Comments on: Air-Conditioning Troubleshooting Checklist

By: Ottawa Air Conditioning

Ottawa Air Conditioning — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:38:41 +0000

If you have old doors and windows in your house and it is not air tight in your house, it will cause your air conditioner to work overtime and that will shorten the life of it. Always monitor your usage regularly.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:04:47 +0000

The Handyguys are not Professional HVAC guys but it sounds like you are on the right path. Fan motor, capacitor, or the compressor. A good Pro HVAC person might have the tools to test these components. In your case its a best guess. Does the capacitor(s) look damaged or leaking anything? I might start there. I might also see what parts are warm to the touch after tripping the breaker. The compressor will be the most expensive part.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:48:54 +0000

I have an outside Bryant unit, It has been tripping the breakers lately.
It will come on run for 45 min- to an hour , sometimes 15 min- 30 min then the fan shuts off then theres this hiss, pop, and a few other sounds by the time get back to the thermostat to turn it off it trips the breaker. I did some trouble shooting and thought it might be the fan motore, so I replaced the fan motor today. However i turned on the unit and wammy 15 min, and it shut off again but did not trip breaker. I’m contemplating to replace the capacitor tomorrow, I cannot aford a new unit for $2500, but i can spend a $112 on a new fan motor and the capacitor is $83 thats still better tthan $2500. I’ll just have to try and get buy till the economy picks back up. If anyone can give me some pointers as to what’s going on please help. The only last thing I can think of id the compressor, and well I have a new unit once i have to put it in. Help! Hot in lower Alabama today was 100* at the beach – heat index 116*, Were melting!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:19:42 +0000

No, no reset button. There is sometimes a disconnect switch and/or a fuse or breaker outside. If all those are fine then it may be time to call in a pro. Good luck, sorry I couldn’t help more.

By: JAY

JAY — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:39:27 +0000

my outside unit will not turn on. I have replaced bus fuses and checked for tripped breakers , plus check tremstat. I turn it on to cool and the fan on the inside unit turns on but the outside unit will not in gage. Is there a reset buttom or switch for the outside unit. pls help me.

Thanks,
Jay

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:27:10 +0000

I’m assuming the outside compressor is running when the thermostat is calling for cooling. If it is, its likely a coolant leak. Fixing a coolant leak is not a DIY project, its time to call in a pro.
Some pros may just top off the coolant and call it a day. That may give you cooling for a day, maybe for a week or maybe for a season. It all depends on how bad the leak is. Others will do a pressure test to find the leak and attempt a fix before adding coolant. Other pros will just say you need a new compressor, lines and other parts. I would get 2 or 3 estimates. If you AC unit is more than 15 years old then the person recommending replacement may be correct. The guy who just wants to add coolant and see what happens will be the cheapest but he really isn’t fixing the main cause (a leak). Good luck and post back here what the pros fix was.

By: gary

gary — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:18:20 +0000

Unit not cooling. Fan comes on. Checked outside fuses-both good.
checked breaker-it had not tripped. Tripped and reset. Still no air. Turned thermostat way down- ac unit doesn’t start. What next?

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:04:31 +0000

The black rubber is insulation. It matters as far as efficiency goes but if your AC isn’t cooling the insulation isn’t your problem. You live in an apartment, call your maintenance person and have it checked out.

By: mark 4e

mark 4e — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:02:28 +0000

i live in an apartment and my lennox air conditioner seen like it not doing the job i thought it would!!! the unit is sitting on some rocks and isn’t balanced and the black rubber around the pipe is worn baddly. ((( I can see the pipe in half the pipe from the unit to the wall))) do this thing matter??? thanks mark 4e

By: AC not blowing - Page 2

AC not blowing - Page 2 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:24:36 +0000

[...] to avoid calling a service tech. We discussed a similar set of things to check in a podcast here Episode #69 Good luck __________________ The Handyguys Podcast [...]

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:52:57 +0000

Do you have a setback thermostat with batteries? Are they working?

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sun, 30 May 2010 02:58:25 +0000

well i need help with my central air we had it turned on previously came home today and it shut off wont turn on at all.. I replaced the fuse non of the breakers were tripped! What should I do now??

By: Episode #81 â€“ Handyguy Vehicles, Air Conditioning and Mower Repair | DIY How To

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:33:33 +0000

[...] Handyguys then discuss a question posted as a response to our air conditioning troubleshooting show, episode 69. My inside handler unit is constantly leaking water inside the closet. I’ve cleaned the lines [...]

By: Episode #81 â€“ Handyguy Vehicles, Air Conditioning and Mower Repair

Episode #81 â€“ Handyguy Vehicles, Air Conditioning and Mower Repair — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:03:54 +0000

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:04:00 +0000

Nelson – Thanks for your question. I think you are on the right track. You didn’t say if the pan is filling up and overflowing on not. I suspect not. The pan may have a leak in it or drain the line has a leak. The drain line is relatively easy to replace if you have access. The pan could be a much bigger job. See if you can determine exactly where you leak is and where the water is coming from. Once you do that you will be well on your way to determining a fix.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:04:12 +0000

My inside handler unit is constantly leaking water inside the closet. I’ve cleaned the lines that lead to the outside and also cleaned the pan and removed all the gunk that was accumulated. I even sprayed an a/c cleaner on the coils, which did not really look that dirty. After all that work, the a/c began to leak again thirty minutes later. The house is cool and the system seems to be working fine however the closet and filter are soaked. I’m frustrated and don’t want to call a company just to discover that it was something simple that I was not aware of. Please help.
Thanks, Nelson

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:06:35 +0000

Tony – You may want to have a service tech out to check the unit. It could be a bad motor or motor component.

By: Tony Worthington

Tony Worthington — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:40:21 +0000

The outside unit fan blade locks up and starts making a noise that sounds like it’s trying to run ! With water hose u can manualy get the fan going and it will start up . Cool house down then it will do it again. Does it need a hard start?

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:30:25 +0000

Robert – This question is WAY beyond the Handyguys skills. Maybe one of our listeners could comment.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:29:04 +0000

TTF – Thats a great point! yes, one more thing to check for sure. Some times its easy to overlook the obvious. Thanks for your tip.

By: TTF

TTF — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:38:00 +0000

I have another home-owner / DIY troubleshooting point:

When I installed my central vac system, I unplugged the condensation water pump to our AC so I could run the line. I forgot to plug it back in (figures…) and it of course filled up with water. Since I have a new high-efficency unit, it of course comes with an interlock that won’t allow it to function if the little pump pan is full.

I called the service tech, and he didn’t catch it either, so he started swapping parts. Since he didn’t follow the troubleshooting checklist, he gave me the service call for free – and I got a few newer parts in my system.

Lesson: check the little tank.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:59:29 +0000

I’m servicing a Rheem 3 ton condenser and Air handler. Upon recieving the service call the owner told me the unit goes on and initialy cools then goes warm. My first thought was low freon(leak) or poor air flow accross cevaporator coil surface Freeze up).I just had an initial start up on a 82 degree day and the unit is blowing warm air. I first checked the filter and electronic air cleaner which was very clogged (i cleaned). Evaporator coil is in decent shape as far as being dirty,and the condenser needs cleaning. After initial check points and before putting the gages on i ran the unit with the air handler side only.(seems fine) Then i put the gages on and set the thermostat to call for cooling. The gages read 30 psig and i had no reading on the high side. One would think a leak. I did a Freon charge and brought the system up to 60 psig. Still no reading on the high side. At the evaporator there using a .065 orifice. System seems to be running fine. Why would i not have a reading on the high side. After leaving the job i thought maybe someone did service on the system and didn’t back off the valve fully on the high side. If that’s not the reason would it be recommended to pump down system and install a new orifice. And if that doesn’t solve the problem would you think the Compressors valve assembly is leaking and the compressor isn’t pumping,Which would call for a change-out?

Help would be appreciated

Robert

By: Mitchell moore

Mitchell moore — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:40:28 +0000

Thanks. Please feel free to visit my blog and post anytime you like with a link of course.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:57:24 +0000

I must admit I do not have a service contract. I am seriously considering starting one soon.

By: mitchell moore

mitchell moore — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:47:58 +0000

Service contract! Absolutely! Thank You. It is at times frustrating to get people to understand and implement the HUGE benefits of a routine scheduled maintenance agreement. I must say it is refreshing to correspond with someone who can see the value in maintaining your ac and heating equipment on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong there are lot’s of people that are diligent in maintaining their equipment and these are the people that have the least problems with their equipment. Once again, it is a pleasure to see that others feel as strongly as I do in service agreements. Mitchell Moore

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:00:57 +0000

Mitchell – Good point! Yes, I agree. If a repair would only cost a couple hundred dollars and give you many many years of service then yes, do the repair. On the other hand – if you are spending hundreds a couple times a season every year then maybe its time to consider a replacement or at least a service contract. I think the bottom line is that routine maintenance will help minimize the chance of some repairs and prolong the life of your investment.

By: mitchell moore

mitchell moore — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:45:53 +0000

I believe that the biggest factor in weather t repair or replace would lie in the repair that needed to be made. In many cases your ac unit may be operating at higher utility consumption than previous years due to lack of maintenance. The pay back may take more than 10 years and what then at that point? purchase another unit? It is extremely important to look at the over all performance of the compressor ( the heart of the system) and make an informed decision from there. The valve should be tested as well as the motor windings. As the owner of an air conditioning repair company in Chicago I have seen too many people replace units that would have lasted another 10 yeaars. Just my 2 cents