On a hot summer day, you never want to find out your air conditioning is not working as well as you expected. While your initial reaction may be to panic and resign yourself to days of sweating, the good news is that it's often very easy to troubleshoot and even fix many common air conditioning problems. Rather than assume your air conditioner is hopelessly broken, here are some tips you may want to use to get your AC working once again.
Turn Off the Thermostat
If your air conditioner is always running instead of turning off now and then, the problem may be with your thermostat. To find out, start by turning off the AC thermostat to see if your unit turns off. If it does, the problem is solved. If not, you may have problems with your unit's compressor or other electrical parts, which will require professional evaluation and repair.
No Cool Air
In this scenario, your air conditioner is running as it always does, but is not blowing out any air that is actually cool. When you confront this issue, the problem may be as simple as a circuit breaker that is tripped. Should that not be the case, other potential reasons for this problem can be a worn-out blower belt or low levels of refrigerant in your air conditioner. If you need a new blower belt, rely on expert air conditioning repair to get the cool air flowing once again.
Leaking Water or Refrigerant
When air conditioners leak water or refrigerant, it can be caused by drainage pipes that are blocked or lines and connections within your AC system that have started to wear out. If you see stains that are very brightly colored near your AC unit, you've likely got a leak. In this situation, it's best to turn off your unit and call on professionals to make the necessary repairs. When leaks are allowed to persist, the result can be severe damage to your unit's compressor.
Turns Off and On
A very frustrating problem to encounter, especially on a hot summer day, this problem is also called short cycling. Most of the time, this is caused by clogged air filters or a thermostat that is not calibrated correctly. In some instances, this may be happening because the air conditioner you have for your home is actually too big for your needs.
Once you know what may be causing various problems with your air conditioner, it will be easier for you to determine if you can solve the problem yourself or instead need to call on experienced technicians to bring your AC back to life.
