Air condition low voltage?

Question

my ac compressor keeps shutting down and does not fire back up for at least one hour, the ac maintenance told me the reason is low voltage, although the voltage reading with no load is 215V, what happens on the avometer of the maintenance guy is the following : when the compressor starts, there's humming and some rattling, and the voltage keeps decreasing gradually from 215V to almost 190V, and the current keeps increasing gradually from 9A (nominal value) to 17A, can someone tell me if there's something i can do to remedy this situaition, is there a piece of equipment i can purchase that can help the ac run in a low voltage environment ?

Answer 1

Are you powered off of the mains???

The amps climbing is a sign that the motor is working harder and harder, but this is not unexpected as its a compressor and the more you compress the harder the motor has to work to keep moving the compression pump.

The volts dropping off may be a sign that your power supply can't handle the power draw of the motor. The generator would have to drop the volts (reduce excitation) to maintain the current

If you are powered of of the mains it could be a sign that the cabling you are using is increasing its resistance due to heating up (i.e. you need thicker cabling) You must check that the wiring can handle the FLC (full load current) of the compressor.

It also needs to be de-rated depending on its routing. You could cause a fire easily if you are using to fine a gauge of wiring.

Also, there is a pressure regulator in the compressor, you will not continue running until the pressure drops below a certain point otherwise you would run the motor or vessel to destruction.

More info would help to diagnose your problem.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

  The problem is either in the compressor or the motor.

   You can't remedy it by altering the voltage you must find the problem or it will quit eventually.

Answer 3

Some compressor motor runs with a capacitor. If it leaks and dry out (no more capacitance or has a bit ),compressor shall not start smoothly. Second possible reason is the thermo-switch was defective,replece it or jump start to try.

The repairman was wrong !!!!  air conditionor was designed able to start from 190v to 240v. At 190v, just less cool compare to 240v.

Answer 4

either the compressor is bad, or you have bad wiring in your house.

Have an electrician check the wiring. 215 is low to start, it should be 230 volts. 190 volts indicates a large drop somewhere, and a lot of power lost, which shows up as heat. In other words, some wires are getting very hot somewhere.

If rewiring is not possible, you need to switch to a smaller AC.

.