Joshua Peterson with Peterson Electric, we got called out for an AC unit that was not working. The AC unit inside got all warped and melted the plastic. You can also see on the disconnect that you pull out and in that it got all arc and melted on the ends. That is total obvious to see. Also on the plastic dead front, you see a melting mark. The reason why it was doing it was not due to the heat outside, but due to the breaker kept blowing. The breaker kept blowing due to the AC running 170 amps in rush current. We have a Fluke Meter about $800.00, will do a snap shot of the in-rush current and you can see it is 170amps to get the motor running. Usually, it would be about 40% to get the motor running. If it is efficient and new, it might be only 30%. It should have be maybe 75 or 80 amps because it is 5 ton unit and it is running at 50amps. The Fluke Meter we use gives us a snap shot of what is going on with the motor. Before we condemn that motor, we change the disconnect due to the dis-coloration of it and melting and put in a new RFM 50 amp fuses. We reset the breaker and make sure the Square D breaker was working properly. As he had the motor kick on and the fan was turning for a minute, it sounded like it was working but as soon as the compressor came on, the breaker kept popping. Remember if you have an older home, if the breaker pops, it could make your whole house go out. In this situation, it just killed the breaker. Now, an AC guy needs to be called. We got our side repaired and working. We replaced the disconnect, checked the voltage, new fuse and breaker as well. He has the right pressure for his voltage, 260 volts.
