Before you make that call, try this basic air conditioner troubleshooting guide. This guide will help you to diagnose problems with your typical ducted split type air conditioner. A typical repairman will cost you about one hundred dollars per hour. With a few household tools and a little bit of knowledge, you can do it yourself and save that money. (You provide the tools and we will help with the knowledge part.)You should ensure that the routine maintenance has been performed on the unit. If the air filter has not been changed in the past month, check to see if it is dirty. **NOTE** ONLY YOU CAN ASSESS YOUR ABILITY TO PERFORM THIS TASK. THIS IS A GUIDE AND CANNOT PROVIDE ALL OF THE DETAILS FOR EVERY SITUATION. Begin your air conditioner troubleshooting at the thermostat by ensuring that the thermostat is on cool and that it is set lower than actual room temperature. This is to ensure that there really is a problem. It may seem silly but that is the first thing a repairman will check and you will normally still be charged a service call even if that is the only problem.

If there is not, then, check to see if the fan on the outside unit is running. If the fan on the outside unit is not running either, check to make sure that the breakers for the furnace/air handler and the air conditioner are on. If the breaker is not tripped, then the problem may be your thermostat, the furnace/air handler control board, or the wires between the furnace/air handler and the thermostat. If your unit has a condensate pump, check to make sure the reservoir is not full. If the reservoir is full, a limit switch will normally stop the air conditioner from running. You will need to repair or replace the pump.If the breaker is tripped, you can reset it by shutting it off and then turning it back on. If it trips again, then check the wiring in the furnace/air handler for signs of damage and repair as necessary.If the blower is running but the fan on the outside unit is not, then continue your air conditioner troubleshooting at the outside unit. If the blower isn't running but the fan outside is, the problem could be the blower motor, it's run capacitor, or the furnace/air handler control board.

If the fan motor is not running, then shut the power off to the unit. Then check all wire connections for signs of damage such as burning and repair as necessary. how to fix your ac unitYou should also check the wire connections in the compressor terminal box and repair if necessary.ac units for a mobile home You can use our capacitor testing guide to check the unit's capacitors and replace as necessary.cost of used ac unitContinue your air conditioner troubleshooting by turning the power back on to the unit and observe whether the contactor closes or not. If the unit does not start, look for a reset button. Some units have a high pressure cutout switch that can be reset. Then, use a voltmeter to check to see if you have power to the unit and 24 vac to the contactor's coil.

If you do not have power to the unit, you should check the wiring between the electric panel and the unit. If you do not have 24 volts to the contactor's coil, check the thermostat and the low voltage wires from the furnace/air handler to the condensing unit. If you have power to the unit and the coil on the contactor but the unit does not start, the unit's contactor may be bad.If the compressor starts but the fan does not, the condenser fan motor could be the problem.If the condenser fan starts but the compressor does not, the unit may be low on refrigerant, the compressor might be too hot, or the compressor might be bad. If the blower on the furnace is running, check to see if you see any frost or ice around the units. You might also notice water around the furnace. Is there ice on the copper lines going outside? If yes, then shut the outside unit off for a couple of hours but let the blower on the furnace run. This will allow the ice to melt. After two hours, you can continue your air conditioner troubleshooting.

Turn the ac back on and let it run for about five minutes. Now feel the larger copper line at the outdoor unit. This should be cold and have condensation on it. If it is not cold or if frost is forming on the line, it is probably a freon problem. You will need to call a repairman because of federal refrigerant usage regulations.If there is no ice or frost, then continue troubleshooting at the outside unit. If the condenser fan and the compressor both run but the cooling effect is not adequate, you should check the temperature drop of the system. To measure the temperature drop, measure the air temperature leaving the air handler and subtract it from the temperature of the air entering the air handler. The result should be about 15 degrees for a high efficiency unit and about 18 to 20 degrees for an older unit (SEER less than 10). If the temperature drop is significantly lower than that, the problem may be the refrigerant charge.If the temperature drop is significantly higher than that, then your air conditioner troubleshooting should focus on the system's air flow.

The evaporator coil, filter, or blower wheel could be dirty. This is usually the result of not performing routine maintenance on the system. It could also be caused by a duct system that is too small. This is usually the result of improper design or installation. You may be able to increase the blower's cooling speed or replace your existing blower motor with a variable speed motor to overcome that problem. Now, you can get live support or leave a message for the HVACrepairguy through Facebook Messenger.Fix your air conditioner You maybe able to fix your air conditioner on your own. Here are some things to consider before you call an air conditioning repairman to insure you don't get an $80 or $100 charge for a minor item. These are all simple steps that any homeowner can take to discover and repair a minor A/C problem that is keeping your system from cooling. The first thing you may want to do is click on Air Conditioning, this will show you how the air conditioning system works and identify all the different components.

This troubleshooting guide is for split systems only (indoor unit and separate outdoor unit). This is not for package units (one piece outside the house or on the roof). Check the thermostat to make sure it has power to it; most new digital thermostats will be completely blank if there is no power to them. If the thermostat is blank or if your thermostat has batteries go to the furnace or the fan coil and unplug it for a few minutes and then plug it back in. In some cases this will re-set the system and you will be back cooling again. If your unit is a fan coil it might be hard wired in this case just flip the circuit breaker on and off or pull the handle on the disconnect to the off and then back to the on position. If this does not work look at the drain pan under the cooling coil. If this is completely full of water then the overflow switch may have cut the power to the unit to prevent water damage to your house. To fix this problem you will have to unplug the emergency drain line, which is a white plastic pipe that usually runs outside by the side of the house.

Not all air conditioning units have overflow switches, if yours does not then go to next step. Unplug the furnace from the wall socket and plug in a lamp. If you have a fan coil you cannot do this since the circuit is 230 volts. 230 volts is high voltage and only an experienced person should check to see if there is voltage to the fan coil using a volt meter. If the lamp will not turn on you have no power to the indoor unit, check all the circuit breakers, turning them off and on until the lamp turns on. If the light was off and now is on then this should fix the problem. Plug the furnace back in and if there is power to the thermostat than make sure the cooling temperature desired is set below the room temperature. It may take 4 to 5 minutes before the thermostat calls for cooling because of internal time delays. Your thermostat may have a green light that comes on when it is calling for cooling or display that says cooling. If the air conditioning does not come on then try the fan switch to see if the fan comes on.

If the fan comes on with the fan on switch and runs but there is no cooling than check for air flow coming out the supply air registers. If there is no air flow coming out the supply air registers but the fan is running then you probably have a clogged filter. Take the filter out and look at it, if it is completely dirty then leave it out for the time being and try to restart you air conditioning system. We would recommend unplugging the furnace or the fan coil for a few minutes, plugging them back in and trying to turn the system on from the thermostat again. If you take the filter out and restart the system and the air conditioning does not come on and you still have no air flow it is possible you have an iced up coil. You will need to let the ice melt off the coil and let it run into the drain pan. This will take several hours then try the system again. Running the fan only will defrost the coil quicker. If running fan, make sure the thermostat is not calling for cooling. Fan runs, thermostat is calling for cooling and good air flow coming out the vents but no cooling.

Your problem is most likely with your outdoor unit. Check to see if the condenser fan is running and if you can hear the compressor running. If the compressor is running but the condenser fan is not running, turn the unit off immediately to keep from damaging the compressor. With the unit turned off, take a stick or other item that you can stick through the grill and give the fan blade a push. If the fan blade moves easily then you probably have a burned out condenser fan motor. If the fan blade moves but is very difficult to turn you may have a bad bearing and you may be able to spray some WD40 on the bearing through the grill and this may get you going for a short period until you can get a technician to replace the fan motor. Also make sure the fan blade is not scraping on something, this might be also temporarily repaired by bending the blade to where it doesn't scrape on the item again. If neither the compressor or the fan motor turn and there is no sound at all coming from the outdoor unit you could have simply a tripped circuit breaker or a blown fuse.

For a circuit breaker just flip the circuit breaker back and forth that controls the outdoor unit. If it is the fuse you actually need to turn off the breaker box, flip the circuit breaker to the outdoor unit to off and pull out the fuses (caution the fuse box has high voltage 230 volts which is very dangerous only a qualified electrician or HVAC technician should pull out the fuses) and test them with a continuity checker/volt meter or simply take the fuses to Home Depot and buy new fuses, replace the old fuses and see if when you turn the circuit breaker back on and you turn the thermostat on if the unit starts to run again. If you have checked power to the condensing unit (flipped circuits & checked fuses) and unit still does not run you may be locked out on a high pressure limit. This can be caused by several things but one thing that can cause this is a dirty or clogged condenser coil. Turn the circuit breaker to the condensing unit off then take a broom and brush as much dirt, grass and leaves as you can from the coil.

Then take a water hose and wash off the coil. This not only cleans the coil but lowers the temperature of the coil so the high pressure switch reconnects the circuit. After cleaning the condenser coil turn the circuit breaker to the unit back on. Then go to the thermostat and turn to off and then back to cooling. If the problem is high pressure then your unit should start running again. After you have gone through these steps and the ac unit is still not cooling you have a serious problem, the control circuit board, bad capacitors, low refrigerant or a burned out compressor. In any event it will take a qualified technician to repair your unit. All of these fixes in most cases are just stop gap measures to get you cooling immediately. You should have a qualified HVAC technician look at your system and permanently fix the problem. Find a qualified HVAC technician If you want to make sure your air conditioning unit does not fail unexpectedly in the future you should have your air-condition contractor install a ColorTouch programmable wifi thermostat.