I have an air conditioning unit that is under a window, much like one would find in a hotel. It will operate for half an hour or so, then what I assume is the ground fault interrupter switch will trip, because I hear a loud CLICK. The unit will come on again when I “reset” the GFI on the plug, but I can’t be getting up every half hour to reset this AC, especially at night!
How can I keep the GFI from tripping (other than hide its LSD, of course)?
Has it always been doing this?
An air conditioner should not be plugged into a GFI outlet. It’s not illegal to do so, but it’s really not designed (the gfi) for motor loads and complex equipment like the AC unit or the fridge. There is something in the cycling of the AC that the GFI doesn’t like and it trips. Probably not an overcurrent condition but rather some other design in the circuitry that isn’t a safety issue. I would change out that outlet to a regular plug (making sure there aren’t other plugs (outlets) on the load side of the GFI that are also protected.) If it’s all by itself and doesn’t protect any other outlets and is at least 6 feet from a water source then you can change it out. There are other conditions where GFIs are needed so you may want to be more speicific as to where this AC unit is and why it’s plugged into a GFI to begin with.
Or find a different window to put the unit in that is closer to a regular outlet.
Well, I assume it’s a GFI. It’s a safety switch at the end of the plug on the unit… Hair dryer plugs have the same setup-- a test and reset button on the plug itself.
I just moved in to this room yesterday (dorm room (already tried emailing maintenance)). I assume this has been a chronic condition because the plate that covers the outlet and plug was unscrewed; it seems someone had unscrewed it to be able to hit the reset button.
Ok, that last part seems confusing. Is there a GFI on the cord of the AC unit (factory installed) or is it part of the building (the outlet itself) or both?
If it’s both you shouldn’t have two GFIs in series. They’ll trip each other.
If it’s just the factory GFI (on the cord) that’s tripping then you might have a problem with the unit.
It’s just the GFI on the cord on the unit. Where the unit is plugged in is covered by a plate.
I always find it interesting that, whenever a GFI trips, we assume there’s not a ground fault, and that there must be something wrong with the GFI, or that the load is not compatible with a GFI.
If the GFI on the cord is tripping, there’s probably a reason for it. One WAG is that moisture has created leakage current to flow between a conductor and earth ground. If this is the case, there is a problem with the unit.
I am not suggesting you do this, but this is what I would do: I would temporarily run the unit with the safety ground disconnected using an adapter plug. If the GFI does not trip, then it’s probably an indication that there is a ground fault inside the unit, and hence something is wrong with the unit. If it still trips, then I would look into it further. (If it still trips with the ground disconnected, it could still be a ground fault if the unit is grounded some other way.) Of course, if I were to do this, I would make sure I didn’t touch any metal part of the air conditioner while the ground was lifted, and would probably wear rubber soled shoes and rubber gloves as an extra precaution. 
I concur with you. As I stated above, if it’s a factory installed GFI on the end of the cord and it IS tripping, then there is likely a problem with the unit.
I still can’t picture how removing the wall plate will make resetting the GFI on the end of the cord easier. A picture here would be helpful.
It’s not the wall plate… Just a metal panel to hide the cord. Here is a picture.
I was trying to reply last night when the boards entered the Crapful Zone.
What you’ve pictured looks like a cord end molded GFI. That said, there are still two likely causes for the problem you’re experiencing: a defective GFI, or a fault in the AC unit.
If I were troubleshooting things, I’d temporarily replace the existing cordset with one of appropriate gauge and feed it from a GFI receptacle. If the unit runs without tripping, then the molded cord GFI is faulty. If the AC unit trips the GFI receptacle, then it has internal issues.
Safety note: if you’re not experienced in working with wiring and such, don’t attempt this yourself, as fire, injury, and death can result.
