How to Wire an Outside Air Conditioner Condenser
An air conditioning system needs an outside condensing unit to push the refrigerant through the metering valve. The condensing unit then sucks up the vapor from the refrigerant back into the compressor, and the cycle begins again. It is necessary to connect the condensing unit to the air conditioner for it to function properly.
Supplies:
- Nut driver set
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Wire strippers
- Razor knife
- Wire nuts
- Turn off the electricity to the air conditioner from the circuit breaker box.
- Unscrew the outside unit control panel cover using a nut driver. The cover usually has five screws with two on each side. Place the screws in a safe place once they are removed.
- Take off the panel cover by pulling it straight down, then set it in a safe place.
- Locate the high-voltage wires from the condensing unit’s disconnected box and push the wires through the wire clamp and into the control panel. The clamp is located under the control panel. You can identify the high-voltage wires by searching for two insulated power wires and one bare copper ground wire.
- Connect the copper ground wire to the grounded terminal block with a screwdriver.
- Use the wire strippers to strip 1/2-inch from the ends of the insulated high-voltage wires.
- Place the stripped ends of the high-voltage wires into the contactor high-voltage wire terminals. The contactor is usually a black box-shaped piece containing spring-loaded bus bars and a low-voltage operating coil.
- Tighten the contactor’s high voltage terminal screws with a flat head screwdriver.
- Locate the low voltage wire set and push from the inside unit through the wire clamp and into the condensing unit control box. The low voltage wire goes to the inside unit and combines with the house's low voltage units. The low voltage wire set have two strands in plastic sheathing.
- Use a razor knife and remove two to three inches of sheathing from the low voltage wire.
- Use your wire strippers for 1/2-inch of insulation from each low voltage strands. Low voltage wires usually have white and red insulation.
- Twist one of the wire strands from the contactor to one of the inside unit’s low voltage wire. Secure with a wire nut.
- Tighten the wire clamp using a flat-head screwdriver.
- Screw the condensing unit cover into place.
- Turn the power back on from the circuit breaker and test the unit.