Compressor
Scroll and reciprocating compressors: starting, windings and amps.
AC Breaker Keeps Tripping: How to Find Out Why
How to diagnose an air conditioner or heat pump that keeps tripping its breaker: a grounded compressor, a locked rotor, a shorted fan motor, wiring faults, high head pressure or a weak breaker.
AC Short Cycling: Why the Compressor Turns On and Off Too Often
How to diagnose an air conditioner or heat pump that short cycles, using how long it runs and what stops it: thermostat problems, safety switches, low charge, airflow, and oversizing.
How to Clean an AC Condenser Coil the Right Way
How to clean a condenser coil without damaging it, which cleaners to use on copper-aluminum vs. all-aluminum coils, how to tell when it's dirty, and what a dirty coil does to pressures.
Replacing a Run Capacitor or Contactor: How to Pick the Right Part
How to choose a replacement run capacitor (µF, voltage, dual vs. single, size) and contactor (coil voltage, poles, amp rating), with the common mistakes that bring callbacks.
Servicing R-22 Systems in 2026: Recharging, Retrofits and Repair-or-Replace
What you can and can't do with an R-22 air conditioner or heat pump today, where R-22 comes from now, how retrofit refrigerants work, and how to help a customer decide between repair and replacement.
AC Compressor Not Starting: Humming, Clicking or Nothing at All
Diagnose a compressor that won't start by what it does: humming points to capacitor or locked rotor, clicking to overload, silence to the control circuit.
AC Not Cooling? A Step-by-Step Diagnostic Checklist for Techs
Work an AC no-cool call in the right order, from the thermostat call to airflow, electrical and refrigerant charge, without guessing.