{"id":2825,"date":"2019-07-29T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/?p=2825"},"modified":"2019-11-25T12:00:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T17:00:44","slug":"reasons-ac-tripping-circuit-breaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/reasons-ac-tripping-circuit-breaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasons Your AC Keeps Tripping Its Circuit Breaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2826\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stripping-electrical-wire-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"installer-stripping-wire\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stripping-electrical-wire-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stripping-electrical-wire-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stripping-electrical-wire.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>One of the first things we recommend people check when their air conditioning system suddenly stops working (fans, compressor, all of it) is to check the electrical panel. The circuit breaker to the air conditioning system may have tripped and cut off the electricity. Resetting the tripped breaker will restore the AC to normal working order.<\/p>\n<p>But what if this keeps happening? If you\u2019re often walking to the electrical panel because the AC once again shut itself off, there\u2019s something wrong. It might be with the electrical panel itself\u2014if it\u2019s an old panel, ask an electrician to look at it and determine it\u2019s time for an upgrade. But it\u2019s more likely you\u2019re due for some good ol\u2019 <a href=\"\/service-areas\/irvine-ac-heating-plumbing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">air conditioning repair in Irvine, CA<\/a> from our skilled HVAC technicians.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>What Might Be Causing This<\/h2>\n<p>There are a few possible sources within the HVAC system that could cause a tripped breaker. Something is going wrong that is creating too much voltage demand on the particular circuit, forcing it to trip.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Clogged Air Filter \u2013 <\/strong>A clogged filter is behind many air conditioning troubles, and it\u2019s another part of the AC we frequently advise our customers to investigate. When the filter becomes so clogged that the blower fan has to work harder to draw in sufficient air, the stress this places on the blower motor is tremendous. If the blower motor shorts out, the circuit breaker will trip. Put in a fresh filter, and remember to change it every 1 to 3 months.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loose Wiring Connections:<\/strong> An air conditioner has its own circuit board and connections. During maintenance, HVAC technicians always tighten these connections and check the amperage on the system to make sure it\u2019s within normal parameters. If the connections loosen, it may lead to a short. This issue <em>must<\/em> have professionals repair it\u2014it\u2019s not safe to tamper with the wiring in the AC.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loss of Refrigerant:<\/strong> The refrigerant in an AC remains at a set level for the life of the system. At least, it <em>should<\/em>. If leaks occur and refrigerant escapes, it puts the entire system in jeopardy. As the AC loses cooling, the compressor must work harder, and this may cause a circuit breaker to trip. Let the AC experts find the leaks, seal them, and restore the lost refrigerant.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dirty Outdoor Coils:<\/strong> The outside coils are the condenser coils, where the fan draws air across the coils to release heat from them. When the coils are too dirty, the AC won\u2019t be able to release the heat drawn from inside the house to the outside. The air conditioner will soon overheat\u2014and you\u2019ll have a tripped breaker. Cleaning the coils needs to be left to professionals, since they must first detach the coils and then use special chemicals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dying Air Conditioner:<\/strong> If you have an air conditioning system that\u2019s more than 15 years old, the trouble may be that it\u2019s lost the ability to properly cool the house and is running harder to make up the difference. Constantly tripped breakers are a warning that it\u2019s time to consult with a pro to see about a replacement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Saddleback Plumbing has proudly served Orange County since 1981. <a href=\"\/contact\/service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Call us for fast AC repairs.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re often walking to the electrical panel because the AC once again shut itself off, there\u2019s something wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[247],"tags":[23,14,120],"class_list":["post-2825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-air-conditioner-repair","tag-air-conditioning-replacement","tag-irvine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2825"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2883,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2825\/revisions\/2883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}