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What Causes Your Air Conditioner to Short Cycle

Air conditioning season is almost over, but that doesn’t mean that your air conditioner is out of the woods just yet. Until you shut the system down for the year, you’re going to have to keep an eye out for problems. One of the worst problems that can afflict your air conditioner is short cycling. Short cycling is when your system turns itself on and off every few minutes. It puts the air conditioner under a great deal more stress than it was originally designed to handle, increasing the chances of a serious problem such as a breakdown. Read on to find out why short cycling happens, and what you can do about it.

The Causes of Short Cycling

There are a couple of different reasons why your air conditioner might start to short cycle. It is possible that you have a faulty thermostat, which is sending conflicting signals to your air conditioner. This can easily cause short cycling, among other problems. It is also possible that you have a damaged compressor. The compressor is a part that circulates refrigerant through the air conditioning system. It both keeps the air conditioner running, and regulates its rhythm. If the compressor becomes damaged for any reason, it might throw off the rhythm of the entire air conditioner.

Problems Related to Short Cycling

The problem with short cycling is that it locks the air conditioner into the most stressful part of its cycle: the startup cycle. Constantly going through the startup cycle drastically increases the wear and tear on the system, eventually causing parts to break down. This is why you need to call for repairs as soon as you notice that your system is short cycling.

Call Rentmeister Total Home Service for air conditioning repair services. We cover the entire Kaysville, UT area. 

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