A Beginner's Guide to Residential Air Conditioning Troubleshooting

While it may be necessary to bring in a professional HVAC specialist to install and/or repair your air conditioning unit, there are some areas of residential air conditioning troubleshooting that you may be able to handle on your own. In this article you will learn the basics of evaluating and dealing with minor air conditioning issues. Let's first review the steps involved in troubleshooting a residential cooling system.

If you determine that your air conditioner does not seem to be working properly, your first step is to take a look at your thermostat. The switch should be set to the cool setting, and the preferred temperature should always be set lower than the temperature in the room. If you are using a programmable thermostat, make sure you have working batteries installed. Then, turn the switch to the auto setting to ensure the blower is functioning. If you hear the unit come on, then the power is fine. If nothing happens, the power may not be connected, a control might be burned out, or a fuse could be blown.

After you've checked the power, made sure the selector switch is set to cool and the fan switch is set to auto, set the thermostat to far below the temperature in the room to prompt it to come on. You will want to check and make sure that the condenser comes on in addition to the blower. If it does not, check your circuit breaker. If your breaker is fully functional, take a look at the condenser. If your condenser features a large button, press it in as far as you can. This will cause the unit to reset itself.

If you find that both the blower and condenser are running but the system is not cooling properly, place your hand on the largest copper line coming from the condenser. If the line is warm, you've got a cooling fluid issue. If the line is iced over, you may have a flow problem. For a frozen line, turning the unit off and allowing it to thaw out totally might solve the problem. If you have performed residential air conditioning troubleshooting and are unable to remedy the problem, call an HVAC expert and have them do the repairs.

Copyright 2007 James D. Sterling - All Rights Reserved

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