Another AC problem?

ok it seems the fellas who answered my post wasnt so....suggestive with thier help at all..this is my problem..just got the thing serviced about a week ago..right now..the temp outside is like 80 85 degrees..my air conditioner at night ..runs like a dream..but in the hot daytime hours..it only runs cool for about 5 mins..then kicks off with a jerking and jiggling..then kicks back on again...for 2 3 mins and repeats this process for all day til night falls..to me it doesnt sound normal...and i know crap about ac's..this isnt healthy at all if u ask me.off for 3 mins.on for 2 mins cold...this process repeats over and over all day..my ac in the bedroom runs very nice.im on yahoo messenger now.i really need help with this..add me @
jon_black2002ATYAHOO>COM

sorry guys...its a window air conditioning unit

if it was just serviced call them they apparently f-d something up

Chances are that your thermostat just isn't controlling it properly. But the good news is that you can troubleshoot it and clean the essential parts of it.

Check out the article "Troubleshoot and Fix a Thermostat" on the link below.

Do you have a programable thermostat-- If so maybe its set that way.

First make sure the condensor fan is running during the day when it is hot. The condensor fan motor may be shutting down due to overheating. If this is the case, you need to replace the fan motor. If that's not it, your condenser itself is turning off due to the heat. Also check to make sure the aluminum fins on the outside edge is not bent or crushed which can reduce the cooling power for the condenser. You can buy a comb to straighten out the aluminum fins. Make sure there are no debris inside the condenser housing. Vacuum out inside the housing so it is free of all debris. Lastly replace the circuit breaker for the air conditioner. It may have degraded to a point when it gets hot, it stops functioning correctly thus not providing enough electricity. This is all based on central air conditioning system.

It seems rather obvious to me that it is overheating since it stays running in the evening when outside temp is cooler.

Others are correct that the condenser coils could be plugged up. That end of the fan pulls air in the sides of the a/c and OUT the back through those coils so the lint and dirt collects on the INSIDE of that coil and they may appear clean on the outside but actually are plugged up.

If they ARE clean I suspect there is a high temp limit on the condenser coils that is failing, it is tripping at too low a temperature when it is hot out.

It could be as simple a fix as moving that limit which is likely just clipped on to the condenser, the outside coil. If it is located too close to one end of the coil, the hot end coming off the compressor all that may need to be done is moving it to a cooler spot on the coil.

Small window units likely don't have that over heat limit but higher BTU units like thru the wall units often do have it.

The fan motor running too slow is possible. But the motor operates both fans, inside and out, has fans on both ends of the single shaft, so you might notice the lower inside air flow.

You do want to operate the fan on high setting when running it for cooling the condenser outside, not just to blow more inside.

The two other possibilities for short cycling are less likely. It could be the thermostat up against the evap. But that should get worse in the evening, not better. Or the overload on the compressor could be short cycling but that shouldn't change with the outside temp.. It is sensing the compressor and should not be THAT sensitive.

One problem is that once the short cycling starts you ARE overheating the overload on the compressor with frequent restarts and as you noticed then the short cycling on itself.

I have had to add a start delay to some units to cure this. Adding that leaves it off for 5 or 10 minutes and lets it cool down so the short cycling doesn't become self sustaining.

As a tech for a first test I would pull that high temp loose from the coil to see if it keeps running then if it does I would relocate or replace it.

Other than that it takes a meter to see what is opening up, whee the power is dropping out .

But best guess it is a condenser not cooling well or the sensor on it is bad or in the wrong spot.

Good Luck.