Air Conditioner Troubleshooting questions? Read further or just call us! Angel Heating & Cooling Contractor for all your HVAC needs Proudly serving Bucks County, PA, Montgomery County, PA, Burlington County, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, and Camden, NJ.
Its blazing hot outside, your air conditioner isnt working, youre desperate for cool air. But wait! Put down the phone! Dont call your friendly neighborhood AC guy just yet. The problem might be something simple enough to fix yourself. If you dont want to wait (or pay!) for a repairman to come take a look at your system if you dont have to, run through these quick and easy air conditioner troubleshooting steps before you make that call. These are the same things HVAC specialists will look for, and about 50% of the time the fix is as simple as pressing a button or flipping a switch.
1. Turn Down Your Thermostat
The very first thing a repairman will do when he gets to your house is check your thermostat settings, and lower the temperature by at least 5 degrees. If your AC isnt turned on properly, or is set to a temperature at or above the ambient temperature of the room, the air conditioner wont turn on it could be as simple as that.
2. Check Your Thermostat Battery
If your thermostat is battery powered, and the battery dies, your whole HVAC system will stop working. Pretty ridiculous that a little AA could cause that much havoc, but swapping out an old battery with a new one can fix the circuit and get your cold air flowing again.
3. Check Your Breaker
If youve been running your air conditioner, especially on high through a heat wave, and all of a sudden it stops working, theres a good chance youve tripped a breaker or blown a fuse. If the breaker for your air conditioner, fan, or both is tripped (either partway or all the way off), turn it all the way off, then flip it back on and your appliances should start working again. That said, this is a fix you should only do once if the breaker trips again, especially within a few minutes, you should call your HVAC specialist (and maybe an electrician), because theres either something wrong with the electrical work in your AC, with your breaker, or your AC is drawing too much power from the circuit and overloading it.
4. Check The Power Button
No, really this is one youll feel pretty dumb paying a repairman to do. Many air conditioning units have a kill switch, usually one on the indoor and one on the outdoor parts of the unit, that are used to power down the machines before service. If your machine isnt working, it could be that the power got turned off accidentally.
5. Check For Water Buildup
If your air conditioner has a special drip pan in the air handler or water removal pump for condensation, make sure that the area isnt filled with water (which could cause the machine to shut down to prevent it from overflowing), and that the pump is plugged in and working properly. If there IS water, drain it with a wet vac or call for service.
6. Check The Condenser
If your fan is running, your breaker is on, and your cooling unit still isnt doing anything, check the condenser for a high pressure cutout a button that would be sticking out of the cabinet near the refrigerant lines. If you see it, press it all the way in to reset it.
7. Maintenance, Maintenance
Ideally, your HVAC system should be seeing regular maintenance. But if you know youve been skipping on it, and youve gotten this far on the list, its time to play catch up. Clear the area around your condenser, cutting down grass and weeds and removing debris. Then with a special coil cleaner, clean your condenser and evaporator coils. If they arent reflective, sparkly clean, they arent clean enough. Finally, replace your filter! If its a reusable one, rinse it out or swap it with a second one, and if its not, replace it entirely in a humid climate, you should be doing this at least once a month. All that dirt and buildup on all the parts makes it harder for your AC to run and can eventually cause it to shut down.
8. The Touch Test
If both your blower and your condenser are running, but youre still not getting any cold air, touch the larger of the two copper lines exiting your condenser. If its warm, youre probably low on (or out of) refrigerant, or theres something wrong with your condenser and youll need to call a specialist. If its frosted over or icy, there could be an air flow problem or a clog inside. Shut the system down and let it thaw completely, then start it up again. If the coils freeze again, its time to call in the cavalry.
Hopefully somewhere between 1 and 8 you managed to fix your problem but if not, at least you know you wont have to pay for a specialist to come out and push a button!
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