Will too much freon cause short cycling?

Yes, having too much refrigerant, commonly referred to as an overcharged system, can definitely cause an air conditioner to short cycle. When excessive refrigerant is present in the sealed copper lines, it increases operational pressures throughout the system to dangerously high levels, particularly on the high side near the condenser coil. To prevent the compressor from overheating, sustaining permanent mechanical damage, or exploding under extreme pressure, built-in high-pressure safety switches will trip and shut the system down. Once the pressures drop slightly and the components cool down, the system attempts to restart, creating a repetitive short cycling loop. Correcting this requires a professional HVAC technician to recover the excess refrigerant using specialized recovery equipment until the precise manufacturer-specified charge level is restored.