Central AC Not Cooling?
A central air conditioner not cooling a home can be due to various issues. In the state of Florida, it can be very hot, to a point where it is dangerous to be in your home if your A/C isn’t producing enough cool air. That’s why you need to make sure that you check out the following information on what can happen to make an AC malfunction.
If your A/C isn’t working at all, then you need to check to see if the circuit breaker has been tripped. Sometimes, if you turn one too many things on at once or a power surge happens, it can automatically shut off part of or all of your electricity. The other problem that is easy to fix is to make sure you have the AC on. Sometimes people didn’t notice that they don’t have the AC switched on because they were just using the heater. Also, set the thermostat to a cooler temperature in case that’s the issue.
Try taking off the thermostat’s cover. Before doing this, you need to turn off the air conditioner’s power. You want to pull the body of the thermostat from the base next and change the batteries out if there are any. Check every wire to see if they have been damaged and when you put the cover back on make sure they are not being pinched. Wait about 5 minutes after putting the cover on again and try starting your A/C again. This sometimes works and sometimes there’s more that you have to check out and try.
A central air conditioner, not cooling could be due to the compressor. There’s a capacitor in your compressor that helps to start the fan and the condenser. You won’t have a working A/C if the capacitor is failing and it’s not that hard to get this repaired if that is the issue. You need to turn the power off to your unit and then open up the electrical cover on it. Set a digital meter to capacitance and put one of your lead on your common connection and the other lead should go on another of the two remaining terminals. If there is a reading of OL then there’s a short.
You may have an AC that is running but not cooling well or at all. This may be due to blockages or airflow being limited in other ways. You should check the compressor, registers, and air filters. Look to see if your refrigerant line is being pinched and make sure the blower fan is able to freely spin the right way. Air filters come in a lot of different varieties, and the best idea is to get one that is well made and will last you a long time.
See if your outdoor fan is turning by watching it when the AC is on. If you notice that it isn’t moving at all, then see if there is a reset switch of some kind. After that, try to spin the fan’s blades in a clockwise way using a screwdriver or whatever fits. Sometimes it can be as simple as that and at other times it’s best to call someone to get help. It’s far cheaper to work on this now than to keep trying to use the AC while it’s not working right because the damage will just get worse over time.
Central air conditioner, not cooling help can be found if you don’t know how to work on it yourself. When you hire an expert, you will end up saving money over time. Think about how much more you’re paying to have a unit that doesn’t work right. When it has to work harder to cool your home, that will cause your bills to go up drastically. After a few months of higher bills, you’ll have paid far more than what a repair would have cost you in the first place, especially if the damage is much worse now.
Is your A/C leaking water? There are a lot of reasons why this would be happening and not all of them are bad. Sometimes it’s just condensation due to the unit having to deal with water and heat. At other times, there may be a leak in one of the pipes that carry water to the air handler. Your condensate pump may be having issues, and that can make the water overflow in your unit. A lot of air handlers have a float switch in them that will shut the A/C off if it’s filling with water. Cleaning the condensation drainpipe is the best option at this point.
Do you notice any ice building up on the unit? Then it’s a good idea to clean your filters, change them, or see if you need more refrigerant in the unit. If you find out that you’re low on refrigerant, do not try to take care of it yourself. This is a job that only a professional should do for you due to how difficult it can be to get it done properly. A mistake that a lot of people make is that they try to care for every issue to save money and end up making their problems worse.
Does your AC make a squealing or grinding noise that comes from the air handler? Some have a belt and others have motors that are direct-drive. If the air handler’s belt has slipped out of position or is no longer alighted right you can get it back on track. If you see that it’s damage and won’t work no matter what you do with it, you can find the right belt replacement. The unit needs to be shut off if you’ll be doing any work with it so be very careful.
Does the A/C compressor outside of your home make buzzing sounds? Then it may mean that the run capacitor is not working right. If you have one that goes bad your motor can overheat and that causes it to not be able to get started. There is a thermal overload switch that activates when there is too much heat. You can try spinning the unit’s fan and if it doesn’t start up or just does one cycle and then goes back off you may have a bad capacitor. Luckily, this is easy to get replaced by the right professional.
Figuring out what the problem is can be difficult if none of the above issues are what is wrong. Whether you know what you’re doing or not, it can be a much better plan to just hire our team to care for the issue. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to at least find out what is wrong to get a quote or just to know so you’re aware of what needs to be taken care of in the near future. You can trust someone with the right training to do a good enough job in the future that it saves you a lot of money now and in the future.
There are many reasons for your central ac not cooling so if it’s not something, you can fix on your own you should get some professional assistance. In Florida, you do have the ability to hire us for your needs. Whatever you do, don’t wait too long because if there is a small issue it will only get worse. Plus, it can get so hot in this state that it may not even be safe to be in a home without a working air conditioner!