[Shop-talk] AC compressor is tripping 20A breaker

[Jeff Scarbrough]

On Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 6:30 PM,  <shop-talk2 at mcfetridge.org> wrote:
>
>
> Any thoughts?  Suggested steps to investigate the issue?

1.  20 Amps is pretty small for a central air conditioning compressor.
 But no reason to believe it's undersized.

2.  A circuit breaker that trips due to overload will only flip
halfway or less.  It should be between on and off, in the middle
position.

3.  If it trips when starting, it's possible you have a bad starting
capacitor.  But if it trips and leaves the handle in the "On"
position, I'd suspect a bad breaker.  These ~usually~ cost between $5
and $10 -- a cheap enough thing to replace and see if it helps.

Is the trip consistent, or intermittent?

Jeff "Reddy Kilowatt" Scarbrough
Corrosion Acres, Ga.