A hot home or office is not something pleasant at all. So, when an AC develops faults and doesn’t function well, it is only normal that you would want to call the air conditioner repair tech to come take a look at it and fix it. However, if the AC guy will be a while, you might end up sweltering in the midday sun and fan yourself to no avail.
So, here’s what we suggest: why not check and see if you can fix some of these problems yourself? Most common air conditioner problems are not that hard to repair, even when you are not a tech or handy guy. If you’re interested in knowing what those problems are and how to fix them, then the following should help.
Air Conditioning is not Coming On
This is the most common air conditioning problem in homes and offices. To fix it, you need to identify the precise cause. The common causes of this are a broken thermostat, clogged vents or tripped circuit breakers.
First test the thermostat to see if it is still working, if it is not, all you need is to replace it and your AC should come back on. Clogged vents that can often interrupt and stop your air conditioning from working is often as a result of debris, dried leaves and dust which get into the AC from the unit outside, thus damaging the capacitor. A tripped circuit breaker can be fixed by just resetting the breaker and turning the AC on again. If this repeats itself, then you need to call an AC repair technician.
Strange Noises from the AC
Make no mistake, there will be some noise when your AC is running. However, if the noise sounds like rattling or squeaking sounds, chances are the air conditioning unit is either improperly installed or has a slipped fan belt, the latter being more common in older air conditioning units.
In the event of a rattling or vibrating sound, you can attempt re-installing the unit yourself if you know how. If you do not, you need to call the AC expert to come reinstall it. If it’s as a result of slipped fan belt, it would be best to call the AC repair technician to come replace or fix the fan belt properly.
AC is Running But Doesn’t Cool the House or Room
If this is the case, then you need to perform a series of steps to identify and fix the possible cause of this. If the AC is not cooling even when it is on, try to see if there’s any heat being removed from the house in the first place by putting your hand in front of the unit outside. Then, check the refrigerant lines. In particular, look out for a bigger line. That should be cool. If it is not, then there’s a problem.
Avoid touching the smaller one though as that will most likely be hot. The larger line should not be frosted. If it is, then there may be a problem with it, and you’ll need either to turn the fan from to “auto” to “on” for a long period. Check what happens after 30 minutes. If the house still isn’t cold after that, check the air filters or the refrigerant levels.
Drainage Problems
The condensate drain can be affected by excess humidity. So, check that to ensure that the AC’s drain is free of any obstructions and not clogged. If the drain is free, then you need to make sure that it is properly mounted.
These common problems are easily fixable and won’t cost you a fortune to repair or correct. If you cannot fix any of these by yourself – we do not recommend you do it if you do not have the requisite knowledge and experience – then you should get an air conditioner repairman to come take a look and have it fixed.
The writer, Oscar King, currently lives in Orlando and is something of a handyman – doing everything he can to keep his home comfortable on his own. For the AC problems that he can’t fix on his own, he always turns to Facemyer AC for his repair needs. You can learn more about Oscar by visiting him on Google+.
