If your air conditioner won't turn on or if it doesn't cool down your house, there might be a problem in the condenser unit. When the air conditioning repair technician inspects the condenser, they may find mice to be the culprit. Mice may be the last thing you would expect to cause problems with your AC, but it can happen. Here are problems mice cause, repairs that may be needed, and how to keep mice out of the condenser.

How Mice Damage Your AC Condenser

Mice like to gnaw things, so if mice get in your condenser, they can gnaw insulation off of wiring and cause an electrical short. Mice might even cause problems by making contact with electrical parts and getting shocked or by moving the parts and causing the connections to get loose.

The condenser has several wires in it from the thermostat, power supply, contactor, capacitor, fan motor, and compressor. Damage from mice can cause any of these parts to malfunction or fail. Mice may even move into the condenser and build a nest. Their coming and going can disrupt wiring and cause intermittent problems that make it difficult to know what's going on with your AC.

Air Conditioning Repairs Needed For Mice Damage

Your AC repair technician may start by cleaning out the nests and removing dead mice so nothing presses against the wiring. Once the condenser is clean, the air conditioning repair technician can examine each wire to look for signs of damage. Wiring with gnaw marks needs to be replaced and loose wiring needs to be tightened up.

The technician also looks for areas where rodents have done damage due to gnawing on parts other than the wiring insulation. Fortunately, most parts in the condenser are metal, but parts made of plastic that have been damaged may need to be replaced.

Ways To Keep Mice Out Of The Condenser

There are holes in the condenser made for wiring to pass through that are also large enough for mice to squeeze through. Your air conditioning repair technician may plug these holes to keep mice out.

You should also consider keeping weeds, grass, and plants away from the condenser so mice can't sneak too close to the unit. Place a wide border of gravel around the condenser so mice don't have cover that keeps them protected as they approach the AC.

Mice can do extensive damage to your condenser, especially if they spend the entire winter inside to hide from the snow. You may need to implement pest control measures to decrease the mice on your property so you don't have to worry about them bothering your equipment during any season of the year.

If you've noticed a problem with your AC, contact a local AC repair service to get help.

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