52c,p series – Carrier P User Manual
Page 14

52C,P
SERIES
14
The rotary compression process (Figure 28), starts at 
top dead center as shown in (1). Suction gas flows 
through the suction inlet and into the cylinder area. 
As the shaft rotates through 90 degrees, the rolling 
piston moves to position A as shown in (2). The suction 
volume is now the area defined by point A and the tip 
of the vane. Gas in the remaining volume has been 
compressed above suction pressure. After another 
90 degrees of shaft rotation, the rolling piston has 
moved to position B as shown in (3). Both the com-
pressed gas and suction gas volumes are now equal. 
Another 90 degrees of shaft rotation is shown in (4). 
Compressed gas has reached a pressure sufficient to 
open the discharge valve, and flows from the cylinder 
into the compressor shell. After another 90 degrees of 
shaft rotation, the entire process begins again. Contin-
uous suction and discharge allows for a smooth com-
pression process.
The rolling piston is not in actual contact with the cyl-
inder wall, vane, or bearing faces. Hydrodynamic seal-
ing prevents leakage from the compressed gas volume 
to the suction volume via these paths. Precise control 
of machining tolerances, surfaces, finishes, and assem-
bly clearances is critical to achieve high efficiency per-
formance. In addition, the line contact between the 
vane tip and the rolling piston requires careful selec-
tion and control of materials to provide wear resis-
tance and reliable long-term operation.
COMPRESSOR TROUBLESHOOTING
Refer to Figure 29 for a basic compressor troubleshoot-
ing chart.
BASIC HERMETIC COMPRESSOR 
ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENTS
There are 2 basic electrical tests for hermetic compres-
sors that will determine the electrical state of the 
motor. The first test requires checking the electrical 
resistance of each of the electrical motor windings. The 
second test requires checking the electrical resistance 
of each of the electrical motor windings to ground. 
These tests may be accomplished by performing the 
following steps:
1. DISCONNECT ALL POWER TO THE UNIT.
2. Remove the unit chassis from the sleeve as 
detailed in the UNIT DISASSEMBLY section.
3. Open the control box as detailed in the UNIT
DISASSEMBLY section, then locate, label, and 
remove the 3 compressor wires from the following 
locations: the RUN wire (BLACK) from the capac-
itor, the START wire (BLUE) from the capacitor. 
The third wire, COMMON wire (YELLOW) may 
be connected to one of the following locations: for 
PC units the wire is on the indoor thermostat, 
for CE, PE Remote Control Units the wire is 
on the RC Control Board, for all other CE, PE 
Units the wire is located on the rotary selector 
switch. For ALL CQ, PQ Units the wire is on the 
outdoor frost thermostat.
4. Perform a shorted/open windings test to measure
the resistance between the windings of the com-
pressor motor. Use a volt-ohmmeter set to the low-
est ohm reading level then read and record the 
resistance between the RUN and START, START 
and COMMON, and RUN and COMMON wires. 
See Figure 30. The typical resistance readings will 
be about 4, 3, and 1 ohms respectively. The 
smaller values should add to equal the larger 
value. If this is not true then the compressor is 
likely shorted winding to winding.
NOTE: The rotary compressor has the compressor 
overload located under the terminal cover. If the over-
load is open it can show ohm readings that are infinite. 
The unit should be off for at least an hour to give this 
overload time to reset if it is open.
For compressors that are known to be dam-
aged: Remove refrigerant prior to disconnecting 
compressor wires. Damaged hermetic compressor 
terminals may become loose and eject from the com-
pressor. Wear safety glasses and keep your face 
away from the area above the terminals when 
removing compressor wires.
FIGURE 28 — ROTARY COMPRESSOR
COMPRESSION PROCESS
