My outside unit stops, inside still runs.

You need a repairman.

Check the float switch on the drain line. It will shut the out side unit off but keep the inside unit running. My husbands in HVAC and says this happens a lot. Hope it helps

Probably low on freon and is freezing up. Go outside and look at the coil. Do you see frost? Get it serviced and topped off.

When you check the float switch, make sure the drain line is open (not stopped up with something) my neighbor had that problem and she had her ceiling fall because the water was not going out, but over the pan.

Had the same thing happen. Checked online. It was the capacitor on the outdoor unit. Tried to purchase and change it myself but I have an Sear's Kenmore unit and that was one part you had to get from the repair rep. Hopefully you won't have that problem. Really easy to change. Make sure you have the breakers off.

We just had the same problem, it turned out the fan was seizing up and the contact points were ready to go. Had them changed out by a repairman for under $400 and it's worked great since in our 100+ temps.

Yes, it could be the fan going bad outside but it is likely the same problem that BJK with the capacitor. Takes 5 minutes to fix and less than $100 . Make sure breakers are off, remove the 2 wires from capacitor. After it is removed take an insulated screw driver and holding insulated end touch shaft of screwdriver to both terminals on capacitor simultaneously de-energize it. Capacitor is just a place to store some electric and they will shock the H@ll out of you if they are energized. New ones are not energized so hook the to wires up to new capacitor and enjoy the chill in your air!

I would recommend you take a pic of the cap before removing... (Work in this line of biz...) Lots of people get confused on where the wires went and on WHICH terminal.. ( for there can be 4 terminals per post) If the capacitor is bad a lot of the time the head of the round OR oval top will be SWOLLEN. Keep in mind NOT always, but 97% of the time. Tell- tell sign! Good Luck

Our thermostat is in a hallway and when the temperature is really hot out (90 or above) we have to set a small fan in the hallway to circulate the air to make our unit shut off. Also, check to make sure your thermostat is not set to "Fan", which could cause the fan to run constantly even when the a/c shuts off. These are both very simple fixes to eliminate minor problems.

Thanks everyone. It was the limit switch.

Check to see if the outside hose (usually black) that runs from the house to the back of the outside of the unit is covered with ice. If it is, turn the AC off and put the fan on (at inside thermostat). Run the fan for some hours until the frost/ice has totally thawed. Also make sure your filter is new/clean. When this has happened to us our AC company has had to add freon to our unit. He has done this for us the last two years- we will eventually have to get a new unit. Ugh.... (and it gets hot in AZ!) Good luck!

I should have read your last post!!😀