My compressor trips the breaker...what's wrong?

by ray
(pensivania)

My air compreser trips the breaker switch any were i conect it in any house even on big boxes, what could be rong?
my email is guzmanrdng@aol.com

---

Bill answers...

Hey Ray...and welcome to an emissary of the new republic of Pensivania.

An electrical breaker will trip out when the circuit that it's supplying draws too many amps for it's capacity. Once the amperage draw reaches a certain point, it shuts off the power. If it didn't, heat being generated somewhere in the circuit would likely start a fire.

In order for the compressor to trip the breaker, there must be an electrical fault of some kind that's allowing more amps than the breaker can handle to try and flow through it. To me that means that you've got a short somewhere in the circuit.

What is it in your compressor that either handles or uses electricity?

The power cord that you plug into the circuit, the pressure switch that controls the on/off of the compressor at certain pressure levels, and the electric motor that drives the compressor head.

One of those has a fault, I suspect.

Check the power cord for nicks in the insulation covering the wires. If the wire is in good shape, then it will be the pressure switch or motor.

Unless you know how to bypass the pressure switch to see if the motor will start, then you need to...

a) replace the pressure switch (the least expensive option for you)

b) replace the motor, and you would do this if replacing the pressure switch doesn't solve the problem.

One last thought. The above is based on my understanding that your compressor is powered by a 120 Volts supply, and that it used to work when you plugged it into the same receptacles that you are trying now?

Good luck.

Bill