AC Capacitors Are Failing All Over Billings: Here’s What to Check Before Yours Does

If we had cornfields out here in the Heights where I live, they wouldn't be growing corn. They'd be producing Orville Redenbacher by the truckload. That's how hot it's been lately. Yeah, I know, I know. It's summer. It's supposed to be hot. But let me tell you, we've been cooking in my house.

Last Saturday during peak heat, our central air squeaked out a pathetic "I can't live like this" and died. Dead. Poof. Goodbye. Thank you very much for your service.

We live in a townhouse with only a handful of windows that actually open, so once the heat gets in, it doesn't really have anywhere to go. No cross breeze coming to save us. Just heat, parked in every room, refusing to leave.

For five days, the inside of our house sat well over 90 degrees. The National Weather Service has an Extreme Heat Watch in effect for the Billings area through the weekend, so if you've been sweating through the same thing, you are not imagining it, and you're not alone.

Waiting for AC Repair During a Montana Heat Wave

We filed a claim with our home warranty company and did what everyone in that situation does. We waited. My poor husband and son spent five days trapped inside a human air fryer with a woman who considers 70 degrees tropical.

Even in the middle of all that sweating, I never forgot how good we still had it. When the heat gets to me, I think about our troops stationed overseas, sweltering in gear that doesn't breathe, with no thermostat to blame and nobody to call for a repair. I also think about neighbors here in Billings who don't have air conditioning at all, and who don't get the option of just waiting out a broken unit, because they never had one to wait out in the first place. Feeling sorry for myself over a busted capacitor truly feels small next to that.

Our AC Is Fixed, and I'm Not Taking Cool Air for Granted

The tech showed up yesterday. It was a cross your fingers, toss up a prayer, please let them fix it kind of day. In just a few hours, our house dropped from over 90 degrees to 70, and for the first time in five days, nobody in this house found themself sitting in a puddle of their own sweat.

And before anyone says "you'll complain when it gets cold," No. It's never too cold for this girl.

AC Capacitors Are Failing All Over Billings, Technician Says

Turns out our AC unit just picked a bad summer to have a weak part. The technician told me the heat Billings has been dealing with, and the wave that's about to slam us this weekend, has caused a wave of AC units across the city to go down right along with ours. Our culprit was the capacitor, the small part that basically kickstarts the compressor and fan motors. He said he's replaced dozens of them over the past few weeks alone.

How to Keep Your AC Running Through the Rest of This Heat

If you'd rather not become the technician's next capacitor replacement, here's what's worth doing before the next round of heat hits:

• Change or clean your air filter. A clogged filter makes your whole system work harder, which is exactly the kind of strain that kills a capacitor.
• Clear debris away from your outdoor condenser unit. Grass clippings and dirt buildup block airflow and make the unit run hotter than it needs to.
• Don't crank your thermostat drastically lower on the worst days. Big temperature swings force your system into overdrive.
• Schedule a maintenance check now, before something breaks. A technician can often catch a weakening capacitor before it fully gives out.
• Listen for humming, clicking, or grinding. Those are early warning signs before a total breakdown.
• Ask your HVAC technician about the age and condition of your capacitor. It's a cheap fix ahead of time compared to an emergency call in the middle of a heat wave.

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A Small Reminder in the Middle of a Big Heat Wave

I don't say any of this to complain. Five days without air conditioning was enough to remind me not to take something this ordinary for granted. If your unit is still running, take care of it now. And if you know someone gutting out this heat without AC at all, check on them this weekend.