overloadin' circuits

I've gotta 10,000 BTU window unit air conditioner runnin' on a 15-amp circuit. Sometimes, when the television (19" color) is on, but not all the time, the circuit will overload and shut down. This never happened during the last 2 sumers; just started happenin' this summer. Does this indicate some wiring problem that can't be seen? I'm becomin' worried about a possible fire hazard. Thanks.

 

You should check the connections to the recepts and any others you might find on that circuit. There are also restart times. You should wait 5 minutes between shutting off and starting again. It takes aprox 1 amp per 1000 btu of cooling in a window unit. (generalization) but technically because it is using more than 50% of the ampacity of that circuit it should be dedicated. Adding another couple hundred watts for a tv and that makes it marginal and with a couple seasons of wear on the unit I can see it spiking enough to trip the breaker during the right stage of its cycle. I had a walk in that ran fine on a 2-30 for a season or 2 and then tripped just once. In order to be reliable I had to make a change.

 

Some air conditioning units require servicing once a year where you actually have to open the unit up and oil the motor if it doesn't get this it starts to draw more as time goes on until it stops completely. Check the owners manual on the unit and see if this might be part of your problem. I know this one because I lost an air conditioner for not reading the manual and oiling it.