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What An Air Conditioning Repair Technician May Do About A Bad AC Contactor

The contactor in the condenser controls when the condenser turns on and off. It does this by controlling the flow of electricity to the compressor and condenser fan. When the contactor fails, no electricity can get to the parts in the condenser and your air conditioning unit won't start up. Read on to find out where the contactor is located, what it does, and how a bad one is replaced.

The Contactor Is Easy To Find 

There aren't too many parts in the condenser, so the contactor is easy to find. The air conditioning repair technician has to remove the service panel from the side of the unit. The condenser and capacitor along with a lot of wiring are right behind the panel. This makes it easy to check the part for damage and to replace it when necessary.

The Contactor Lets Power In The AC

When the contactor receives a signal from the thermostat, it opens and lets power from the disconnect box flow into the condenser. If the contactor is bad, it won't open and let power in. Without power, your AC won't do anything and the condenser will be dead. A contactor can wear out due to old age, an electrical surge, or some other damage. Sometimes a contactor gets stuck in the on or off position. No matter why the contactor died, it has to be replaced.

The Contactor Can Be Tested And Replaced

The air conditioning repair technician can test the contactor with a multimeter to verify that it's bad. When they're ready to change the contactor, they have to shut down the power to the AC. This is usually done by pulling the fuses from the disconnect box. Then the wires can be removed from the contactor so the contactor can be pulled out of the condenser.

The new contactor can be mounted, and all the wires replaced. Power is restored to the condenser and the air conditioning repair technician may adjust the thermostat to trigger the contactor to make sure everything is working okay with the new part. If for some reason the AC still doesn't come on, the technician needs to look at what else is wrong that's contributing to the problem. Something may have caused the contactor to fail.

The repair technician might check the electrical panel, disconnect box, and fuses. They may also consider the thermostat wire and the control board in the air handler. By troubleshooting and ruling things out, the air conditioning repair technician can find the trouble-making part and replace it too so your AC will start up and run.

Speak to a service to learn more about air conditioning repair.  


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