Air Conditioning Troubleshooting

Basic air conditioning troubleshooting for the homeowner.

Depending on your abilities, (and only you can know what those abilities are!), there are some basic guides to be used for air conditioning troubleshooting.

Before you start, you will need some tools, and a common sense type of mechanical ability. With that in mind and some careful, step by step walking through the issues, you might be able to save some money. Of course if you make it worse, it could cost you more!

The first place to always start is the filter. Basic maintenance should never be overlooked, and when it is always causes issues. Is the filter clogged?

Let’s start at the beginning with the thermostat it make sure it is on and is set to cool. (Don’t laugh! I have made a lot of money on service calls going to someone’s house and turning the thermostat down or on!)

Check for air blowing from the registers. If no air, then check the fan on the outside unit to see if it is running. With no air flowing inside, and the fan off on the unit, check to make sure the breakers are all on and not tripped.

If the breakers are on, (and you can check voltage with a meter if needed) then the issue might be that the unit is not receiving the command to start from the thermostat, the control board or even the wiring. (Mice and rats love to eat the wiring.)

Another place to check is the condensate pump reservoir. Sometimes when the pump fails and the pan becomes full, there is a switch that stops the unit from running to prevent flooding.

If the blower inside is not running, but the outside fan is, then check the blower motor, capacitor and control board. (You can tell by now the control board can cause many problems!)

So if there is air at the registers, (but hot) and the outside unit is either on or not, then we need to go outside to the unit.

If the outside unit is not running, disconnect power and check wire connections for damage. Corrosion, electrical overheating, loose wires, and rodent damage can all can be at fault here. I have even seen ants cause issues! Don’t forget to check the terminal box as well. Be very careful with electricity!

These steps cover the basic air conditioning troubleshooting steps most homeowners are comfortable taking.

In the next article we will go into more detail on air conditioning troubleshooting when we look at capacitors, compressors and more. If you are uncomfortable at any point, call us as this is what we do every day all day and we will get your air cold quick!