What would cause the outside ac motor to run than stop than start up again and continue this random stop and start cycle constantly. The house stopped cooling
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How long does it run for when it runs?– WBTCommented Sep 7, 2015 at 13:27
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2 Answers
A few potential causes. Fan is not working. Compressor is frozen. Compressor is going out. Line is blocked. Very low on Freon.
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Given the detail provided by the OP, the brevity and accuracy of this answer is so satisfying!– N8sBugCommented Sep 7, 2015 at 12:40
Usually the condensor fan cycles due to excessive heat which causes an internal thermal overload to trip. This often comes from a bad run capacitor which could be a single cap for the condensor fan or part of a dual cap for the fan and the compressor. Without a good run capacitor the fan motor uses more amps and can overheat. A second possibility is bad bearings in the motor which again causes more motor winding heat and trips the thermal overload. In the second case, a new motor is needed. If the condensor fan is not running properly the compressor will also overheat or overpressure, end result bad cooling. Warning, power is 240vac and is poorly protected against human contact inside one of these units.
