Your home's air conditioner contains a fuse that helps protect it from sudden power surges. It works like the fuses in an electrical panel. When too much electricity runs through the fuse, it will immediately blow and prevent any more electricity from reaching your air conditioner. This protects the wiring and electrical components inside from overheating as they receive too much electricity.
Unfortunately, you'll need to replace the blown fuse before you can use your air conditioner again. While air conditioner fuses are inexpensive, having to replace an air conditioner fuse frequently is a major annoyance. If your air conditioner keeps blowing fuses, read on to find out what can cause it.
Bad Capacitor
One of the most common reasons why an air conditioner repeatedly blows fuses is a bad capacitor. An air conditioner's compressor motor uses a large amount of electricity when it first starts. The capacitor next to the compressor motor stores electricity and delivers it to the motor when your air conditioner turns on.
When an air conditioner capacitor goes bad, the capacitor or compressor motor may draw too much electricity when the air conditioner turns on. The resulting surge in electricity through the air conditioner's fuse will cause it to blow.
Short In The Air Conditioner's Electrical Wiring
A short in your air conditioner's electrical wiring can also cause it to blow a fuse. A bare wire inside the air conditioner that's touching metal, for example, will cause a short. A short causes a massive sudden power draw as electricity tries to go to ground through the short, and this power draw will be large enough to cause the fuse inside the air conditioner to blow.
Compressor Or Fan Motor Is Drawing Too Much Electricity
The fuse inside your air conditioner may blow if the motor that runs the fan on top of the outside unit or the motor that runs the compressor is drawing too much energy. This can happen when motors get old and are near failure. The combined power draw between the compressor motor and the fan motor will overload the fuse inside the air conditioner, causing it to blow.
If you find yourself needing to replace the fuse in your air conditioner frequently because it keeps blowing, call an AC service in your area and have your air conditioner inspected. An HVAC technician can use a multimeter to check the electrical wiring, capacitors, and motor in your air conditioner to find out what's causing the sudden power draw that results in a blown fuse. After fixing the source of the problem, you'll be able to use your air conditioner again without having to worry about constantly replacing blown fuses.
Contact an HVAC repair service to learn more.
Share4 May 2023
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