Condenser Short Cycling - 10 Possible Causes

[@emmaa427]

Thx for sharing your vast knowledge and experience!! God bless!!

[@petem1250]

Watched this Video, checked my drain. It was plugged up, blew air and pushed water through the drain pipe - cleared it up, restarted the unit and BAM - back in business. YOU ROCK!

[@Klub777]

Same here. Thank you for the video! Draining some water out and clearing the clog was a lot cheaper than having a technician come out!

[@stevencagle1031]

I noticed my condenser short cycling last night while I was putting out my debris fire. It was so cold, I had to break ice out of the hose to get water flow. I found your video last night and took notes this evening. This is a great resource and I now have a decent checklist to start troubleshooting in the next few days. For now, I'm burning fuel running our gas logs and keeping the downstairs unit turned down to avoid potential damage to the unit. For anyone who hasn't yet watched, be sure to catch his joke at the end.

[@dmitryburak]

Thank you! I went through the most things you described. Batteries, thermostat, loose wires, control board, tested a capacitor, was going to open the duct to check coils thinking it's either compressor, fan motor or leak. $$$$. Then I checked a contactor plunger and there was a fried bug or a cockaroach, preventing plunger from making a contact. I pulled it out, and my ac finally started working! I was going to sleep in my basement this night, the temperature went to almost 30 degrees. You saved me a few hundred bucks, thanks a lot!

[@slider30189]

Great video Jay! My problem was a clogged condensation drain. You saved me a service call and most likely a huge bill. You are the man! I was able to fix it without breaking a sweat!!!!

[@tomrueff2912]

Excellent ,this 74 year old Tech. was reminded what he forgot... Great advice..Blessings TR

[@katerendon1179]

Omg solved it in the first 2 minutes. Jiggled the wires in the thermostat and it fixed. You just saved me the $75 payment on my home warranty plus a half day of missed work. Bless you

[@dangkadventures6787]

broooo! you have some of the best content on hvac I've found so far. This is like a goldmine of information for me as I'm about to start my hvac program next year in school. Thank you so much for the easy to understand and detailed information and also making learning a bit more fun/exciting

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Haha that's great! Glad to hear that my videos were a good find :) Good luck in school! I am sure you will be on top of your class if you are already self-studying like this.

[@thejagc3736]

@@WordofAdviceTV hi I switched on the ac it turned on and after few seconds there was a rattling sound .. and I found that the outdoor unit was stopped ... So I again switched on my ac .. I went to see what happens to the outdoor unit the compressor started switch on but the fan doesn't switched on .. and it's seems like that the compressor is running High speed .. after 10 second with rattling sound the compressor switched of ?

[@proto718]

I had a commercial tenant that had a short cycling issue, then a few days later , I noticed that it was running normally. But I knew she didn't call a tech to repair it because she is cheap as hell. I took the panel off the condensing unit and saw that some Einstein wedged the contact down . Problem solved until I took the wedge out. I told her " Your not going to burn my building down to stay cool." You never know. Greetings from NYC. Keep up the good work!!

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Oh boy.. That's a quick way to get it fixed! Good that you were paying attention, just like you said, that could have caused damage later. Thank you for sharing! (I appreciate the greetings from NYC! :) Stay cool!

[@blitzcourt5021]

Maybe listen to your tenants then?

[@alanjackson4397]

You are the best Hvac videos on the Internet thank you much

[@WordofAdviceTV]

You're welcome! Thank you for watching and commenting Alan! Glad to hear the videos are good! I'll try to make more of the same ;)

[@user-zb1uo1oq5z]

This guy is awesome, I have watched his videos regarding other HVAC and Hot Water Heater repairs. This morning I had to address an A/C Condenser with short cycle symptoms his insight got me through it again. Thank you for your help video

[@toddinthemiddle]

just by sifting through the comments, i was able to resolve my a/c's short cycling issue, by rigging my thermostat batteries with some tin foil, since it was showing a "replace batteries" message, and i have no AA's. the unit is running better than it has in weeks. bravo to this channel and its commenters.

[@TheMargo420]

I opened my thermostat and it was very dusty/dirty. I cleaned it but that didn't stop the short cycling.I am going outside now to stare at the unit and hope it speaks to me because I have no knowledge at all about HVAC. I figure I'll be a pro after I watch all of your videos! What a great service you provide! Thank you!

[@TheMargo420]

I noticed the fan turned off after a few seconds BUT something continued running very quietly. i could hear it cycling but whatever I heard running stayed on. There was no ice , just some wet leaves in the bottom of where the fan is.

[@thidra85]

Did you figure out what was wrong?

[@user-dx9uz6kx8f]

Followed all the steps you mentioned and it worked. You're a life saver Sir

[@merycastro2608]

Thank you so much . For sharing your knowledge. Guys like you help people avoid getting ripped off on unnecessary repairs . God bless

[@J.Allen_]

Very good thank you. The only thing lacking was describing what a compressor side issue vs control side issue vs blower issue. Isolating these areas would help and save a huge amount of time troubleshooting. Add power :: breakers and fuses to that list. Just my 2c from the engineering side.

[@luislujan8715]

Rewatching the video and taking notes as I would like to enroll in HVAC next semester and I hear about a lot of bad professors. Learning on your own is the best.

[@desilakeithjlakeith5735]

My problem was the safety switch ,water wasn’t draining out from the unit . Glad you mentioned it I’ve would have never guess it.

[@davidr.169]

Thanks for the video, I changed the batteries on the thermostat and it started to work again.

[@ydabble]

I cannot say thank you enough. Being a woman trying to take care of her home and not get ripped off, you have been so helpful.

[@lasellepigford3649]

Thanks!!! Mine was my thermostat. The battery was corroded and the terminal on the circuit board had allot of corrosion on it as well. Cleaned everything up and bam!! No more short cycling. Thanks man. You saved me a service call and who knows what they would’ve claimed was the issue and tried to over charge me in the process 😅.

[@zebragozt5284]

You are wonderful for sharing your knowledge with us struggling with one or more of the problems you hit on.

[@MrRondeezzee]

Sir love your videos, I'm almost a pro now with all the issues I've had. I talked with you about the contactor not pulling in consistently. Turned to be a faulty contactor. Changed and now I'm all good now. Thanks for your help.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Hey Ron! Glad to hear you got it fixed and my videos helped in the process! :) Hopefully the AC won't have anymore problems for the next 10 years or so! But if it does, I am sure the next time around you won't let it push you around ;)

[@richard-nf1lb]

Thanks for all the helpful information!

[@marcelavaldivia5456]

Wow your information on AC is awesome it was so easy to understand . Thank you so much 💓 My problom was my AC keept turning on and off and it was set 77 and room temperature is 77 it keept turning on and off. It was the Battersies

[@sup8447]

Just want to say you're awesome, thank you so so much for all your work and time that you put in your videos. They have saved me and my family so much money and I love learning how got fix my own stuff.

[@valkyrie6605]

A technician came to my house said it was the fan engine and quote me $395, so I don’t know anything about ac units so I assumed that it was a fan, so he supposed to come tomorrow to install the new fan, well guess what I changed the batteries on my thermostat and all of the sudden the broken fan started to work, and it’s been working for the last 6 hours, on off, on off, I canceled the tech work order and you saved me some bucks and I appreciate it!!!

[@jakelel8176]

Awesome video as usual! Thank you for posting! Two more things I can think off the top of my head: Blower motor not working can cause LPS to trip, and a compressor or fan delay board in the condenser could cause short cycling as well.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Thank you for the additional possible causes! Much appreciated!

[@deepnpla]

How can I test to see if the blower motor is going bad? My unit is cycling on and off. The blower motor comes on for about 15 seconds and the turns off. It also cycles with the thermostat removed.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

@@deepnpla The easiest way to check would be to try to "hotwire" it and see if it runs without stopping. This only works if you don't have a variable speed ECM motor though. In this video I do just that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gITKfXqKdsd3fJo

[@jenniferhightower2469]

Thank you so much. I went outside with some cleaning spray. Sprayed thru the vents, got a water hose and spared behind the cleaner and BAM FIXED👏👏👏👏👏

[@jericosha2842]

Thanks for taking the time to make your videos. I'm devouring them.

[@rbilardo47]

Thanks for all of your information. Last week I had new service lines installed because I had a leak underground, men didn't put a filter drier because they didn't have one on the truck. Next day unit blowing hot air, a different service man came and found that the condenser seal was blown and lost all gas. 2 days later he came back with a new condenser and installed it and also a filter drier, unit seemed to be working fine. Next day unit was short cycling, I replaced the thermostat, still no good. A new A/C tech came out ( same company) as soon as I told him what was happening he said, "sounds like it's overcharged". He drained and weighed all freon and we found that, my unit called for 4 lbs 2 oz, he pumped out 7 lbs, 8 oz. He then pulled a vacuum and recharged system with proper amount of freon and unit still working fine, you can add that problem to your list. If you have any comments about what happened here, please let me know. Thanks again. What would cause the condenser seal to blow? That would be a good video. :-)

[@samsonandarige396]

Men , you are the best. Am new tech. Today we went out PM job, one of the condenser unit has short cycling issue, sure enough, after I heard you , we checked the thermostat, change the battery, the problem solved. Thanks 🙏 V M

[@leone390987]

Good morning Jay, another great video it’s easy to follow a lot of people appreciate your knowledge.And it’s enjoyable to watch they enjoyed your teaching Ty.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Thank you! It's nice to hear that the video is being well received :) I appreciate the comment!

[@spelunkerd]

Great point about the evaporator coil, I never considered that.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Thank you! Glad I could share something of use for you! :)

[@josevaquero7300]

As usual very educational, I really like the way he explains things, thanks.

[@mayito_76]

I can't believe you have described perfectly my current issue: #7 14:00 my fan motor spins for like 20 seconds, giving me hopes that it'll work, shuts down and compressor starts making a HUGE NOISE, I jumped out I thought it was going to explode, the hissing noise was loud as hell. its an old house the unit is probably 10+years old, we go visit 2-3 times a year, so we got surpised that the unit was not pumping cold air. I'm about to start investigating using your videos, I suspect is the capacitor, as I everything was working just fine but the fan motor just stopped spinning. I gave it a small push with a screwdriver, it worked for 10 seconds and stopped and again the compressor noise. wish me luck!

[@hollisterprocope3588]

Magnificent. I am a total novice to Ac repair, at least I can be aware of all the things I can have checked before I look to buy another unit. Corvid 19 time is not an easy time. Thank you Sir.

[@jameslwashington1]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. VERY HELPFUL, INSPIRING AND ENJOYABLE. GOD'S MERCY, BLESSINGS AND GRACE TO ALL.

[@LifecoachDanV]

Thank you very much. Not sure if it’s the final fix but I checked my batteries in my thermostat. It’s Sept. 2019 and the AA batteries were March 2014!!! My A/C was kicking off a couple minutes after turning on. In any case you helped me remove one more potential problem! Thank you!

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Glad to hear the video helped! Thank you for leaving a comment!

[@DD-ov2kp]

Great video! An odd short-cycle phenomenon I recently experienced was caused by a bad ECM, that resulted in the blower coming off and on after a couple of seconds. The blower would run fine when the panel to the air handler was off. As soon as you put the panel back on, the blower would turn off and begin short-cycling. The tech and I were both stumped as there were no obvious shorts. The ECM was replaced about six months ago so we just assumed the ECM might have gone out of spec somehow but still appeared to work - the air pressure change that occurred when the panel was put back in place somehow affected the ECM. I replaced the weird ECM and the short-cycle went away.

[@scramjet4610]

What is "ECM" is English?

[@jonathanprice1972]

Like always I love this video you explain everything the best out of everybody that be online. Your videos really help me out so much I been in the field a little over a year now and learned so much from you

[@kellykaiser6446]

That is a very simple yet detailed cause and effect problem shooting tutorial! I have learned what I really needed, to understand my problem.

[@curvewave4339]

Bro thank you so much. Condenser would not start up and I couldn’t figure out why. Turned out it was a bad breaker on the system. Changed and running good. If thing ever goes down I know what list and video I will use to fix my system!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@davecontant2814]

Informative video. My furnace short cycles but it does it on it's own without hitting the set temperature and sometimes it will just keep running. I'm going to check for loose wires.

[@Dcthetruth85]

Just keep expanding my HVAC knowledge with this guy.

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Happy to hear that! :) Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@OneAfricanDjSmash]

Great tips. Thanks for what you do and sharing your knowledge 👌🏾🙏🏾

[@WordofAdviceTV]

And thank you for watching and commenting! :) Stay cool!

[@jgl92]

You rock! Thank you for your advice! I checked the thermostat and the batteries were not connecting properly - i pushed them together and put some tape to hold the in place - and the short cycling stopped. It's a temporary fix until I get a repairman out to replace the thermostat. Thank you for you help!

[@WordofAdviceTV]

You're welcome! Glad to hear the video helped! Thank you for watching and leaving a comment :)

[@ybhonrbam32]

Thank you very much God bless you sir!

[@jeanettekettlewell]

Excellent information. I had my entire system replaced in April 2024, and I suspect that my smhort cycling is either due to the system being oversized (Manual J calcs were done), and/or the blower speed is set too high. The air sounds at the returns and through the vents is noticeably louder than my previous system. My HVAC contractor is coming out today to reduce the blower speed.

[@Janicelopezzz]

You seriously saved me, got a $700 electric bill in the mail and I live alone and I’m never home… my thermostat is at 68 in winter…. I was laying in bed and heard the 10 seconds of short cycling. After pulling wires and removing and putting the thermostat back in, it stopped!!!!

[@Janicelopezzz]

I think I might have to have someone come out :( it’s doing it again, and it was serviced and “approved as good to go” last month. I bought the house last month too 😭 Luckily with your video it’s not doing it nearly as much!!!! Only when the heat kicks on a little. 😭 should I re contact the people that serviced it last month? $700 is so crazy for someone who’s never home!

[@franklinderr7959]

Awesome info. Thank You. Our unit just started this today. Of course it happens on the first 102 degree day in two years. Batteries are changed, we do that anyway when we change the fire and CO detectors'. Filters are brand new. Short cycle still happening. Too late in the day to open up the outside unit. Tomorrow, so much for that day off. I will let you know what we find. Thanks again, stay safe, Semper Fi.

[@acmm50]

Excellent troubleshooting diagnosis list of potential issues...nice job

[@sergiosalegio4449]

Great context. I have done everything except the board. Thanks so much

[@akhan7371]

Thanks mate great job saved me a heavy bill! mine was just a case of filters clogged kept going on short cycle working fine now thanks alot

[@juansuarez3384]

You sir are theeee man! Thank you so much for such a detailed and thorough yet concise video. Im in Miami, Saved me a hot night of sleep and $$$. Came home to ac short cycling, reviewed reasons you outlined, drain pipe sensor, full of water and ofcourse pipes were clogged. Cleaned them out and back to working condition. 👍👍👍

[@nelsonmontalvo7581]

new on hvac thanks so much the vids, they been soooooo much help

[@elizeubranquinho4467]

not just technical, but very useful

[@willu9772]

It was my thermostat. We’re in a heat wave and you just saved me.

[@mauromagdiel]

You speak up Like a master!

[@annettetipton3178]

You are awesome, right to the point, change my batteries as I should do that every year around this time! Thank you so much I really appreciate you you are the best on this KZbin...

[@amersalem1730]

Excellent video, excellent information, excellent presenter 👍👍👍

[@leederaad9863]

You are absolutely right. my air conditioner was short cycling I replace the batteries and change the filter works great. PS. It felt really good to cancel the service repair.lol

[@standave57]

Very well done presentation. Appreciated your video.

[@vladimirq4914]

Thanks for such a great library of helpful videos. Last Summer I detected a strange noise in my AC unit. I believe it was short cycling. I called a person to inspect the unit and as usual, the recommendation was to replace the unit without telling me what the problem was. I decided not to do anything until this coming Summer. Spring came with some hot days, and then I realized that the fan condenser motor was not working, so I replaced it using your very helpful video including the capacitor. Thanks, BTW because it is running very well. However, the short cycling came back to my memory and I have been trying to fix that unsuccessfully. Thermostats are working correctly. I can see the condensation in the AC unit pipe. I have checked the A-coil, it was clean, but I cleaned and verified any plugs. The air filter is brand new. I really don’t know where to find the solution. When I checked the delta Temperature, I found something unusual. Thermostat calls for cooling, and the AC unit starts cooling down until supply temperature reaches 37F, which is low. The return air is 60F, which means the delta temp is 23F. At that moment the board LED starts green flashing, which is an indication that the zone sensor exceeds the low limit in cooling. The AC unit is off while the blower keeps operating. DATS is working correctly. After 2.5 or 3 minutes the LED is solid again, then the AC unit starts cooling again. This cycle continues over and over. The board is receiving 24 Volts from the transformer. I have not idea what is causing that the temperature drops to 37 F, or if the board has a problem. Any recommendation or instruction that I am missing. Thanks a lot

[@alfredooverman1678]

Anyone have an update to what this viewer asked? I believe I have the same issue.

[@nathanhollingsworth327]

@@alfredooverman1678 I have this same issue. Any updates?

[@alfredooverman1678]

@@nathanhollingsworth327 mine ended up being a plugged condenser line, but this year it’s doing the same thing and that line is clear. So idk now.

[@markdecker6190]

Thank you Jay! While I could have saved a couple hundred bucks more your excellent video potentially saved me thou$ands. My condenser would cycle on and off constantly and with the heat wave we've been having around here and the age of our system we were very anxious about what it would cost to repair it. I had done the same thing to an older refrigerator a couple of years ago including adding a hard start kit but after a week the compressor itself just died so I was thinking this might happen with our A/C condenser. After reviewing your top 10 failure reasons (and replacing the batteries in my thermostat) I did finally observe that the fan wasn't spinning so using an old yardstick I got it spinning and even though it was running slow it ran enough to stop cycling off and the house was cooler. Anyway, I called a guy in to look at it and told him that I had done my own investigating and thought that it might be the capacitor which is exactly what it turned out to be. I would have done this repair myself but my wife didn't trust me enough and wanted a pro. While it did end up costing us $280. at least he wasn't tempted to upsell us or try to BS us into spending more than I had to, so thanks!

[@mtz9939]

You my friend are a wealth of information. Thank you. Great video.

[@stevenrobinson8881]

Thank you, it was the batteries in the thermostat, thank you again 😊

[@seanparker4746]

Wow very thorough and well explained - awesome - thanks!

[@jasonlee8897]

Thank you! Your video helped me solve my problem!

[@tntheatingandairllc]

Great video man love the way you explain everything in your videos so keep up the good work 👍👍

[@WordofAdviceTV]

Thanks Terry! Glad you liked the video, I appreciate the comment!

[@alexki718]

Very interesting explanation!

[@mtzarmandoaquilorevisamos3482]

Men you are the best ... definitely thank you for your tips very helpful

[@WordofAdviceTV]

You're welcome! Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@brianjmortensen]

Amazingly helpful ! ! So much great information !

[@christopherzorthian8182]

Thanks, just saved a lot of money, mine was number nine

[@wendyfoster997]

Thank you for this very informative video. Our ac short cycles quite often and I noticed this am it came on when the house was 72 degrees but the thermostat was set at 75. I had to manually bump the temp up . Very strange.

[@quivsterderilo1244]

Very detailed explanation....keep it up Master

[@faustogonzalez8397]

Great video,you have great teching skills.

[@ruslanmaksimchuk7714]

только наш человек может так всё роскрыть и розложить по полкам. молодец 👍 респект

[@ericmaldonado1373]

What a great video, sharing a ton of knowledge ... keep up the good work 👍

[@GalaxyHairDesigns]

Thanks for sharing. Lots of info.

[@matchthat5053]

Thank You! Very good information. I've been suspect of the thermostat and or low voltage from the power company. Usually starts short cycling at 6:45 A.M. and again at 5:30.P.M. I'm thinking I'm at the end of the power grid 6:45 electric hot water is coming on because it's shower time before work then 5:30 home from work shower and electric stove time. 🥶

[@patrickcreath217]

Thankyou for all this good intel.

[@dhk4284]

Thank very good explanation

[@MOSCHJON]

Really helpful video I ve ever seen..keep on man...many thanks

[@williamhamblin4739]

Thanks alot very informational

[@kenklaveter6665]

Thank you

[@robertleffler4286]

Love your videos so helpful thank you so much😊

[@acservicedaytona386portora3]

Awesome my friend, Love listening to you explain Your theory...Keep it up..

[@daryll3317]

Thanks man!

[@octoberfour]

WOOOHOOOOO reading through these comments and was on the condensation line/clogged line being full of water and emptied some of it into a bucket and my A/C triggered on right away...I just saved so much money cause of you and my dad left for vaction the day this happened so I wouldve been left with heat if you didnt make this video🤙🏼

[@aladdinelsayed7552]

Amazing content!!! Highly informative!!!! Thank you.

[@nooragha1987]

I am hvac student I learned a lot of thing from your videos please make a video about defrost how it works

[@zeebarzagar2466]

Wow very informing thank you sooooo much

[@bensybency]

Excellent video

[@elviralebon1819]

Amazing video… thank you

[@amylovesdon]

Hi! I recently had a new a/c installed and it has been short cycling.. the vents and t'stat locations are unchanged, so it was making me a little nuts to diagnose the problem... yesterday i had an “ah-ha” moment! The new a/c is throwing more cfm's... so now it's shooting the cold air further towards the t'stat, causing it to think, " brrrr, it's cold in here... i better shut down the machine." The installer had mentioned that he had the blower motor set on the highest speed , so tomorrow (if i remember) I'll lower it to the 3rd (of 4} speeds... Your videos helped me to put the pieces together... thanx again, Don in Floriduh...

[@heidis8713]

Donald, most installers don't understand airflow, pressure, etc... Let me ask you... Is your new a/c bigger (in tonnage) than the old one?

[@jasonwang7826]

Very useful information!

[@freddyguerrero1226]

Thank you so much , excellent video ,,, you are the best!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@darrenm3377]

This is like the Mattix. Downloading ten years of tips in ten minutes

[@chizo5097]

In my case the yellow wire on the thermostat was broken and the unit was overcharged ... Thank you for the video