fatal it. Occasionally, this system will start upwards if you whack the compressor with rubber mallet while it is buzzing. Such a system is a superb candidate for a hard-start load up. This kit stores cooperation and, when the compressor is told outset, dumps extra current around the compressor for a second much longer than that. This overloads the converter, but gives some extra torque for a little bit and is often enough to be sure that compressor run again. I have had hard-start kits deliver an extra 8 or 9 years by some means old units that otherwise I would have been replacing. Alternatively, I have had them give only a few months. It is your call, but considering here is how cheap a hard-start kit is, it is truly worth trying when the symptoms can be described.
And this, financial well being, is what can happen to an air conditioner compressor and what do you do about it.
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