A compressor is the heart of an air conditioner system. It is the component that is responsible for cooling your room. It is located in the outside box along with the condenser and fan. This is also called the outer unit of AC system. A compressor is a reliable component of AC. So when you notice your AC compressor not working, it indicates that there is a serious underlying fault that needs to be corrected immediately.
There are various reasons behind AC compressor not working:
- Excess refrigerant flow : The compressor’s job is to compress the low pressure cool refrigerant into high pressure hot gas. Excess refrigerant means excess high pressure. This high pressure build up inside the compressor makes it go bad.
- Lack of lubrication: A compressor needs lubrication for proper operations. Lubricating oil is carried through the AC system and compressor by the refrigerant. The oil will not circulate without refrigerant. When the refrigerant is undercharged or leaks then the lubrication oil also leaks along with it. Less refrigerant means lack of lubrication which damages the compressor.
- Poor heat dissipation: The compressor compresses the cool low pressure gas into high pressure hot gas. This process produces heat. A clogged radiator or dirt covered fins or faulty fan (the ones responsible for keeping the outer unit cool and well ventilated) result in poor heat dissipation from the outer unit. This causes the temperature and pressure to shoot up and damage the compressor.
- Compressor contamination: Over time dust, dirt and impurities get deposited inside the compressor. This contamination hinders in the proper functioning of compressor. It also makes the compressor go bad.
- Over use & frequent on-off : Frequent on-off of air conditioner hinders in the working of compressor. Sometime long and continuous hour of operation heats up the outer unit. This overheating has adverse effect on the compressor.
It is a common practice that when the compressor fails you replace it with a new one. But before making the replacement, make sure that you find out the actual cause of failure and repair it. If the actual causes of failure i.e. refrigerant over flow, lack of lubrication, heat dissipation etc. are not corrected, then within no time your new compressor will also go bad.
Compressor change
”with”Split
