A general rule of thumb or average would be cycle on for between 4–10 seconds and then cycle off for 15–20 seconds. There are many factors that will swing these numbers including air temperature, amount of refrigerant, age of system, how well insulated the vehicle is, belt tension, fan speed, etc.
Is it normal for AC compressor to turn on and off?
When an air conditioner (AC) turns on and off in rather quick successions, without running for longer periods, this is called short cycling. It's fairly common, but when it happens it means there's something wrong with the AC. Do not leave these occurrences alone.May 20, 2019