If the air conditioner in your home is not blowing out cold air, you may wish to take the time to do a bit of troubleshooting before reaching for the phone to call in an air conditioning repair contractor. With a bit of luck, you just may find that one of the usual suspects is to blame and by correcting a relatively minor issue, you will be able to get your AC back up and running. However, even if you do determine that you are in need of professional AC repairs, taking the time to do the following troubleshooting steps can help to make the task of finding and repairing the problem much faster once your HVAC contractor arrives.
#1: A Dirty Air Filter
Airflow is perhaps the most important part of maintaining a well-functioning air conditioning system. After all, if your AC unit is not able to pull in enough air, it will not be able to blow out cold air. One of the most common reasons that the airflow becomes disrupted is because of a dirty air filter. If you have not cleaned or replaced your air filter recently, there is a good chance that this suspect is to blame for the issues you are experiencing. In order to correct this issue, simply locate your air filter and either repair or replace it. These filters can typically be found either behind the front cover of your AC unit or in a filter drawer directly alongside or below the unit.
#2: Leaking Coolant
If you have a clean air filter in place and are still experiencing problems with your air conditioner not blowing cold air, you will want to move on with your troubleshooting efforts by looking for signs of leaking coolant. Most coolant leaks are relatively small so you may not see an actual puddle around the base of your AC unit. This is why you should look for both signs of wetness and signs of moisture damage in the area surrounding your AC unit. If you do spot evidence of what you believe is a coolant leak, do not attempt to clean up the spilled coolant on your own. This fluid can be extremely toxic and should only be cleaned up and disposed of by a professional contractor. They will be able to complete this cleanup when you call them out to repair the leak and replace the loss coolant.
#3: Frozen Coils
If you have ruled out the possibility of a coolant leak, your final step in the troubleshooting process will be to rule out frozen condenser coils. The best way to do this is to simply turn off your AC unit for several hours. If the coils have frozen over, they will defrost during this time and your AC unit should work normally once it is turned back on.
What If You Have Eliminated All Of The Usual Suspects?
If you have effectively eliminated all of the usual suspects from your list of potential culprits, the time has come to call in an HVAC contractor to further investigate the problem. Just be sure to share with this contractor all of the troubleshooting steps you have already taken so that you can avoid the need to repeat these steps. Reach out to one who provides AC repair services.
