Friday, April 4, 2014

What To Do If Your AC Is ON But Not Blowing Cold Air

By Manda Plotzker


If it is raining out and the humidity is rising along with the heat there is a good possibility that your air conditioning unit can ice up. When it does your home will heat up quickly. The common misconception is that when your air conditioner is already running to turn the thermostat colder. When your AC is allowed to run low on refrigerant it can cause the compressor to gring much like a car that is low on oil. It will do this until one day it will just over heat and those metal shavings cause from grinding clog up the system and seize up the compressor.

Under non humid conditions icing up your air conditioning unit is not as common. To spite the inconvenience it may reveal a problem that could otherwise cause your AC to need a major repair if not corrected in time. One common cause of an air conditioning icing up is restriction in air flow caused by a dirty filter. If this is the case You will want to change the filter and shut the air conditioner off for a couple hours. This time will allow the unit to thaw. When you restart the AC air will move freely across the evaporator coils and continue to cool your home.

If the motor is working but not up to the proper speed, you may not ever notice it until the cover is removed and electrical amperage test is conducted. Too often AC technicians are do not want to climb in the 14o degree attic so they just jump to the conclusion that the machine is low on refrigerant. They keep adding refrigerant, R22 or 410a, until the unit is overcharged. Over time this improper resolution will cost you big bucks.

Some things to troubleshoot before calling for service include whether the unit is blowing out cool air into the room. Is the thermostat set to cool? Also, go out to your fins and see if they are sucking air in. If all of those things seem fine go and see if your machines float switch is floating. If the float switch is floating this could indicate a drainage problem. If you use your shop vac to suck out any clogs and it's still not better you will need air conditioning repair. Troubleshooting can keep you from paying for service calls when it's something silly that is wrong.

Low refrigerant can also cause a air conditioner to ice up. Some homeowners never notice a difference until the humidity climbs. Most air conditioning systems will work just fine on low refrigerant until the stop working all together. In cases like this a brief interruption in home comfort caused by moist air can save you thousands in repair cost latter.




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