"Dumb girl" question

OK. I have this small room air conditioner - one of Wally World's finest - made where else? In China. So, I was taking it out of my window getting ready to move. It is quite a heavy little sucker and the ax murderer had put in place with a piece of styro-foam rather than using things like screws or nails. (He was always lazy as well as being an ax murderer). So I pull out the styrofoam and the whole air conditioner falls about 15 feet to the ground below. Ooops!

I get the thing 400 miles across the mountains to my new apartment and discover that in its suicide hurtle, the air conditioner pulled out one of the prongs from its plug - the "fat" prong is now missing.

Here's my question: Can I go down to the hardware store and just buy a new prong and stick it in there where the old one had been? Or do I have to pay an electrician to put in a whole new plug in which case I may as well go down to Wally World and buy a new AC. Advise please.

[SteveDallas]

Well first if all, it sounds like if the plug is the only thing damaged you're lucky!

It sounds like your best bet is to cut off the plug and attach a new one. A replacement should just be a couple dollars, and should be easy to do once you establish which wire goes to which screw (there should be three of each). You may need to ask somebody to give you some advice if you aren't sure about this, but it shouldn't rise to the level of needing to pay an electrician.

[Ibby]

Hmm I guess it wouldn't hurt to try fixing it yourself, unless like, you plug it in and since the ground plug isnt working it blows up or something. Which is somewhat likely. So I guess it would hurt. Er, yeah, maybe it would be a good idea to get a new one.

[MaggieL]

I'd worry less about the loss of the grounding blade ("the fat prong") than about what might have happened to the compressor at the end of the 15' drop...and whether there's still Freon in the system.

Maybe just plug it into a hefty extention cord and see if it still cools; this all may be a moot point. It will run without the grounding pin, but do avoid touching the airco while it's running until it's properly replaced; it's a safety issue.

I don't think you can buy "just the prong". And you might want to have someone who knows electricity better do the work of repairing it, if that's what you end up doing.

Well, yeah, Steve. Who knows what else might have gotten damaged? Are you sure I couldn't just wedge a new prong down there? Cutting off the old plug and re-attaching all those wires sounds spooky!

Ibram, I already tried plugging it in without the ground (I didn't have my glasses on and didn't realize a prong was missing at first). I've obviously lived to tell the tale, so I'm inclined to be experimental...

[zippyt]

take it to an AC repair shop , they can replace the pigtail ( what a cord for an applince is called ) and check it out , add freon , bang out the dents , etc,,,,
also if it is dead they generly have second hand units ( he he , I just said units ) that are cheaper than new , we have had good luck in the past from a good repair shop . Ask around .