Troubleshoot Home Air Conditioning
In the summer time, you rely on your air conditioning units to cool you down from the sweltering heat outside. However, like every other piece of machinery, sometimes you turn on the air conditioner only to find a problem. If you have some issues with your air conditioning system this summer, there are some things you can do to troubleshoot the air conditioner problem yourself before calling in the expensive HVAC repair man.
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Check Braker And Thermostat
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When you first turn on the air conditioner in the summer and it fails to come on, it may be due to a thrown breaker. Therefore, the first thing you should is check to make sure the breaker is on. If the breaker is in the off position, flip it on. If the breaker immediately switches back to the off position with a pop, snap or spark, stop troubleshooting and call an HVAC repair person. When a breaker is reset and then switches back to the off position quickly like that, it is often a sign that the problem with your air conditioning unit is not something that will be fixed using simple troubleshooting techniques.
If you have flipped the breaker into the on position and it stays there without a problem, check the thermostat and make sure it is set on the cool option. Drop the temperature indicator to higher than the temperature it actually is in the house to encourage the outside unit to kick on. If the unit does not begin to run, switch the indicator to the fan option to ensure that the thermostat is receiving power. If the fan comes on, it may be time to walk outside and investigate the outside unit. If the fan does not come on, it could be a sign that your thermostat does not have power. If you have a digital thermostat, the problem may be as simple as replacing some batteries. If you have another type of thermostat, you may have to test all of the connections.
Examine Main Unit
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Once you checked your thermostat and breaker, its time to check the main unit. Depending on the manufacturer of the unit there are two things to look for that may be the cause of simple trouble within the unit. Upon examining the outside unit, you should see a tiny access door or panel on the side of the unit. Open this door and inside you will find one of two things. You will either see a bunch of fuses or you will see a reset switch. If you see fuses, pop out the fuses one by one and see if any of them are blown. If some of the fuses are blown, visit your local hardware store and buy replacements. Install the fuses once you are home and see if that repairs the problem.
If you see a reset switch, you will need to reset the unit. Similar to a reset switch to the electrical outlets in your home, there should be a button to press. Once you press this button, you should see a red indicator or other color indicator light come on that gives you visual verification the switch has been reset and the unit has power. If the unit starts after doing this, than you know that was your problem and you have successfully repaired your air conditioning unit.
Get Help
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If you have tried all of the steps and the air conditioning system is still not working, this might be a good indication that you should call in an HVAC technician to make the repair. The fixes discussed should have repaired the problem if the problem was something simple and if they didn't, it is a good indication that there is a larger scale problem that will take the trained eye and skills of a certified HVAC technician to repair.
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