AC Compressor Running with AC Turned Off

[DiaperDude]

This weekend while camping we were running the AC when we went to bed. In the morning when we woke we noticed that it was nice enough outside that we decided to turn the AC off and open the windows. When I shut the AC off the compressor kept running. It would run very noisely every 5-10 min for about 1-2 min and then shut off. The odd part was that this was with the unit turned off and the temperature pushed up to 90+. Ultimately, I threw the breaker for a few hours. By early afternoon the temperature had risen and it was starting to get hot. So, I decided to try the AC out again. I turned the breaker back on, turned the AC unit on and lowered the temp. The unit ran for the remainder of Saturday and Sunday with no issue.

So, my question is has anyone seen this before and if so how did you fix it?

[DiaperDude]

Golden_HVAC & Johno02,

Thank you for the replies. The advice is really appreciated.

[Johno02]

Yes, we have the identical problem, and are getting it fixed by replacing the thermostat and control board in the ACs. This is a common problem.

[Golden_HVAC]

The compressor relay is stuck in the closed position.

You will need to have someone replace the circuit board that controlls the compressor, or the relay that controlls the compressor. Lately the compressor relay is a low cost part that is soldered to the circuit board, and not really rated at a full 15 amps that will go through it each time it starts.

Fred.