AC Unit Shaking Violently: Why Does It Happen?

Your air conditioner is a valuable ally in the hot and humid New Jersey weather. Therefore, seeing your AC unit shaking violently will most likely give you cause for concern. You’re right to be worried in that scenario because a fully functional air conditioner doesn’t need to shake while working.

As the top choice for air conditioning repair in Hillsdale, NJ, many of our customers often ask about the implications of having an AC unit that shakes strongly while it works. They often want to find out if they need to ditch the unit and buy a new one.

If you’re in this situation, the first thing you should know is that it doesn’t always mean you need to spend money on a new unit. However, it usually indicates a need for maintenance work and repairs. We’ll look at some of the main reasons for your AC unit shaking violently below.

Possible Causes of AC Unit Shaking Violently

Your AC could be shaking due to one or a combination of the following causes:

Accumulation of Dirt and Debris

Your air conditioner has many moving parts that must work together to generate that cool air you desire. If you allow the parts to become clogged, the air conditioner may vibrate strongly while in use, as it will need to work harder to maintain your preferred temperature. If this is the case, your AC will stop shaking during operation after you clean it.

You can complete the cleaning on your own or request professional help. Some of the things you can do include:

• Changing the filters
• Clearing any blockages or debris around the outdoor unit and spraying it clean with water
• Vacuuming the internal unit after you turn it off

You may also need to clean the coils, but that’s a territory you should probably leave to HVAC experts. The technician can clean your unit and also investigate it for other hidden problems.

After you clean up the AC, you should see a significant improvement in its ability to reach and maintain your preferred temperatures.

Hidden Mechanical Issues

Mechanical problems you’ve not identified are another major reason for your AC unit shaking violently while it’s in operation. Some common mechanical issues that may lead to this problem include:

• A damaged fan motor or compressor
• A misalignment in the blower wheel
• Loose internal parts or connections

These mechanical problems are easy to fix with repairs. However, you may need to budget for replacement parts in some cases. Any qualified technician will tell you that it’s cheaper to replace a severely damaged fan motor or compressor instead of attempting repairs.

Problem With the Outdoor Unit Fan Blade

We gave the fan blades a separate section because it’s one of the most common reasons we see an AC unit shaking violently. Debris can fall into your fan housing, causing damage to the fan blades. Even when the piece of debris doesn’t cause any damage directly, it can bend the blades when your air conditioner kicks in and comes in contact with it.

Check the fan blades in the outside unit to see if any of them is bent or broken. You can easily bend such fan blades back into position.

If you can’t find any bent blades or any debris, spin the fan manually and see if it wobbles. If it does, then it’s out of balance. You’ll need to call in an HVAC expert to rebalance or replace the fan.

Your Air Conditioner Is Too Small For Your Home

A running theme here is that your air conditioner will likely vibrate if it is struggling to cool your home. Thus, your air conditioner will likely vibrate while working if it is too small for your home. It’s not uncommon for some inexperienced installers to choose the wrong size of air conditioner for a space.

If you’ve remodeled and expanded your home since you last installed your air conditioner, the space may now be too big for it. If the air conditioner is too small for your home, it will have to work harder to reach your desired temperatures. That struggle will manifest in different ways, including vibrations. Over time, more mechanical issues will develop.

The obvious solution here is to replace your air conditioner, but that’s a costly expense, especially if you don’t have a warranty card to pull. So, the best bet is to consider more affordable supplemental cooling options like ceiling fans to reduce the workload on the air conditioner.

Start Capacitor Problems

Does your air conditioner shake violently at the start of a cooling cycle? This is a problem experts refer to as a hard start. It requires urgent attention because it can cause permanent damage to your air conditioner’s electrical components.

Refrigerant Leaks

Your air conditioner won’t work efficiently if there’s a drop in the quantity of refrigerant flowing through the coils. If the leaks become severe enough, it could lead to the AC unit shaking violently while working.

How to Keep Your AC From Shaking While Working

To keep your air conditioner from shaking while working, you may need to carry out the fixes we discussed above, including calling a professional to take care of any signs of mechanical damage, cleaning up the outdoor and indoor unit, and tightening any loose connections.

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring the violent shaking. Turn the system off until the HVAC expert arrives. Using the air conditioner through the problem can cause more serious damage and may cause injuries to anyone around it.

Once the shaking has stopped, we recommend scheduling regular maintenance to keep it from coming back. The maintenance technician will find future problems long before they become serious enough for you to notice or to affect your comfort.

Trust the Leading HVAC Professionals Near You

Are you looking for an HVAC company to talk to about your AC unit shaking violently as it works? You can depend on our team. We have the tools, skills, and parts to troubleshoot and resolve all common AC problems.

Call the Gladiator Services team in Hillside, NJ, today at 201-419-6090 to request an inspection.