Ask Me Help Desk - Trane Air Condition circuit breakers trips

I have a Trane Air Condition that refuses to run more that 10 minutes without tripping the circuit breaker when tempertures are below 32 degs. I read that at low tempertures, more features are needed to keep the heat up. Operation of these features seems to overload the circuit. There must be a set temperature at which the features kick in. Mine seems to kick in at approx. 32 degs. I would like to know if there is any way to change or lower this activation point. (say, to 20 degs) I am looking for a way to correct this problem other than installing a heavier circuit breaker. Thanks for any assistance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjeselva

I have a Trane Air Condition that refuses to run more that 10 minutes without tripping the circuit breaker when tempertures are below 32 degs. I read that at low tempertures, more features are needed to keep the heat up. Operation of these features seems to overload the circuit. There must be a set temperture at which the features kick in. Mine seems to kick in at approx. 32 degs. I would like to know if there is any way to change or lower this activation point. (say, to 20 degs) I am looking for a way to correct this problem other than installing a heavier circuit breaker. Thanks for any assistance.

Please provide more detail... ex what type of heater do you have (( electric element... heat pump+ element combo... gas furnace))?. yours sound like aheat pump... heat pump don't work very well when outside air temperature approach 32F( shouldnot be working at 32F) and that is when your supplement electric heater element come on

You need to fix what is wrong, not try to cobble something up. Depending on the wire size, a heavier breaker may not be an option. If your system is wired with #10 wire and you already have a 30 amp breaker, that is the heaviest that can safely be used. If your high rate or auxiliary heat has a problem that trips a 30 amp breaker, it might trip a 40 amp breaker too before the wire overheats.

Above 32 degrees, does your system depend on the outside compressor for heat? If so, it may switch to a higher compressor speed or resistance heat below 32 degrees. If the system never worked right and is fairly new, it is a matter for whoever installed it or sold you the house to fix. If you have put up with it that way for a while, you may have stuck yourself with the expense of making it work right.

One easy out would be if the breaker itself is bad. They can start tripping when they shouldn't when they get old. Unfortunately changing it means pulling the cover of breaker box and exposing the incoming power feed. That is very near the point where I say call a professional.

From there, you could poke around and look for a wire that is obviously out of place, bare metal touching the housing of the system. If you don't find anything obvious, you may have to call in somebody with an ohmmeter and ammeter to find out what is drawing how much power, and replace whatever is bad.

I certainly can't tell you how to readjust the system. Even if you could do it, the lower rate of heating might not be able to keep the house warm much below 32 degrees. You might only manage to get yourself into the coldest part of the year and not have enough heat.

I see other people saying call a technician when I figure it is something I can help fix. There are times you must give up and call for help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by labman

You need to fix what is wrong, not try to cobble something up. Depending on the wire size, a heavier breaker may not be an option. If your system is wired with #10 wire and you already have a 30 amp breaker, that is the heaviest that can safely be used. If your high rate or auxiliary heat has a problem that trips a 30 amp breaker, it might trip a 40 amp breaker too before the wire overheats.

Above 32 degrees, does your system depend on the outside compressor for heat? If so, it may switch to a higher compressor speed or resistance heat below 32 degrees. If the system never worked right and is fairly new, it is a matter for whoever installed it or sold you the house to fix. If you have put up with it that way for a while, you may have stuck yourself with the expense of making it work right.

One easy out would be if the breaker itself is bad. They can start tripping when they shouldn't when they get old. Unfortunately changing it means pulling the cover of breaker box and exposing the incoming power feed. That is very near the point where I say call a professional.

From there, you could poke around and look for a wire that is obviously out of place, bare metal touching the housing of the system. If you don't find anything obvious, you may have to call in somebody with an ohmmeter and ammeter to find out what is drawing how much power, and replace whatever is bad.

I certainly can't tell you how to readjust the system. Even if you could do it, the lower rate of heating might not be able to keep the house warm much below 32 degrees. You might only manage to get yourself into the coldest part of the year and not have enough heat.

I see other people saying call a technician when I figure it is something I can help fix. There are times you must give up and call for help.

Also.. in resitance heater... if the return air is restrict ( not enough air flow) it may overheat and ((** before the hi-temp cutout kick in)) trip off the breakerS...

The circuit breaker should be sized to the unit. That information is listed on the outside section OR in your instillation instructions that should have been left on the job. If your heat pump is blowing the breaker after 10 minutes of operation it could be SLUG back of the refrigerant to the compressor putting a extra losd on the outside unit. If this is the case you will need to call a pro to fix it.

I have a trane air handler with electric heat and every time my heat cuts off it trips my breaker?

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Originally Posted by smsatt

i have a trane air handler with electric heat and every time my heat cuts off it trips my breaker?

Does the breaker become very warm/hot to the touch?