Air Conditioning Repair – AC Troubleshooting
What happens when you notice that, all of a sudden, your air conditioning unit isn’t cooling the air on a hot summer day? Given this scenario, you will either have to hire local air conditioning repair services or try troubleshooting your Air conditioners to solve the issue yourself. There can be many reasons why your air conditioning is no longer working. Some of these factors may not require much technical knowledge and can be temporarily fixed by a homeowner, whereas more complex technical issues with your A/C will require the work of a certified and experienced technician. However, before calling a professional air conditioning service, it’s never a bad idea to inspect and/or diagnose the problem beforehand.
- Reasons Why is Your AC Not Cooling?
- Dirty Coils
- Clogged Air Filter
- Fault In The Compressor
- Insufficient Coolant
- Defective Parts
- Faulty Thermostat
- High Temperature Of The Atmosphere
- Faulty A/C Remote
- Undersized A/C Unit
- How to Fix Air Conditioner Problems by your Own?
- WhenTo Call A Qualified Air Conditioning Repair Company
Table of Contents
The following are some reasons your Air conditioning unit could be in disrepair, so be sure to check these components first.
Reasons Why is Your AC Not Cooling?
Dirty Coils
If the condenser coils of your air conditioning unit are loaded with debris and dirt, this will cause issues with its overall operation and efficiency. In fact, think of the condenser of your AC dispersing the heat and removing it from the air like the radiator of your car and replace it. The coils must be clean for the unit to disperse the heat properly. When the coils are dirty, this affects the overall function of your condenser, which will keep your air conditioning from cooling the air. With dirty coils, your A/C will have to work harder to cool your living space but won’t be able to achieve maximum efficiency until cleaned and serviced properly.Clogged Air Filter
If the air filter of your air conditioner is clogged, then your A/C will not be able to cool the air inside your room. The capacity of the air conditioner to cool the air will reduce to a great extent if the air cannot flow properly due to a dirty air filter. To correct this common problem, you should either clean the air filter or replace it with a new one.Fault In The Compressor
The compressor of your air conditioner is the main component responsible for cooling your room. It works like the heart of your A/C unit. If your system is no longer working properly, you could have a serious issue with the compressor, which is a motorized device that compresses and circulates the coolant or refrigerant through the condenser coils and evaporator to cool down the air temperature. If the cooling cycle does not start due to some defect in the compressor, then this component may need to be serviced or replaced.Insufficient Coolant
Another common reason why your A/C may not be cooling air properly could be due to an insufficient amount of coolant circulating in the coils of the evaporator. The coolant chills down the air flowing over the coils of the evaporator–its output being cold air inside your room. However, if your system is low on coolant, then it will not work optimally. For this, you will need to call a professional HVAC technician to refill or top off the coolant in your A/C.Defective Parts
The working of your air conditioning unit can also be affected due to defects within its intricate parts and hardware. For example, there could be an issue with the control board, improper functioning of the compressor’s capacitor, a faulty motor, bad thermistor, choked capillaries, and/or etc.Faulty Thermostat
The thermostat of an air conditioner reads the temperature of the room like a sensor and switches the compressor on or off according to cooling air cycles. Your air conditioner will either stop cooling your room or will cool it continuously if the thermostat is defective.High Temperature Of The Atmosphere
An A/C works effectively up to a certain level of the surrounding temperature. If the temperature level exceeds the limit of your particular A/C unit, it will not cool your room efficiently. Sometimes the compressor of the A/C completely stops working when the temperature outside the room is extremely hot.Faulty A/C Remote
If your system’s remote has failed to send signals to your A/C and change the temperature, then you will simply have to replace the remote to ensure cold air in your room.Undersized A/C Unit
Sometimes people install a smaller A/C unit than required as per the size of your room to save some money. However, it remains hard for a smaller A/C to cool down the temperature of a larger room, especially during peak summer days. So the size of your A/C unit should be upgraded to correspond to the size of your room in order to cool it adequately.How to Fix Air Conditioner Problems by your Own?
After reviewing some of the issues why your A/C unit might not be cooling air properly, you now have an idea of what signs to look for and how to troubleshoot your system before contacting a qualified air conditioning expert to inspect your unit. Some A/C issues you can fix yourself are briefly discussed here–to save you the time and money of HVAC services for more serious issues.Cleaning A Dirty Air Filter
The flow of air into your A/C can be greatly reduced if the air filter is dirty. Such an issue will cause the A/C unit to work harder in order to circulate enough cold air. In turn, this will literally freeze the evaporator coil of your system. The blocks of ice in the coil will then block the flow of cold air into the room, and your room will get not get enough cold air. You can solve this problem by checking the air filter and cleaning it or replacing it with a new one. The Thermostat Is Set On ‘N’ Instead Of ‘UTO’ Position If your A/C is blowing out warmer air turn by turn, then it can be due to the faulty setting of its fan. Unknowingly, the fan can be set on the ‘N’ position running clockwise–even when your A/C fails to cool the air. You can solve this problem easily by changing the setting of the fan to the ‘UTO’ position.The Outside Unit Is Dirty
Before solving this problem you should understand the inner workings of your A/C. Normally, an A/C system is divided into two units– an internal unit and an external unit. Its internal unit, known as the evaporator, absorbs the heat of the air inside the room and transfers it to the external unit, known as the condenser. The condenser then dissipates heat to actively cool the air inside your room. However, the condenser cannot dissipate heat properly if it is loaded with debris and dirt. Your A/C will have to work harder to cool your room–unless you clean out the external unit.
You can accomplish this by simply using a garden hose to spray water gently on the outside unit of your A/C, making sure to clean it thoroughly. Keep in mind that you should never blast water at a high setting, as that could potentially damage the fins of the condenser, which are primarily responsible for cooling overall airflow. Thus, by removing dust and debris from the outer unit, you will provide a clearer path for cooler air.
If issues persist even after troubleshooting the following components, then you will have to contact a professional HVAC company that specializes in Air conditioner repair, maintenance, and installations in order to bring your AC unit back to maximum efficiency.
