Knowing How To Maintain Your AC Capacitor In Houston

Thoughtful Ideas To Maintaining Your Houston AC Capacitor

Capacitors are among the most crucial components to the majority of electro-mechanical machines, and your air conditioner certainly qualifies as one. Capacitors are utilized to store energy inside of an electrostatic field. Capacitors are often attached to motors, where they function as a means of stabilizing the voltage while also offering the jolt required to start up the motor at the start. In air conditioners, the capacitors are connected to the trio or primary motors, being the outdoor fan motor, the blower motor, and the compressor motor. Every one of these has two distinct capacitors; the start capacitor is there to start the motor up, while the run capacitor is what maintains smoothly running operations.

A failing capacitor is a very common culprit behind air conditioner malfunctions. Fortunately, if capacitor problems are caught in time, then a repair technician can swap the bad capacitors out easily for new ones, all without any drastic impact on the air conditioner. On the other hand, if a bad capacitor is just ignored, then you might wind up with a broken-down air conditioner in the middle of a warm-season when you really need it.

The Bad Capacitor Blues

What bad capacitors do more than anything else is what is known as ‘hard starting’ That’s when the AC compressor has a hard time getting fired up, so it stutters as it tries to turn on, but then it shuts off only a short time later? Hard starting can happen because of many various causes. The worst of them is a compressor that’s near the end of its service cycle, but bad start capacitors are the most frequent issue. Diagnosing a start capacitor as the issue isn’t always easy to accomplish. An industry technician can examine each capacitor to ascertain any visible damage, such as leaking oil, bulging, or splitting. They can also conduct electrical tests in order to be sure.

Any motor that’s connected to its run or start capacitor might still try to start, even if one or both capacitors failed. If this happens, the motor will hum, but it’s not going to run for very long. If this happens, then the motor is going to get hot and burn out over time, meaning that the whole motor is going to need replacement. If you personally witness this particular humming sound or notice that the motors don’t stay on, then you need to cease air conditioner operations and use right away before calling for immediate repairs.

A clicking noise might happen before a capacitor fails on you. This can actually alert you to the issue before the fans or compressor stop functioning.

Capacitors have to get replaced in most cases of issues, be it the loss of charge or just damage. This is something best left in the hands of industry professionals, who can determine the best replacement and can take care of the safe removal of the old one. A capacitor leaking oil is dangerous, and not something that you want to touch.

Call us for AC repair services in your community. You can also check our blog for more related content. We can handle failed capacitors and anything else that’s getting in the way of your home to staying cool.