Since summer often brings storms along with it, your air conditioner is at risk of damage from lightning strikes and power surges. If it seems like your AC isn't working well after a storm, have the equipment checked by an AC repair service to make sure a part like the compressor isn't slowly failing due to a power surge.

One of the parts most vulnerable to a power surge during a storm is a capacitor since even a low surge can harm a capacitor. Here are some signs a capacitor in your AC may be damaged and how an AC repair service can replace it.

Signs Of Capacitor Damage

While the chance of a direct lightning strike on your AC condenser is pretty low, if lightning does hit it, the damage is obvious. You may see charred equipment or twisted metal. If a power surge causes damage instead, there may be no visible signs.

Instead, you might notice an odd odor coming from the equipment or a humming noise when the capacitor tries to operate. Your home may not cool properly if the condenser fan capacitor isn't working, the airflow might be reduced if the air handler capacitor isn't working. Your AC might short cycle due to overheating of the equipment because of a bad AC capacitor.

Your air conditioner has capacitors in both the air handler and condenser that help the motors start up and run, so the problems you experience depend on which capacitor is bad. Plus, if the surge was powerful enough, there could be other problems too such as melted wiring or a blown control panel.

That's why you should call an AC repair service to check all of your equipment if a capacitor is bad. Even if other parts weren't damaged, they might be at risk due to the extra strain caused by a malfunctioning capacitor.

How A Bad Capacitor Is Repaired

Fortunately, replacing a bad capacitor is a fairly easy job since the capacitors are usually easy to reach and work on. Capacitors look like large cylinder batteries with wires coming from them. The AC repair technician disconnects the wiring and loosens the support bracket to remove the capacitor.

If the technician isn't sure if the capacitor is the problem, they can use a multimeter to test it. However, the capacitor might have visible signs of damage such as melted parts or burn marks.

The new capacitor can be mounted to the AC, and then you can connect the wires to it. If that's the only problem, then your air conditioner should work normally once it's turned back on and tested.