We all expect our central air conditioners to work consistently, providing cool, reliable comfort. Most of us take our systems for granted until something goes wrong. Here are four signs that indicate you may have a problem in your system, no power, not cooling, some cool rooms, and noises coming from your unit. If you’re experience any of these problems, it’s important to know what these signs are telling you and if you need professional help.
No power. If your central air conditioner is turned on but there seems to be no power to the unit, this could be due to several factors.
- If you cannot hear your system running and no air appears to be blowing from your vents, it could be the result of a blow fuse or tripped circuit breaker. Check your fuse box and reset the breaker or replace the blown fuse.
- No power can also be the result of a failed thermostat that may not be telling the air conditioner to turn on. If you’ve turned the thermostat to the lowest temperature setting and it still doesn’t turn on, that’s a bad sign. Contact an HVAC professional to fix or replace your thermostat.
- No power can also be a sign of a broken wire or loose connection in the wiring. An HVAC professional will be able to splice broken wires together or tighten the loose connection.
Not cooling. When your air conditioner is running and blowing but the air is not cool, this is usually due to either a lack of refrigerant or a failure of the condenser. In either case you need to have a HVAC professional check out your system.
- The condenser’s job is to cool air as it recirculates it by drawing air over itself and then blowing it into your home.
- If you have a refrigerant leak in your system, it will need servicing to add additional refrigerant and have the leak sealed.
Some cool rooms. If you have some rooms that are cooling and others that are not, it could be a failure within your duct work.
- Your central air conditioning is supposed to be a sealed air system, however, if you have a tear or leak in the air ducts that is carrying the return air to your system to be treated and cooled, or in the duct work that is carrying the cool air to the registers, it will allow untreated or uncooled air into your system. Leaky air ducts can make your whole home warmer.
- Failure of the duct work that carries the cool air into the registers can leave some rooms cool while others warm. This may be an indication that the duct work leading to the warm rooms is faulty.
Noises. When a central air conditioning system makes excessive noise it is best to turn it off so it does not cause more damage. The most common source of noise is from the fan motor.
- There can be leaves or small twigs that the fan is hitting as it turns. It’s important to keep the area around the outside unit free of debris.
- The bearings may be going out in the motor itself. This will need to be fixed by a HVAC professional.
Bottom line, if your central air conditioner is not performing as it should, contact a professional HVAC technician. Have it checked out so that you can go back to taking for granted the comfort you’re used to!