The average cost of compressor replacement largely relies on whether your compressor is covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. Most systems these days come with a 10-year factory compressor warranty for residential applications. In this case, the compressor would be covered by the manufacturer. What most people fail to understand up front is that the refrigerant and the labor to install the part are not covered, and in some cases, even the filter drier is not covered.
Would I Need to Replace My Refrigerant if the Compressor Failed?
So, you are probably asking yourself: would I need to replace my refrigerant if the compressor failed?
Depending on the type of compressor failure, mechanical failure or electrical failure, that would determine if you absolutely have to replace the refrigerant. It is recommended to replace the refrigerant in any case because, by replacing the refrigerant, we are removing all potential contamination.
If your compressor fails electrically, especially if the system is suspected to have burned out, moisture, oil, and refrigerant can arc or burn. This chemical reaction creates acid within the system. Your technician should be performing an acid test to determine if acid is present.
Average Labor Cost in Jacksonville, FL
The average cost for labor in Jacksonville, FL, for compressor replacement in its most basic form ranges from as little as $600 all the way up to $2,200. This wide range is usually due to company size, overhead, and, in some cases, experience.
Please keep in mind this is labor only. Refrigerant would depend on the size of the system and the length of the refrigerant lines. Your technician should be able to work out the math to give you an approximate estimate for the refrigerant.
Your AC data label will tell us exactly how much refrigerant the factory installed when the system was built. From there, the math can be applied to each additional 1′ of liquid refrigerant line after 15′ in some cases.
| Example50′ refrigerant lines – 15′ pre-charged from the factory leaves the additional line length of 35′. This additional length of line needs to be accounted for, so additional refrigerant will need to be added. |
Common Compressor Failure Causes
Unfortunately, in Jacksonville, FL, we suffer from the same thing as the rest of the country, which is poor installation. This stems from lack of knowledge and a shortage in the skilled trades space. So, let’s get into it.
When the manufacturer installs the compressor and factory-charges the system, the system is first put into a deep vacuum. By pulling this deep vacuum, we are able to boil out moisture from the sealed system by means of pressure drop. This process is vital for the system’s life.
We have specialized tools that can measure the vacuum pressure to understand if the vacuum has removed all the moisture and other non-condensables from the system. This process takes time and knowledge. It is not as simple as setting a timer and running the vacuum for 30 minutes, and that’s it. We are measuring the rate of rise or the decay of the vacuum to determine if there are leaks or moisture still there.
Other Compressor Failure Causes
Loose / Corroded High-Voltage Connection
Loose or corroded high-voltage connections can cause voltage to drop and amp draw to go up. In some cases, it can go high enough to exceed the amp rating of the compressor. This causes the windings of the compressor to break down and ultimately come into contact with another winding or ground. This can be prevented with proper routine maintenance by a qualified technician. There is a difference.
Electrical Interference
This can come from outside the home and inward, like a surge of power. These surges can also happen from within the home going outward, like when your refrigerator comes on at the same time as your AC system and you notice your lights dimming.
Other conditions are brownouts. This is an electrical sag, not a surge, but more like a voltage drop for a period of time. Just like I explained about loose and corroded wires, with a voltage drop, the amp draw goes up. The motor does not know the difference in the drop of voltage; it is still going to try to run.
This will lead to the breakdown of the electrical windings of the compressor and eventually short the compressor out in the same way. These can also be prevented by investing in a quality voltage monitor that protects from these conditions.
Buyer beware: there are a ton of these products that claim to help or prevent failures like these. Do your research, and you will learn that while they might help with some electrical issues, they do not protect from others or, worse, they do not do anything at all.
System Charge
Too much or too little refrigerant in the AC system is another way the compressor can fail. Too much refrigerant in an older unit that is not equipped with an accumulator is certain death to that compressor. The reason is that liquid refrigerant travels back to the “air compressor,” often called slug back. This is simply not what the compressor is designed to do. It is designed to pull gas, not liquid.
Conversely, not enough refrigerant will also kill the compressor. Contrary to popular belief, some would think that the outdoor fan motor cools the compressor. This is incorrect. The compressor is actually cooled by the cold refrigerant gas, so if the refrigerant levels are not right, like not enough refrigerant, the gas getting back to the compressor will not be cool enough to cool off the compressor, leading to overheating and, yep, you guessed it, compressor failure.
Clogged Coils
This is a big one. Your outdoor coil has to breathe. If the coil cannot breathe, it cannot reject the heat that has been absorbed; therefore, the compressor will overheat and lead to failure.
A clogged indoor coil will not allow the system to absorb the heat from the home, causing the coil to freeze or run super cold and, in some cases, slug refrigerant back to the compressor, causing failure. These are both preventable with proper maintenance and coil cleanings.
Poor Service Practices
I am going to state this one again: poor service practices on maintenance, previous repairs, and checkups. If your technician has not been trained properly, this will lead to contamination within the system because they do not really know how to connect and disconnect gauges properly.
Worse, if this technician is learning to be a technician at your expense, they may be making these kinds of repairs.
Mechanical Failure
Other failures, like mechanical failure, are more related to manufacturing, where the moving portion of the compressor snaps off the shaft and loses the ability to pump refrigerant.
Final Note
There are obviously other issues that can lead to compressor failure, but these are the most common that we see in the field.