Compressor Failures

What can cause the compressor to fail?

After floodback and slugging, Park said the major causes of compressor failure, in order of importance, include bad contactors, system leaks, dirty evaporators, dirty filters, dirty condensers, rapid loading/unloading, mis-wired/misadjusted controls, low superheat, and wrong oil for the system refrigerant.

These are the common issues that cause AC compressor failure:

• Blocked suction lines.
• Low refrigerant charge.
• Incorrect suction line size.
• Too much refrigerant.
• Electrical problems.
• Contaminants in the system.
• Inadequate oil lubricant.
• Dirty Coils