My air conditioner outdoor unit will come one for like 5-10 minutes, then turn off,?

Question

then, in 2 minutes, turn back on for like 30 seconds, then turn off, on for 30 seconds, off, on again for 5-10 minutes.... what the h**l is wrong with this thing? is it the thermostat, outdoor unit, indoor unit, what what what? help! btw, the outdoor unit is new, and the system was cleaned, as far as i know. i am not sure if the indoor unit was changed though

Answer 1

Sounds as if you could have a bad thermostat.  Get a new digital one.  They are easy to install and a decent one can cost as little as $20.00.  If that do-it-yourself fix doesn't work call an A/C man, because you could be low on "freon".

GTB above might be on to something  too

Answer 2

that could be it or the unit inside the house is not responding and so the compressor is trying to talk to it and cant so cuts off......call a tech

lc gen. contractor

Answer 3

if the outdoor unit is new you should call the company that installed it ,you should also have gotten a warranty.there could be a couple of problems loose wiring,bad internal overload switch,bad voltage relay,so call them.

Answer 4

Woops I didnt see the extra like where you mentioned the part that it cools a little too good.

Sounds like the guy above is close to the nail. The unit is too big and is short cyceling. You can test this theroy by jumping around your thermostat (R-Y) and see if it runs longer and cools even futher. If so you'll expieriance Cool Clamy feeling (like a cave dampness). This is like stated above due to not running long enough to remove the humidity in the air.

If your planning to add on or are not finished with building the problem will lessen when you enclose and add on to the home. Otherwise it being too big will either be the contractors fault (if he was licensed by the proper authority) or you'll be stuck having to foot the bill to go smaller if you let a friend do it or you did it yourself.

Also you say the outdoor unit is new. This could indicate that their maybe a problem with the inside coil or blower possibly. If the new unit has a low pressure switch it may drop pressure so quickly (if not sized with the indoor coil correctly in otherwords not a 4 ton outside and a 3 ton inside) the un it starves its self of refrigerant and has to wait til the TXV (assumeing it is so equiped) or other expantion devise lets enough refrigerant through to "cut it in". Also Im assumeing you have a matched refrigerant use inside and out and not crossed up with R22 inside and R410A outside?

Does it sound normal? Is there any hot air blowing out the top when it starts running and does it do it everytime or occationally does the air feel like its just the same as outdoor temp?

I suspect you have a bad run capicator or fan motor or both .

When you open the cover where the electrical you'll find a (usually) silver colored round or oval shaped piece with (usually) 3 to 4 wires comming to it. This is your run capicator. It has to be checked with a meter that reads micro-farrads. But if the top is buldged or it has been leaking oil its most likely bad and you need a new one. An AC-Refrigeration or Electrical supply will be the obvious place to get a replacement. The top will ahve terminasl designatiuons like HERM COM and FAN mark these colors and terminals down before you remove it.

If this checks out ok proceed to the fan motor. The motor has to tuirn the correct way and the leading edge is the one that scoops the air up into the props then pushes it on out and off the blade. Reread this while looking at the balde and I think you'll understand. Note the direction it needs to turn and then watch it and see if it turns correctly.

If this is ok Note the "stiffness" of the shaft turning on the motor. If it free wheels and has littler play side to side and up-down then the bearings aRE probably ok.

Some units have a 2 speed outdoor fan motor to"save electric" and it could be that the control that turns on the high speed isnt working. Find your wire diagram and look over it for the components you have or dont have. If its 2 speed motor and you feel comfortable trying this removbe the low speed wire and insoulate it then attach the high spped wire where the low speed was. If the control for speed is bad this will get you by til you can have it replaced.

Let me know if this helps cause it sure sounds like a fan motor to me.

Answer 5

Sounds to me like you need a new thermostat.

Answer 6

YOUR UNIT PROBABLY HAS A 'LOW PRESSURE CUTOUT'  AND YOU ARE A LITTLE LOW ON REFRIGERANT.  YOU THEREFORE MUST HAVE A LEAK.   I WISH YOU HAD A SIGHT-GLASS ON IT SO YOU COULD TELL ME IF I AM RIGHT FOR SURE.

Answer 7

It is too late to do much; the unit is too big for the space being cooled.  You reach the temperature where cooling is required so the thermostat turns the cooling unit on.  Shortly thereafter the desired temperature is reached and it turns off.

The problem with this set up is that you reach the temperature set point way before you have removed moisture from the air.  All this does is create wet and uncomfortable temperatures.  The unit is too big and the only solution is to replace the unit with a smaller capacity one.

Bigger is better may apply to some areas but it does NOT apply to sizing furnaces or air conditioners.  Proper sizing is critical in this field.  However most a.c. and furnace people will sell a larger than needed unit to satisfy the customer and fatten their wallet (and the consumer who is more like Tim the Toolman who feels "more power" is what is needed when this is not the case.).  As an engineer, who really knows what is going on, listen to the technical people and avoid the power crazy people who really do not know what they are talking about.

For you, the only solution is to replace the unit with a smaller one; a costly option but one that resulted from over sizing in the first place.

Answer 8

Sounds like you may have just had a service tech come out and clean and check your unit...if so...call them back out...they didn't service it right. It could be your thermostat...but they should have checked that too.