Air Conditioner on-off-on-off-on-off

[steve-gold]

I have a 1989 SeaRay with factory A/C that works great when on and shuts off about every 20 min. The breaker switch kicks when the A/C cuts it's self off. The raw water inlet is clear and pick-up pump seems to be putting out okay. When I flip the breaker to on, A/C works great for the approx. 20 min. or so. I set the thermostat at different temps. with same results. Any ideas? Thanks-Steve

 

[gcboat]

Re: Air Conditioner on-off-on-off-on-off

Could be getting low on refrigerant or the coil is dirty. Of course there are a million other things as well but I'd take a look at those two first.

 

[Sig_Mech]

Re: Air Conditioner on-off-on-off-on-off

The breaker switch is a safety device that is there to protect your equipment and electrical system. If there were something terribly wrong with your ac then that breaker would trip as soon as you reset it. The fact that it trips every 20 minutes or so tells me that there something that is causing your ac to work a little harder than normal. Follow gcboat's advice and make sure the unit is clean and there is no dust plugging the coil. If you have a DVM and know how to use it check the current draw of the unit. If the draw is just a little above what the unit is rated at then it is a warning that the motor could use a thorough check up. Electrical equipment does get old and will work harder as it ages. Breakers also get old and finicky and sometimes need to be replaced.