Never reset the breaker more than a few times. When a breaker trips continuously, it means you have a serious problem that needs a competent professional look into the problem.

Troubleshooting Guide

Some of these cases described will require a professional to troubleshoot the problem. Other cases described can easily be done by a homeowner. Additionally, when in doubt or where safety is concerned, call a professional.

Poor Maintenance Bad Breaker or Power Problem Dead Short/Bad Motor Weak or Blown Motor Capacitors

Poor Maintenance | Breaker Trips After 5 Minutes

1 Poor maintenance can cause air conditioner breaker trips. Dirty condenser coils will cause the air conditioner to draw more power. With this increased power use, the heat increases. That will cause the air conditioner breaker trip if the problem is not repaired. Dirty clogged filters can also cause the breaker to trip. Make sure you do proper maintenance on your air conditioner. Change those dirty air filters and keep your air conditioning and heating system healthy. Finally, this will save you money on power usage and keep your unit reliable.

Bad Breaker/Power Problem

2 Bad breaker or power problem as described above.

Dead Short/Bad Motor - AC Breaker Trips Immediately Won’t Reset

3 A dead short where two wires are touching that should not be touching. That can also have a reference as a grounded compressor. One of the windings is touching the outer compressor shell. It could also be a wire touching some metal and going to ground. Motors can have a short to ground, and that includes the compressor. The compressor is powered by an electric motor and it can go bad or fail for various reasons. That is an electrical short inside the closed shell of the compressor. Furthermore, this is a serious problem which will require HVAC repair from an HVAC contractor.

Weak or Blown Motor Capacitors - Can a Bad Capacitor Trip a Breaker?

4 Weak or blown capacitors can cause air conditioner breaker trips. That can cause a fan malfunction or a compressor malfunction. Capacitors have two separate categories. One is a run capacitor which is common for all motors including the compressor. The other is a start capacitor which is only used on the compressor if your compressor is equipped with this component. Furthermore, HVAC capacitors go bad and cause breaker trips in your air conditioning system.

*Three-phase and shaded-pole do not use capacitors. ECM motors do not use the type of capacitors we are talking about here. If you have an ECM blower motor or ECM condenser fan motor the capacitors are typically built into the circuit board or control module. In which case, you need to replace the board. In those cases, it is best to call a professional for repair.

Causes with Explanations - AC Breaker Tripped and Won’t Reset

Mechanical Problems with Motors/Compressor

A mechanical problem such as a bad bearing or something stuck that prevents or slows the motor from turning. The motor will work hard to run against that resistance. That will cause a high amp draw. It creates more heat, and eventually, the breaker in your air conditioning system will trip. Additionally, most bearings for residential motors are non-serviceable meaning they do not require oil or maintenance aside from periodic cleaning of the outer casing.

Compressors for residential systems are hermetically sealed, so there is no way to check a bearing or other mechanical problem. Finally, the problem needs to be looked at by an HVAC technician for resolution.

Can Loose Electrical Connections Trip the Breaker?

Loose electrical connections will cause air conditioner breaker trips. That can be loose wires in any part of the air conditioner system. In my experience, I have found loose wires on compressors. The system was not properly maintained, and the wires corroded, eventually causing a loose connection. Many HVAC supply houses sell wires specifically to replace the leads on the compressor. Finally, these leads ensure a tight fit of the wires to prevent future problems with the wire leads on the compressor.

Short Cycling - Outside AC Unit Tripping the Breaker

Short cycling of the system. This problem has become less of a concern since many people have modern digital thermostats. Modern digital thermostats have delay timers in them to prevent short cycling of the equipment. Short cycling is turning a motor off and then on again in quick succession. An electric motor goes from a dead stop to running at 100% in a split second.

In that split second, while the motor is starting, it draws a lot of amps to overcome resistance. Short cycling a motor will cause more heat from the amp draw. It can cause the air conditioner breaker to trip. In addition to digital thermostats being used to prevent short-cycling, many manufacturers are adding this feature to their circuitry to prevent short-cycling problems.

Wiring Size

Improper wire sizing will cause air conditioner breaker trips.

Bad Hard Start Capacitor for Compressor

Bad hard starting capacitor. Sometimes a hard start capacitor kit is added to a compressor to give it a boost on startup. If the hard starting kit goes bad, it needs a new replacement. A compressor starting up draws a lot of amperages, causing the AC circuit for the condensing unit to draw an excessive amount of power. These are only used if your compressor has a hard time starting up.