Can Cooling Down the Air Conditioner Compressor Motor to Keep the A/C Working?
Several readers have described a step of cooling down an overheated air conditioning or heat pump compressor motor to get it running again producing cool air indoors. One reader used a garden hose to spray the outdoor unit (after all it’s intended to tolerate being rained-on). Another used a watering can. A third, buckets of water. All three reported that this step got their cooling system cooling again when before either the compressor had stopped running entirely or it was running but the system was not producing cool air. But for several reasons this is not an effective durable repair: • The “repair” achieved by pouring water over a hot compressor is not lasting and if you wet electrical components it could cause damage or be dangerous • It’s hot standing outside dumping water on your A/C unit and you’re not supposed to have to do that • The loss of cooling means there is some problem to be found and fixed While we wait for more comments from air conditioning service technicians and
