Troubleshooting Your AC

There are few things worse than being caught in a blazing summer without a working air conditioner. Therefore, you should know how to troubleshoot any problems that your AC has. To help you out, here's a rundown of some of the most common problems with air conditioners and how you should deal with them:

AC doesn't work at all

If you turn on your AC and it is not working at all, then you will first want to check the circuit breaker and the thermostat. If the circuit breaker has been tripped recently (such as due to a power outage), then the solution might be as simple as flipping the breaker. Similarly, the thermostat settings might simply not be set correctly to engage the air conditioner.

If neither of those resolve the problem, then there is probably a serious mechanical problem within the air conditioner. The fan or the compressor might be broken, and neither are easy to fix on your own. At this point, hiring a professional air conditioner service technician might be your best bet.

AC isn't cooling as much as it should

There are a couple of main reasons that your AC could be operating at partial effectiveness. First, you might just need to clean out your air conditioner. To do this, you must turn disconnect the AC from the power grid and then carefully remove the outer plating. You should be able to see where cleaning is required. If this does not resolve the problem, then you might need to add more coolant. This is not something that an amateur can easily do, so it is recommended that you call an expert.

AC is only cooling certain rooms

In this case, the problem is likely in your ventilation rather than your air conditioner. Check the vents in the rooms in question to see if you can identify the blockage. You will need a flashlight and a screwdriver in order to remove and see into the vents. If you are lucky, the blockage will be visible and easily accessible. Otherwise, you might need to hire a pro to clean out your ventilation.

If you are having difficulty in determining which rooms are being deprived of AC, you should close all the doors and windows and then let the AC run for a couple hours. Check each room, and you should be able to easily tell which rooms are getting AC and which are not.