Question About Electrical Line

[Nyboy]

The window air conditioner I have for kennel does not seem to be working. The kennel is not cooling down. I switched AC still not cooling. I think it not getting enough power ( on its own line) My nephew said electric does not work that way ether outlet getting power or not. Putting in 3 AC as I write this

 

[6884]

Your nephews right, If the outlet is receiving 120 volts, or 220 depending on the AC unit, then the problems in the unit. Has the coil been cleaned in a while? usually a dirty coil is the culprit on a lot of AC units.

 

[Nyboy]

3rd AC working good

 

[majorcatfish]

if the a/c is 120 it will work or not, if the a/c is 220 you could have lost a leg <wire> so the unit is only getting 120 and will not work correctly.

step 1. would turn off the breaker check the connection<s> at the breaker is tight, while power is off remove outlet cover and remove receptacle and check that all connections are tight.

step 2. turn on power, turn your multimeter to a/c volts place red lead on wire connection on breaker the black lead to either neutral <white wire or ground <green wire> you should be reading 115-120 vac. if below 10% of the 115 vac you could have a bad breaker.

step 2 A. if the breaker is a 2 pole<220 vac> place red lead on one connection should read 115-120 other connection should read the same +- a few volts. then place the red lead on one of the breaker connections and the black on the other your meter should read from 208-220 vac +- a couple volts. same as above 10% below you could have a bad breaker.

step 3. while receptacle is open <be careful not to physical touch any connections it will be shocking> place the red lead on the wire connection<the wire could be black,red,blue> the black lead on the white wire meter should read 115-120 vac. if 220 vac it should read 208-220.

if you are not reading these voltages at the receptacle and everything is good from above reading you may have a bad wire or somewhere there might be a loss connection between panel and receptacle.

step 4. turn off power and place electrical tape around receptacle wire connections, reinstall receptacle and cover back in place..

step 5. read the label on the a/c unit it will tell you how many amps it pulls, now place your amp meter jaws around the black,red or blue wire coming out of the breaker it should read very close to what the label says... do the same if 220 vac on the other wire coming out of breaker.... put your back of your finger on the face of the breaker ,if it's hot your pulling to many amps for breaker or wire. need to up size wire gauge to handle load.

99% of the time it's a loss neutral or ground thats the problem..... the other 1% is cheap a/c unit...

 

[Nyboy]

A/C 120 Me and wires fire hazard new a/c working good electrician coming tomorrow just to make sure all good

 

[6884]

@majorcatfish I see you dabble in the electrical field also, I can tell by the lingo your around 120/240 you ever mess with 480/600?

At the facility I manage we do mostly 480, with some 240 mixed in (mostly lighting), Alan Bradley PLC controls, 5000 amp main. You flip one of these switch gears, it'll make the hairs on your arm stand up Lol.

A lot of Nema 1's all the way up to Nema 5's .

I have 4 different MCC buildings here with nothing but panels.

 

[majorcatfish]

@Lickbranchfarm you got me hands down.... really like the 2nd photo somebody had the smarts to put a loop in the wires between the breaker and contactors for a amp meter...

being the only maintenance person here, <Gilligan don't count> yup get to play with a little of everything from 12vdc up to 480 vac 3000 amps..
our 480 electrical room....

learned the hard way if a button says test, does not mean for you to push it... i pushed it 15 years ago it trip the main switch inside, thought i was going to die plus the cup of coffee i had in my hand was thrown clear across the room....it took a couple years off my life... yup it works...
took all i had to reset it....

the 220 electrical room... an old federal pacific panel, they are very proud of those breakers when one goes bad...

between those 2 rooms feeds everything in the plant..

mainly all the equipment is 480 vac, if it has a motor it's 277 3 ph. with a few pieces that are 120 vac.. all the lighting is 277 vac except in my area 120 vac

all the equipment in the shop has either omron plc and ip/op modules or allen bradley plc and modules and of course a mast majority of the equipment is from europe so i am limited on where i can get parts.....

one of my favorite photos i hate cleaning up after a chamber fire....knock on wood it's been a couple years since the last one... thats my second suit...

a good electrician is okay, a electrician who can read wiring schematics and trace them is worth their weight in platinum...still working on getting from the gold level...

 

[majorcatfish]

go head and touch it..... not
50kv transformer it might be small but it can kill.. needed to change out the 2 carbon balls<between the ark> they had a serious flat spots on them.....

 

[baymule]

if the a/c is 120 it will work or not, if the a/c is 220 you could have lost a leg <wire> so the unit is only getting 120 and will not work correctly.

step 1. would turn off the breaker check the connection<s> at the breaker is tight, while power is off remove outlet cover and remove receptacle and check that all connections are tight.

step 2. turn on power, turn your multimeter to a/c volts place red lead on wire connection on breaker the black lead to either neutral <white wire or ground <green wire> you should be reading 115-120 vac. if below 10% of the 115 vac you could have a bad breaker.

step 2 A. if the breaker is a 2 pole<220 vac> place red lead on one connection should read 115-120 other connection should read the same +- a few volts. then place the red lead on one of the breaker connections and the black on the other your meter should read from 208-220 vac +- a couple volts. same as above 10% below you could have a bad breaker.

step 3. while receptacle is open <be careful not to physical touch any connections it will be shocking> place the red lead on the wire connection<the wire could be black,red,blue> the black lead on the white wire meter should read 115-120 vac. if 220 vac it should read 208-220.

if you are not reading these voltages at the receptacle and everything is good from above reading you may have a bad wire or somewhere there might be a loss connection between panel and receptacle.

step 4. turn off power and place electrical tape around receptacle wire connections, reinstall receptacle and cover back in place..

step 5. read the label on the a/c unit it will tell you how many amps it pulls, now place your amp meter jaws around the black,red or blue wire coming out of the breaker it should read very close to what the label says... do the same if 220 vac on the other wire coming out of breaker.... put your back of your finger on the face of the breaker ,if it's hot your pulling to many amps for breaker or wire. need to up size wire gauge to handle load.

99% of the time it's a loss neutral or ground thats the problem..... the other 1% is cheap a/c unit...

Major, I am shaking my head in disbelief...…..You KNOW it is Nyboy you are talking to, right?

 

[majorcatfish]

Major, I am shaking my head in disbelief...…..You KNOW it is Nyboy you are talking to, right?

You are so right , guess I will need to learn a second language that he will understand....

Craigslist will be a good start