When an air conditioner trips the power, the useful question is what tripped and when. A circuit breaker tripping points to too much current; a safety switch tripping points to current leaking to earth. The timing tells you even more.
Run the checks below, note what you see, then ring 0421 772 661 if it keeps happening. We test the circuit and isolator and tell you whether it's the wiring or the unit.
If the outdoor unit or its isolator is damaged, sitting in water, smoking or smells of burning, don't reset anything. Turn the air con circuit off at the switchboard if it's safe to reach and keep people away from the unit. Call 000 if there's fire or anyone has had a shock.
Don't open the outdoor isolator, the indoor unit's covers or the switchboard. Refrigerant and internal unit repairs are for a licensed refrigeration and air conditioning technician; the circuit, isolator and switchboard side is ours.
A minute of observation saves a lot of guesswork later. These checks are all safe to do from the switchboard and the remote.
Look at the switchboard label. Is it the air con breaker, a safety switch covering several circuits, or the main switch? Take a photo.
On start-up, after running for a while, only in heating or cooling mode, or only after rain? Each points somewhere different.
Switch the air con off at the remote, reset the tripped device, then start the unit again. If it trips a second time, leave it off.
From a distance, check it isn't sitting in water, covered in debris or physically damaged, and that the isolator cover is intact.
Clogged indoor filters make the system work harder. Cleaning them is routine maintenance the manufacturer's manual describes.
If the air con shares a circuit, an oven, heater or kettle running at the same time can push it over the limit.
An undersized or shared circuit. Larger systems need a dedicated circuit with cable and protection sized to suit. An air con added to an existing power circuit, or a bigger unit put on old cabling, can trip the breaker on hot days when it works hardest. Our guide to whether an air conditioner needs a dedicated circuit explains why.
Water in the outdoor isolator. Isolators sit outside in the weather. A cracked cover or failed seal lets water in, and the safety switch trips, typically during or after rain. If that's the pattern, our page on power tripping when it rains is worth a read too.
Loose or heat-damaged connections. Air cons draw a steady current for hours. A loose terminal at the switchboard or isolator heats up and can eventually cause tripping or damage.
If the circuit and isolator test fine, the fault is usually inside the unit: a compressor or fan motor drawing too much current, a failing control board, or moisture inside the outdoor unit causing leakage. Those repairs go to an air conditioning technician or the manufacturer's service network, and any refrigerant work needs a licensed refrigeration technician.
We test the supply side first so you're not paying a technician to chase a wiring fault, and you can hand them clear results. If the air con also makes your lights dip when it starts, see lights flicker when the air con starts.
Call an electrician if the air con trips the power more than once, if the isolator looks damaged or wet, or if you've had a new or larger unit installed and tripping started soon after. Repeated resetting on a fault can damage the unit and the wiring.
For tripping that isn't tied to the air con, our general guide to a safety switch that keeps tripping walks through narrowing it down circuit by circuit.
It works hardest in the heat and draws the most current. If the circuit is undersized, shared or has a weak connection, that's when the breaker trips.
Usually water has got into the outdoor isolator or the outdoor unit. Leave it off and have the isolator and cable checked.
We test the circuit, isolator and protection first. If they're sound, it's the unit and goes to an air conditioning technician or the manufacturer.
No. Reset once. If it trips again, there's a fault that needs testing, and repeated resets can make it worse.
We do the electrical side: circuits, isolators, switchboard protection and connections. Refrigerant and internal unit repairs are for a licensed air conditioning technician.
NSW Electrical Contractor Licence 332956C · Fully insured · Since 2016 · Based in Hurlstone Park
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