Why does my air compressor trip the breaker when it reaches max and cuts off, or tries to restart?

September 19, 2009 by admin · 8 Comments
Filed under: Maintenance & Repairs 
air Compressor
charles k asked:

I have a 13 gallon, 4HP, Campbell Hausfield air compressor that I have trouble with. It will start and run until it reaches the cutoff pressure, at which it blows the circuit breaker. I bypassed cutoff switch and wired it straight to the wall oulet to test the compressor and motor, and it ran fine. I reinstalled the pressure switch and ran it again but stopped it before it reached the cutoff point. When I tried to start it again, the unit dragged like it was under a large load and tripped the breaker. I did this again but before trying to restart, I bleed the air off and it starts fine, repeatedly.
That is when I ordered the CHCW210100SJ pressure switch.
Now I have the new switch on and I have the same problem. Do I have something else wrong or did I receive a new-defective switch assembly?

1 FURNAS TO CONDOR P/S part # CHCW210100SJ $32.54
This is a standard 115 volt, small compressor. It has been running very well for two years on a standard garage outlet. I have replaced the breaker with a 20amp, checked all connections. REMEMBER, if I drain the air down it will start just fine.

Related Blogs

Related Blogs

Possibly Related Posts:


Tags: , ,

Comments

8 Responses to “Why does my air compressor trip the breaker when it reaches max and cuts off, or tries to restart?”
  1. Just_gone says:
    September 21, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    When under the heavy load of compressed air or
    startup, it draws to much current for the breaker.
    You need to go up one breaker size.

  2. rhsaunders says:
    September 25, 2009 at 6:27 am

    It is not at all clear why the breaker should trip when the unit is shutting down. But 4 hp is 3000 watts, and that’s a lot of juice; the starting current for a motor that size will be well over 3000 watts (especially if there is already pressure in the tank) and that could trip a breaker. (A machine that large should be on a dedicated service, probably 20 amps at 240 volts — read the manual.)

  3. babygirl says:
    September 28, 2009 at 12:44 am

    you may need to replace the new switch or you need to get a neutron . you may need someone to come and look at your outlet or fuse box.

  4. Z man says:
    September 30, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    It might not be your compressor, it might be your breaker. You might be overloading it or the cord you’re using could possibly be too long even though it’s wired directly to the wall. I would check the breaker size and see what else might be running off of the same breaker. There are quite a few possibilities, hard to say without being there.

  5. Mike says:
    October 3, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    Your electrical circuit does not have adequate electrical capacity for your compressor. A 4 hp compressor will draw approximately 15 amps. This is the maximum that most residential circuits can handle with standard 14 gague copper wiring. If you have even a light bulb as well operating on that circuit you will trip the breaker.

    Many people will tell you to just install a breaker with higher capacity, however that is extremely dangerous and could cause a fire.

    If you install a larger breaker that will permit more electricity to flow through your existing wiring. That will cause the wiring to overheat and melt the insulation on the wire. When this happens you will have a short circuit in your walls and that wil start a fire.

    You need to have a licensed electrician install a dedicated circuit for your compressor with wiring that is designed to handle the amount of current that your compressor draws. I recommend at least 12 gague copper for that circuit, but go with what a licensed electrician recommends.

  6. larry l says:
    October 3, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    How far from the wall outlet are you? If you are using an extension cord you that is too long or too light for the motor it will trip the breaker. If the motor tries to suck enough electricity thru too small a wire it get hot and trips the breaker. If this is the problem either move the compressor closer to a wall outlet, or get a 12 guage extension cord. If you are plugged directly into a wall outlet then try plugging it in another room, making sure it isn’t on the same breaker. If it still trips the breaker it may be a bad plug or a switch on the compressor. It could also be the motor itself.

  7. Bruce M says:
    October 5, 2009 at 10:49 am

    it sounds as though the pressure switch is causing the unit to draw more amperage when connected to the load. If the wiring from the main circuit panel is a short run, or if it’s quite new, you should not have any difficulties with this. BUT it sounds as though the problem is not within the switch necessarily. When any motor draws more power than the supporting wiring/ power handling outlet/breaker or fuse, then it will cause the dragging problem you describe. Often, with some Older electrical panels, the main bus bar where the breaker connects, it can overheat over time, and pit the connecting location. Have you checked all connections with the outlet, breaker screws, and ensured that the wireing you’re connecting to is sufficient to run the amperage load you’re running with the compressor?
    One of the suggestions was to replace the circuit breaker with a new double pole 20amp breaker. That by itself will get you inside the electrical panel to check if it’s good. See if ALL the screws on the electrical breakers are fully tightened. Also, if there’s any connections wired on your compressor that aren’t 100% wired right, then even a slightly loose wirenut will cause the same thing you describe.
    it sounds like at this point My first thought was wrong….. Somewhere at the control on the compressor, there is a bad connection. If the pressure switch is good, you can test it with a VOM volt ohm meter. Test for continuity when not under pressure. It should read 0 meaning that the circuit is closed allowing power to flow across it, enabling the motor to pump.
    After the tank gets up to pressure, test the switch again. If it’s not reading anything, like you’re connecting to open air, then it’s open…. That doesn’t allow any power to go across to the motor.
    when you reinstall and reconnect everything, be sure that the connections are VERY firmly held with ALL wires touching on the electrical connecting spade/ wire nut, or however it is connected.
    IF you test the pressure switch while the compressor is running, disconnected, like you ran it under your bypass test, the continuity reading should read constant closed then switch to open. NO aberrations or variations in continuity.
    Any variations other than OPEN or CLOSED will tell you that the pressure switch is drawing some of the power, bleeding it off the main circuit, causing the overload.

    I really suspect a bad connection thou.

    Good luck

  8. Darkgoth says:
    October 7, 2009 at 8:11 am

    I dissagre with everyone, the key is when you bleed the air out it starts ok. That tells me the compressor is working fine until it is trying its hardest to pump the pressure up to the max you have it set at. Have you tried lowering the setting on the pressure switch? I believe your unit is working harder than when new, possibly bad bearing, or lubrication and its getting hotter…thus when it reaches max set point it trips, or possibly is the switch piped correctly

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...

You must be logged in to post a comment.