A motor failure that overheats the windings and leaves acid and carbon in the system.
When a hermetic compressor's motor insulation breaks down, the arc and heat produce acid and carbon that spread through the oil and refrigerant. The smell of the oil and an acid test confirm it. Clean-up includes recovering the contaminated charge into a labelled cylinder, installing a suction line clean-up drier and a new liquid line drier, thorough evacuation, and repeat acid tests after start-up. Find the root cause before the new compressor fails the same way.
Exam work areas
F · Maintenance, service and troubleshooting