Refrigeration Service
Engineers Society
1666 Rand Road
Des Plaines, Illinois 60016
UNDERSTANDING ELECTRICAL SCHEMATICS
Part 1 (Revised)
by Howard L. Pemper, CMS
INTRODUCTION
Quite often, when you encounter a problem with a
piece of HVAC/R equipment, the problem turns out to
be electrical in nature. If you have a clear under-
standing of how to read wiring diagrams, you fre-
quently can find the source of the trouble simply by
checking the wiring of the unit itself against the man-
ufacturer’s wiring diagram. The purpose of this chap-
ter is to familiarize service technicians with symbols
and conventions commonly used in schematic dia-
grams, thereby making it easier to identify compo-
nents and their related circuits. The more you know
about the proper procedures for reading and inter-
preting electrical schematics, the more quickly you’ll
be able to find the solution to your problem. And
that’s the primary function of any wiring diagram—to
aid the technician in finding the problem and then
correcting it.
An intelligent service technician, before he or she
can solve a problem, must know how and where to
start looking for the source of the trouble. Although a
wiring diagram may appear very complex when
viewed as a whole, it can be simplified by breaking it
down into smaller parts. If you look at the individual
circuits, one at a time, the overall diagram and
machine functions become much easier to under-
stand. Control systems, for example, usually are
designed so that an individual circuit controls only
one function of a piece of equipment—starting and
stopping a motor by means of a pushbutton, for
instance, or controlling a solenoid valve by means of
a limit switch. Naturally, many variations are possible,
but the main point to remember is that an individual
circuit usually is associated with a single, basic
apparatus function.
© 2003 by the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, Des Plaines, IL
Supplement to the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society.
The main schematic that you will be examining in this
chapter will be shown in its entirety first, and then will
be broken down into individual sections, which will be
considered separately. Before you begin looking at
wiring diagrams, though, remember that there are
always five basic components to any schematic:
ª a power supply
ª a path for the power
ª a load or component that operates from the
power
ª a switch or component that interrupts the power
to the load
ª a legend or key that explains what the various
symbols and abbreviations used in the schematic
mean.
TYPES OF WIRING DIAGRAMS
There are three basic types of wiring diagrams used
in the HVAC/R industry today. The first and most
common is the ladder diagram, so called because it
looks like the symbols that are used to represent the
components in the system have been placed on the
rungs of a ladder. From this point forward, ladder dia-
grams will be referred to as “schematic” diagrams, or
simply “schematics.” A typical schematic of a pack-
aged air conditioner is shown in Figure 1 on the next
page. In electrical schematics, the symbols stand for
various components in the circuit, and the lines stand
for the wires connecting them. The intention of the
overall schematic is to show how the circuit functions,
not how it actually looks.
630-140-1
1 Section 4A n
This document is a revision of prior publication 630-140.
 L1 L2

Line voltage DISC

208/230/1/60

L1 L2

11 21 CAP
C1
COMP
12 22
C1

CAP

COND

1 2 CAP
IFR
IFM

CC HTR
C1
Thermostat
208/230 V
C
CB
TRSF
ON WHT RED A C BRN
COOL
CA Fan 24 V

AUTO
TC

R TB
C1 IFR C2
OFF
R
LPS1 HPS1
G G BLK
C1 C1 C2
Y Y1 ORN

C BRN

Figure 1. Typical schematic diagram

2
 CC HTR
BLK BLK
WHT N/C
TB1
C1
RED RED
Dual
11 21 capacitor
BLK BLK BLU BLU
12 22
BLK

RED
BRN
C S C S
YEL
R R
YEL RED
BLK Compressor Condenser
fan motor

WHT
CAP
BLK
Circuit
YEL
breaker

Transformer
YEL BRN

WHT RED BRN Indoor

fan motor
BRN YEL

1 2
IFR BRN
BLU
C1 C2

LPS1 HPS1 BRN

WHT ORN BLK

TB2

G BLK

Y1 ORN

C BRN

Figure 2. Typical line diagram

3
 TB1
note the differences in the way that motors, switches,
RED and transformers are represented. Today it is not un-
Dashed lines common for some manufacturers to show both types
indicate field-supplied of diagrams on their equipment.
BLK
wiring (use copper
conductors only)
BLK
The third and last type of diagram is the installation
diagram. This is a tool that is used primarily by the
installing contractor. It normally shows only what the
terminal board connections are, and very rarely will it
include any internal wiring of the unit. Figure 3 is a
typical installation diagram for a residential cooling
Use 18-gauge system.
copper wire
R
TB2 SYMBOLS USED IN SCHEMATICS

R When you look at a road map, you must understand

G the symbols and signs used by the creator of the map
G BLK
Field-supplied in order to find out where you are and how to get to
thermostat your destination. The same is true of an electrical
Y1 ORN
Y1 schematic.
C BRN
If you think of a schematic as a road map, then the
“roads” are the wires that connect the various com-
C
ponents and deliver power to the controls and to the
loads that make up the system. Let’s take a look at
some of the symbols used in electrical schematics.
Figure 3. Installation diagram
Power supplies

The second type of diagram is the line diagram. It
usually includes drawings that more closely resemble
the components themselves, rather than symbols.
Figure 2 on the previous page is an example of a typ-
ical line diagram. Compare Figure 1 and Figure 2 and
Many different supply voltages are used in the
HVAC/R industry, ranging from 575-V, three-phase
power supplies to 24-V control circuit voltages. Power
supplies may be indicated by solid lines or by dashed
or dotted lines, as shown in Figure 4.

L1 460-3-60
YEL
Field
L1 L2 L3
208-1-60 power
supply
L2

1 2

Ground B

Figure 4. Power supply symbols Figure 5. Wiring connections and crossovers

4
Wiring
A
Most schematics use straight lines T1 T2 T3
to represent the wires that connect
components to each other. If two
wires are connected internally, the
connection usually is shown as a dot
(a solid black circle), as illustrated at
those points marked “A” in Figure 5.
But note that there is no dot to indi-
cate a junction or connection at
point “B.” This means that one wire X X
B
simply crosses over the other wire.
Now look at Figure 6. In this draw- V V
ing, crossover wires are shown with
half circles or loops that “jump” over
other wires (see those points
Figure 6. More wiring connections and crossovers
marked “A”). Note also that in this
type of diagram, junctions are
shown without connection dots (see
BLK
those points marked “B”).
WHT
The fact that not all manufacturers follow the same
schematic diagram practices can be confusing. You
will see several different styles of wiring diagrams in RED
your work, and you need to be aware that not all of 11
them will use exactly the same conventions. Remem- BLK
ber: If dots are used to show junctions, then inter- 12
secting lines without dots mean that the two wires
cross without connecting. If loops or jumps are used WHT
to depict crossovers, then wires that meet—even
BLK
without dots—are connected.
YEL
BLK
Another variation you may encounter concerns the
weight of the lines themselves. Some manufacturers
use different line thicknesses to represent different
Figure 7. Wiring identification
types of wires. Others also may use numbers or col-
ors (or both) to help identify the various wires found
in a unit (see Figure 7). These usages should be draw switches and basic controls. A variety of simple
clearly indicated in the legend that accompanies the single-pole, single-throw (SPST) switches is shown
drawing. below. All are in the closed position.

Switches

One of the most basic components in any schematic

is the switch. A switch is a device that interrupts Here are the same switch symbols shown in the open
power to the load. It may be manually operated, it position:
may be activated automatically by pressure or tem-
perature, or it may be an electrically controlled switch
(relay). Again, there are several different ways to

5
 L1 S Primary
L2 C
L3 R Secondary
LO
MED
HI
COM
Motors
Horn Bell Lamp
Figure 8. Load symbols
Loads
Loads are devices that consume power and convert
it to some other form of energy, such as motion or
heat. They may be motors, heaters, lights, or other
pieces of equipment. A transformer is a type of
power-consuming device, but rather than converting
energy, a transformer changes the voltage or current.
Figure 8 shows typical symbols for several different
kinds of loads.
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM CONFIGURATIONS
There are two basic configurations used in schemat-
ics today to show the approximate placement of
loads, switches, and different power or supply volt-
ages. The first is a side-by-side arrangement, an
example of which is shown in Figure 9. Manufactur-
ers usually place motors and other power-consuming
components on the right side of the diagram. This is
called the “load” side. The switches and other con-
trollers are placed on the left side of the diagram. This
is called the “line” side.
The second configuration is an up-and-down
arrangement that divides the schematic into high-
6
460 V
230 V
208 V 24 V
120 V
Common
Transformers
Heaters
voltage and low-voltage sections. Normally the high-
voltage section is placed at the top of the diagram,
and the low-voltage section is placed at the bottom of
the diagram (see Figure 10). The vertical lines at the
outer edges of the diagram represent the source of
electric power. All control devices and load devices
are located on the horizontal lines between these
outer vertical lines. An easy way to determine the dif-
ferent voltages in this type of schematic is to look for
the transformer. It normally is the “dividing line” for
voltage changes. (The dashed line used in Figures 9
and 10 to separate the sections does not appear in
actual schematics.)
LOCATORS
Think back to our discussion of roadmaps. Almost all
mapmakers place numbers and/or letters along the
vertical and horizontal edges of maps to help users
find particular cities, towns, landmarks, or other loca-
tions. Electrical schematics utilize a similar system.
Take a look at Figure 11 on page 8. This is the same
schematic of a packaged air conditioner that you saw
in Figure 1, but notice that now a column of small
numbers has been added, running down the left-
hand side of the diagram. These numbers are used to
 Line side Load side
L1 L2

1 2 CAP
IFM

Indoor fan

Figure 9. Side-by-side configuration

L1 L2
High-voltage section

COMP

OFM

IFM
IFR

240 V

24 V

TC
IFR

Low-voltage section

Figure 10. Up-and-down configuration

7
 L1 L2

Line voltage DISC

208/230/1/60

1
2
3 L1 L2
4
5
6
7 11 21 CAP
8
9 C1
10 COMP
11 12 22
12
13 C1
14
15
16
17 CAP
18
19
20 COND
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28 1 2 CAP
29
30 IFR
31 IFM
32
33
34
35
36 CC HTR
37 C1
38
39
40 208/230 V
41 C
42 CB
43 TRSF
44 WHT RED A C BRN
45 24 V
46
47
48
49
50
51 TB
52 C1 IFR C2 28
53
54 R
55
56 G BLK LPS1 HPS1
57 C1 C1 C2 7, 11, 35
58
59
Y1 ORN
60
61 C BRN
62

Figure 11. Numerical line locators

8
indicate the relative location of each horizontal line in
the diagram. (If a line falls between two numbers, the
number lower on the page generally is used as the
location reference.)
This type of line-numbering system can be very use-
ful in helping the reader identify the location of a spe-
cific component on the schematic, as well as its
controlling switch. In the detail shown in Figure 12A,
for example, “C1” contacts are located on lines 7 and
11. Similarly, in Figure 12B, you can find the high-
voltage switches “IFR” and “C1” on lines 28 and 35,
respectively.
Now look at the lower portion of the wiring diagram in
Figure 11 and locate the relay coils “IFR” and “C1” on
lines 52 and 57. In the detail shown in Figure 12C,
note that there are small numbers along the right-
hand side of the diagram as well. These numbers
designate the line location of relay contacts. The
small number 28 in the right-hand margin tells you
the line location of the contacts associated with relay
coil “IFR.” Look back at line 28 in Figure 12B, and you
will find the “IFR” contacts.
Likewise, the numbers 7, 11, and 35 in the right-hand
margin of Figure 12C refer you to the lines where the

Detail A 3
4
5
6
7 11 21 CAP
8
9 C1
10 COMP
11 12 22
12
13 C1
14
15

Detail B 23
24
25
26
27
28 1 2 CAP
29
30 IFR
31 IFM
32
33
34
35
36 CC HTR
37 C1
38

Detail C 49
50
51 TB
52 C1 IFR C2 28
53
54 R
55
56 G BLK LPS1 HPS1
57 C1 C1 C2 7, 11, 35
58
59
Y1 ORN
60
61 C BRN
62

Figure 12. Identifying line location of relay contacts

9
contacts associated with relay coil “C1” can be found.
Note that the 35 is underlined. An underlined number
signifies a normally closed contact (and, conversely,
a number that is not underlined signifies a normally
open contact). Accordingly, you will find that the “C1”
contacts located on line 35 in Figure 12B are shown
as normally closed, and that the “C1” contacts on
lines 7 and 11 in Figure 12A are shown as normally
open.
LEGENDS
The schematic shown in Figure 1 normally would
include a legend like the one pictured below. Many of
the abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols used in
the schematic are listed in the legend, along with
their meanings.
LEGEND
Factory wiring
Field wiring
Ground
C1 . . . . . . Compressor contactor coil
CA . . . . . . Cooling anticipator
CAP . . . . . . Run capacitor
CB . . . . . . Circuit breaker
CC HTR . . . . . . Crankcase heater
10
The legend and notes, if any, that accompany a
schematic diagram further explain the components
that make up the system and provide additional infor-
mation where needed. When you look at a wiring dia-
gram, always read the notes first, and make sure that
you know what the abbreviations used in the diagram
stand for.
SUMMARY
This concludes a general overview of the major parts
of any schematic or wiring diagram—namely, the
power supply, the pathways (wiring), the switches,
the loads, and the legend. With a knowledge of these
basics, you will be able to advance to Part 2 of this
topic and learn how to read more complex electrical
schematics.
COMP . . . . . . Compressor
COND . . . . . . Condenser
DISC . . . . . . Disconnect
HPS . . . . . . High-pressure switch
IFR . . . . . . Indoor fan relay
IFM . . . . . . Indoor fan motor
LPS . . . . . . Low-pressure switch
TB . . . . . . Terminal board
TC . . . . . . Thermostat, cooling
TRSF . . . . . . Transformer
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society
1666 Rand Road Des Plaines, IL 60016 847-297-6464