It’s that season of the year again – birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, skies are blue and is time to spend more time in your yard. While taking care of your lawn, take some time to inspect your outdoor air conditioning unit with these eight air conditioner repair tips.
Although most of the air conditioner repair must be carried out by qualified personnel, there are those simple repairs you can handle all by yourself.
Air Conditioner Repair Check List
1. Check your breaker.
If your condenser is not working, check if the unit is plugged in. If so, check for a tripped circuit or blown fuse breaker. Restore your power and see if it starts, if it doesn’t replace the fuse.
If the breaker keeps on tripping, most likely it is short in the system – in the fan motor, capacitor, or the compressor. You’ll need an expert to trace and fix this air conditioner repair.
2. Examine your thermostat.
Your thermostat should always be 3 degrees below ambient room temperature if this not the case lower its temperature by 5 degrees for it to cool.
Improper placement of your thermostat can wreak havoc on your comfort. Does your AC keep shutting off? Then your unit might be near a hot oven, too close to a register, or in direct sun.
Try relocating it before you think of calling air conditioner repair expert.
3. Change your filters
Airflow is always paramount to comfort. If you have blocked or dirty air condenser, it may cause a problem in airflow.
Change your filter. Depending on the number of people living in the house, the quality of the filter and if there are pets, consider changing your filter every 30-60 days.
4. Spring tune-up
Has there been a spike in your operating cost? This signals an inefficient operation. The most likely culprit could be a choked condensing coil. The coil has many fins that can accumulate debris and dust.
You should call an expert for a spring tune-up since this air conditioner repair is complex.
5. Fan
Are you experiencing weird noises during operation and startup? Ticking, Buzzing, or Rattling? The good news is that it might be just a loose screw. The bad news it could be caused by a bent fan blade (outdoors) or a bum blower motor (indoors).
If you are lucky, a simple lubricating here and tightening there will fix the problem. If not, you might need a new fan blade or fan motor in your air conditioner repair.
6. Tube
Have you noticed a puddle of water next to your furnace? Accumulation of water signals a disconnection or a blockage in the tube.
Inspect the tubes for disconnections, clogs, and crimps. Also, if you notice water flowing into a sump basin, make sure that the sump pump is in good working condition.
7. Insulating sleeves
Two copper refrigerant lines, covered by insulating sleeves connect outdoor unit and indoor system. If you feel as if the air coming out of the registers is not cold as it should be:
- Make sure the refrigerant lines are covered with insulating sleeves, also
- You may need to recharge refrigerant.
8. Compressor fail
Has your AC failed to kick on at all? If your compressor fails, then your units won’t start until you have over whole air conditioner repair. The only fix for this is to replace the equipment, which includes new Freon, various small parts, and labor to carry out this air conditioner repair.