air compressor cycles on and off rapidly

When I plugged my air compressor into the 120 vac outlet, the motor starting cycling on and off in a rapid fashion. I cannot tell if it is the pressure switch or one of the capacitors.

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Bill says...

Are you comfortable with bypassing the pressure switch, only long enough to see if the compressor runs normally? That's what I would do, to see if that would isolate the pressure switch as the problem.

Know that your air compressor will not shut off if you bypass the switch to see if the compressor will run normally, so be careful.

And if you aren't comfortable mucking about with electricity, take the compressor to a shop and ask them to.

Bypassing the switch will tell you right away if the switch is the problem if the compressor starts and runs normally with the pressure switch out of the circuit.

Cheers,

Bill