Portable air conditioner is one of the most useful electrical appliances. It is known for its mobility. Portable air conditioner can be an easy solution for fighting against changing weather conditions. However, portable air conditioners can showcase symptoms of failure sometimes.
Today, we are going to discuss why portable air conditioners keep shutting off and what the solutions are to tackle this.
Portable air conditioner keeps shutting off
The portable air conditioner can keep shutting off due to damaged and faulty parts. Clogged up air filter and condenser coils can also result in the portable air conditioner shutting itself off on a consistent basis. Repairing the compressor unit can also fix the portable air conditioner.
There are a lot of reasons why portable air conditioners keep shutting off. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
Due to faulty air filter:
The air filter is one of the key components of a portable air conditioner. The purpose of the air filter is to control the quality of air that passes through the portable air conditioner into your home.
However, the air filter can be affected by the presence of dirt and debris in the air that eventually ends up clogging the air filter.
When the air filter of your portable air conditioner becomes clogged up, then the portable air conditioner keeps shutting off due to unnatural flow of air. A clogged up air filter can cause many problems that lead up to the shutting off of portable air conditioners.
A faulty air filter should not be taken lightly under any circumstances.
Due to leaking coolant:
The coolant inside your portable air conditioner plays an important role in maintaining the operations of your portable air conditioner. However, the coolant can start leaking due to many reasons.
When the coolant level becomes low, the portable air conditioner fails to perform its actions effectively. This is when you will notice your portable air conditioner shutting off without giving any warning.
Optimum level of coolant inside the portable air conditioner is needed at all times.
Due to damaged compressor:
Compressor controls the overall function of your portable air conditioner. It is no surprise that a portable air conditioner struggles to complete its natural functions when the compressor becomes damaged.
A damaged compressor unit will not be able to supply coolant throughout the portable air conditioner. Lack of coolant will result in shutting off of the portable air conditioner.
A portable air conditioner will not be able to operate without a fully functioning compressor unit.
Due to faulty condenser coils:
Condenser coils are another key part of a portable air conditioner. However, the condenser coils can become clogged up due to build up of dirt and debris inside them. Clogged condenser coils create problems for the air flow through the portable air conditioner.
When this happens, the portable air conditioner starts shutting off due to overheating and other technical reasons.
Due to incompatibility:
The capacity of your portable air conditioner needs to match the size of your room. If you keep operating a higher capacity portable air conditioner in a small room, then there will be compatibility issues that will eventually lead to shutting off of the portable air conditioner.
A higher capacity portable air conditioner keeps turning off continuously when it is put into a small room. Because it is not made to cool a smaller room compared to its higher capacity. It can even cause wear and tear of several parts inside the portable air conditioner.
Due to faulty settings:
Having the right settings on the control panel of your portable air conditioner is very important. If the settings are not set accurately, then the portable air conditioner might keep shutting off during the cooling procedure.
This can make you think that there is something wrong with the components of the portable air conditioner. But in reality, you might only have to check the control panel to sort out the settings.
Due to faulty evaporator coils:
Evaporator coils are also an important part of a portable air conditioner. However, lack of air flow can cause the evaporator coils to become frozen. This eventually leads to the shutting off of the portable air conditioner.
Because a portable air conditioner needs fully functioning evaporator coils.
Due to faulty wiring:
Faulty wiring inside your portable air conditioner can cause it to shut off as well. If there is any loose connection in the portable air conditioner, then it will struggle to perform its actions effectively.
Do portable air conditioners turn off automatically?
The natural function of the portable air conditioners compel them to turn off automatically after they have done their job successfully. It means that a portable air conditioner will turn off on its own if it has managed to control the temperature of the room effectively.
However, a portable air conditioner can turn off automatically due to malfunction as well. This mainly happens due to faulty parts inside the portable air conditioner which makes it hard for a portable air conditioner to do its job.
How much does it cost to fix a Portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off?
Let’s look at some different brands of portable air conditioners below and find out how much it costs to fix them when they keep shutting off.
Delonghi portable air conditioner:
Delonghi portable air conditioners can start malfunctioning due to several reasons. It might cost you one hundred dollars to fix a Delonghi portable air conditioner if it keeps shutting off.
LG portable air conditioner:
LG portable air conditioners can keep shutting off due to faulty parts. It might cost you as much as one hundred and fifty dollars to fix them when this happens.
Insignia portable air conditioner:
It does not cost much to fix an insignia portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off. Usually eighty to one hundred dollars is enough for the job.
Haier portable air conditioner:
The Haier portable air conditioner can also be fixed if it keeps shutting off due to faulty parts. The repair cost might be somewhere between seventy to one hundred dollars.
Arctic king portable air conditioner:
The repair cost of an arctic king portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off can range somewhere between one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars.
Hisense portable air conditioner:
It does not cost a lot to fix a Hisense portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off. The repair cost is ninety dollars or less.
Sharp portable air conditioner:
Fixing a sharp portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off can cost you as much as one hundred dollars.
Ocean breeze portable air conditioner:
It can cost you one hundred and twenty dollars to fix an ocean breeze portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off.
Whynter portable air conditioner:
Fixing a Whynter portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off is relatively cheap as the repairing cost is only eighty dollars.
How to fix portable air conditioner that keeps shutting off?
Fixing a portable conditioner that keeps shutting off might seem like a difficult task if you have no prior experience. However, there are some steps and methods you need to follow to accomplish the task. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
Clean the air filter:
The air filter of your portable air conditioner can become clogged up due to build up of dirt and debris. You will have to clean your air filter on a daily basis to address the problem of the portable air conditioner shutting off automatically.
A healthy air filter will ensure the optimum flow of air through the portable air conditioner and stop it from shutting off.
Clean the condenser coils:
Condenser coils can be infested with dirt and debris too. Just like a clogged air filter, clogged condenser coils will also result in the restriction of air flow inside the portable air conditioner and the portable air conditioner will keep shutting off on a consistent basis.
You will be required to clean the condenser coils to ensure the natural flow of air inside the portable air conditioner.
Repair the compressor:
Damaged compressor units can also result in the portable air conditioner shutting itself off automatically. You will need to repair the compressor to solve the problem.
However, replacing the compressor unit will be much more costly and it is often better to buy a new portable air conditioner than a new compressor unit.
Repair the leakage:
The portable air conditioner can start leaking coolant through holes and cracks on it. The holes and cracks on the portable air conditioner need to be repaired immediately to stop the leakage of coolant.
Otherwise, the portable air conditioner will keep shutting off due to lack of coolant.
Final Thoughts
When a portable air conditioner keeps shutting off due to malfunction, it is known by the term “short cycling”. This problem can be solved by cleaning the air filter & the condenser coils, repairing the compressor unit, and fixing coolant leakage & frozen evaporator coils.