Room air conditioner compressor shuts off

[semaela]

I live in an apartment with a room air conditioner that has supplementary heat, Frigidaire model # FFTH1222Q2. The air conditioner is supplied by the property management co.

Below about 80 degrees, it will cool all afternoon and keep the apartment comfortable. Above 80 degrees, the compressor shuts itself off at varying intervals and compressor only runs maybe 5-10 minutes out of every 30. Because of this, over the course of the afternoon the temperature in the apartment roughly parallels the outside temperature. If I'm lucky it might be a couple degrees cooler than outside.

I have tried different thermostat settings such as 60, 72, 80 & 85 but it makes no difference to how it works.

One other possible clue is that when it gets cooler outside and the inside temperature reaches the thermostat setting, the compressor & fan both shut off. When it's warmer and it's malfunctioning, the compressor shuts off & the fan keeps running and blows warm or hot air. After 10-20 minutes of no compressor, the compressor will start up again and cooling resumes.

I have been going around & around with the property manager over this, but so far all they have done is continue to replace the air conditioner with the exact same brand and model. I'm now on my 4th unit and all 4 have done the same thing.

My hypotheses are a) there is a design flaw that let's it cool fine below 80 degrees but not above 80, b) there is an internal setting that could be adjusted, or c) it's just not big enough for the apartment and the compressor overheats and shuts itself off in self-protection mode.

Also, this model is not field repairable according to Frigidaire, which I also confirmed with a Frigidaire authorized servicer.

Help!

 

[WyrTwister]

Within its design parameters , the A/C should be able to run 24/7 .\

Check and clean as needed , the indoor air filter .

Check the outdoor coil & see if it is dirty / stopped up . Check for bent fins .

What size ( BTU ) is the A/C and how many square feet are you trying to cool ? Close all windows and blinds / curtains .

Unit may need repair or replacement .

God bless
Wyr

 

[semaela]

Run 24/7 - I agree, it should but it doesn't. To my understanding of air conditioning, even if the unit is not big enough to cool the space it is supposed to cool it would continue to attempt to cool it till the electricity quit or the unit overheated. No overheating here, just the compressor randomly shuts off and randomly restarts after the outside temperature reaches 80 degrees F.

Indoor filter & coil are fine, all four (4) units were/are new.

15,000 BTU cooling a 500 s.f. apartment. Windows & blinds are closed.

Yes, that's why I've had the property manager replace it. All 4 units have operated exactly the same.

Thanks,
Alan