It is easy to understand some of your air conditioning problems. Can you repair it yourself or do you need to call a serviceman?
Air conditioning problems can cause quite a dilemma. You come home after working all day wanting to relax. You step into the house or apartment and it is hotter inside than outside. What do you do? Call the repairman? You could, but why not check for these quick items? You may save a service call or at least know what to ask or tell the serviceman what your air conditioning problems are should you need one.
Easy things to check first.
1. Check the filter. Is it really dirty? Is your filter grill blocked by furniture or another item?
2. Check if air is blowing out of the supply registers. (Where the air usually comes out.)
3. Are the pipes frozen in your unit? Is it leaking water inside? (for split systems)
4. Check the breakers for the inside and outside units. Are they thrown? If it is only one unit outside then check the one breaker.
5. Check the outside unit. Is the fan running? Is the compressor running?
To dig a little deeper in your problem, let’s look at each of the possible causes for the items above.
1. A dirty filter or anything blocking this grill (vent) will restrict air flow causing number 3, your pipes freezing up. This sometimes causes number 2 (no air coming out of your supply registers (vents)). The answer is to change your filter or unblock your filter grill (vent).
2. If some of the supply registers are closed or blocked, it will have the same effect as a dirty filter or blocked grill. Your system was designed (we hope) for all the registers to be opened and when they are not, they will cause your unit to freeze up. Make sure all your registers are open and free to blow. If air is blowing out but it is not cold or just warm, check the outside unit number 5.
3. A unit freezing up is a common air conditioning problem. When your unit freezes up, it sometimes causes water leaking in your inside unit, usually onto your floor. When your pipes freeze up, your coil freezes (most of the time) into a big block of ice. Your outside unit piping and compressor will also have ice on them. There will not be any airflow from the supply registers (vents). It can be caused by a dirty filter or blocked supply or return register (vent) but can be caused by low refrigerant level (usually by a leak) in your system. A low refrigerant level definitely has to be looked at and corrected by a serviceman. It can also be caused by your blower motor not running or controls to your blower motor malfunctioning causing the blower motor to not run. Do you hear your fan motor running? If it is froze up, turn your thermostat off the cool mode and turn the fan switch to on for a time long enough to thaw out your unit. (be prepared to clean up some water) When all the ice is gone from your unit and your supply registers are putting out plenty of air you are ready to turn your unit back on. If you replaced the filter, unblocked any restriction to air flow such as something blocking the return or supply registers then the unit is ready to turn on. If it freezes up again call a serviceman.
4. Check the inside breaker if you do not hear a fan running. If it is thrown, try to reset it. If it throws itself again, then something is shorted and again needs a serviceman. If your outside unit is not running you will need to check the breaker there. If it is thrown try to reset it. If it runs, keep an eye on it to see if it happens again. This will also require a serviceman. Note: Some older units uses fuses, do not attempt to check them unless you have experience doing so. Check the other items listed before calling a serviceman.
5. By checking the outside unit you will know what to tell the serviceman. If it is not running and the breaker is not thrown, it could be either a contactor, or the small cable with 2 wires to the unit from the thermostat, or a control problem. Call a serviceman. If the fan is running but the compressor is not, you should call a serviceman. If the unit is running but not cooling inside, it could be low on refrigerant or your coil could be dirty. This can be cleaned by using some coil cleaner and a water hose (with the power turned off of course.).
Although there are many more air conditioning problems that could affect your comfort, these are the most common. Many problems may require calling a serviceman. Problems involving leak testing or handling refrigerants will require a serviceman. With other problems you may want to tackle some of these problems yourself with the proper training or studying. This can be found in a variety of places. There are some good books that exist that cover these problems as well as some harder ones and the solutions to them. One important thing to note is that these units utilize deadly voltages which should be serviced by someone with the appropriate training in equipment of this type. Do not remove the covers of any units unless you are trained to deal with high voltage.
I sincerely hope this helps you in troubleshooting your air conditioning problems and at least know what to tell the person at the service company. This may prevent any unethical service persons from getting one over on you.
