I have a fairly new Heil 13 seer 2 1/2 ton heatpump with an old mercury type thermostat that has me puzzled. I noticed the other day when I accidentally short cycled the unit the outside unit did not come back on for several minutes but the inside unit fan was running so I let it run till the system satisfied and went to the thermostat soon as it did and cut it down so it would come right back on but again the outside unit waited a few minutes while the fan was running but if the unit has been off for a while the outside unit starts instantly when setting thermostat. My old unit started right away with this same thermostat and inside unit no matter what. I guess what Im asking is does the Heil outside unit have some kind of short cycle protection or delay or is something weak or going bad? Thanks for any help

There is a safety device in the unit that prevents short cycling to protect the unit. This is normal operation and nothing to worry about.