When you’re dealing with a bad air conditioner compressor, it’s best that you hire a licensed technician to help you fix the problem. Having a professional come to check out your AC unit is the best way to ensure that this is indeed the problem. Bad air conditioner compressors are one of the most misdiagnosed components in AC systems. Sometimes, technicians will diagnose the problem as a bad compressor, but that in fact isn’t the problem. This is why it’s important to hire a highly-trained technician from a reputable AC repair and AC Maintenance in Daytona Beach, FL company.
The type of compressor you have in your AC comes down to the type of unit you have. For instance, rotary compressors can be found in AC window units, which are rather inexpensive and durable. What you’ll commonly find in the lower efficiency split AC’s is the reciprocating compressor. These too are quite inexpensive, but aren’t that durable. For the higher efficiency units, you’ll find the scroll compressor, which is very efficient and durable, which means they’re more expensive.
Whatever type of AC unit and compressor you have, it’s important that you have your air conditioner diagnosed by a professional. This is the best way to get a positive answer to the problems you are witnessing with your air conditioning system. When having diagnosis done for a bad air conditioner compressor, a multimeter is needed in order to measure the resistance. This will determine if the compressor has an electrical issue. First, the power has to be shut off before removing the terminal cover, where the tech can see whether the wires have been damaged.
When it is found that the resistance is higher than usual, then the tech will have to see if the compressor is hot. If so, then it’s possible that the internal overload is open. The unit will have to cool down before the technician continues. Readings will have to be taken from all the terminals to the compressor’s body. If readings are showing low resistance, then it’s possible that the motor is grounded and that it’s the compressor that needs to be replaced.
Having a bad air conditioner compressor replaced can be done with the help of a licensed HVAC professional. Some people try to do this on their own, but this isn’t recommended, especially if this is something you have never done before. The replacement of a bad air conditioner compressor consists of shutting off the power, recovering the system’s refrigerant. This is done by attaching a recovery unit to the system to pump the refrigerant into a storage cylinder.
Removing and replacing a bad air conditioner compressor is a process that’s best handled by experienced professionals. There are many mistakes that can be made, such as not complying with the U.S. EPA regulations for properly removing and storing the AC’s refrigerant.
