text: help me fix my air conditioner.....? my old kenmore air conditioner blows nice cold air when the compressor is on, but it doesnt stay on enough-even at the "coldest" setting. if i open it up and figure out how to rig it so the compressor is always on what will happen? does it kick off to prevent overheating, or just for efficiency?? there is a temperature probe that controls the compressor. it is usually located on the front of the air condition and it senses the temperature of the air coming into the machine.  there are a few things you can do if you want the room cooler.  1) clean the air conditioner, take it out and wash it. make sure the fins are free of dirt and dust. if you can see through them and the look shiny, they are probably clean. also clean the sponge filter in front  if any of these are dirty you will not get good airflow and the machine will not cool properly.  2)check to see that the machine in not icing up. if there is too much of a buildup of ice the compressor will also shut off. this is also usually caused by lack of airflow.( clean it!) also make sure the unit is tilted back so the water if flowing out of it properly.  3) turn down the temperature knob. is it at its lowest setting? you can tell what the room temp is by twisting the knob, you will hear a click when it goes by the room temp.  4) move the cool air fins so they direct air away (usually up and to the side a bit) from the a/c unit. sometimes if they are directed down, the unit starts sucking in the air it just cooled, and make it think the room is cool.  the compressor does have an overheat setting, but if the unit is clean, there should be no reason for it to overheat.  try turning the unit to the med setting, so that it should run longer at a lower fan speed. that could also help.  the only other thing i can think of is if the temp sensor went bad,  and remember usually a/c units are made to that the lowest temp is about  18 dgrees c or about 65 degrees f it is not made to cool a room more than that. all else fails, call sers service. they have an 800 number. but it is different for different areas, look it up in the phone book  under sears parts and service.