Portable AC turning off after 3 mins

Dan_P · 25 Aug 2019 at 19:54

Hi all,

I’ve had our portable AC unit for 2 years and a couple of months now and all has been working fine.
Today I have tried to use it during the day (we normally only use it at night which has worked fine every night all night cooling the room constantly) and the compressor seems to only kick in for 3 minutes and then switches off (leaving it effectively on fan mode) If you turn the unit off and on it starts again but only for a maximum of 3 minutes.
Really don’t know what is causing this? At 2 years old I wouldn’t expect it to be failing?

cleaned all filters and took unit apart to check blockages etc, correct settings on (no sleep or timer and set to 15-18c as normal).
Model: Igenix 9901

thanks in advance
Dan

Dan_P · 25 Aug 2019 at 20:12

paradigm said:
Could be a low pressure trigger causing it to shut off.

What do you mean sorry? And how would I solve that?

*description updated*

Dan_P · 25 Aug 2019 at 20:35

LOAM said:
Does it have a water bottle?

no? It has a drain pipe which when full can stop it working, but that’s only happened once before. I have drained it anyway but there was only a very small amount and it hasn’t fixed it.

Dan_P · 26 Aug 2019 at 10:29

23JMZ07 said:
10000% its not on dehumidify instead of cool? As that matches that behaviour.

Otherwise is there any on-time difference between high/low fan??

On cool for certain, fan level doesn’t change anything.

We turned it back on again late last night and it has worked perfectly all night until 10am this morning which is really odd. Hoping it was just a one off but going to keep an eye on it.

Dan_P · 29 Aug 2019 at 12:50

andy_mk3 said:
Just to note, portable A/C units seldom come with service ports, meaning a re-charge is near impossible. They are normally filled and capped. Due to them being solid pipes, unlike a car with some flexible hoses, they generally don't leak and should last many years on the gas they are filled with.

That's what I thought, thanks Andy.

Dan_P · 29 Aug 2019 at 12:51

Blackjack Davy said:
Sounds like the temperature sensor is playing up... if I leave mine on default (24) it'll cut in and out leaving the fan running but lower it to say 16 and it'll remain on continually and turn the room into an icebox. If its not doing that it sounds like the thermostat is on the blink.

I think that was what happened too - it is working at the moment so hoping it was a one off. If it continues I will be contacting the company in the hope they can replace a faulty sensor/part.