6 Air Conditioner Repair Tips You Can Do Yourself

Air conditioner repair can be quite costly when you have to bring in a professional. Obviously there are times when an expensive repair is inevitable. However, you can troubleshoot it first prior to contacting a professional. Often times the underlying issue is something you can actually fix. In case your unit isn’t working for simple reasons, it can be aggravating to spend a couple of your hard-earned dollars just to have a specialist come out and turn a breaker back on. There are several easy and quick checks you can accomplish yourself before you decide to call for help from an air conditioner repair company.
We will give you those tips to get your home comfortable again. Use this guide to fix the air conditioning system yourself. We discuss the most common issues when it comes to fixing your a/c unit yourself:


Check AC settings
The thermostats on many air conditioning systems are battery powered and as you may know, the thermostat is used for the heating and cooling configurations. If the thermostat is not working, then your air conditioner won’t provide the conditions you require. Pay close attention to the reading on your thermostat. The thermostat setting might make the room more comfortable, but it may not be effective enough to cool your house. When it is not to the right setting, you can be easily deceived that it’s not working.

Check the Power to the Furnace
Ensure you have enough power to the furnace. Without power to the furnace you will not have air blowing through your home or office. Without power to the furnace, the air conditioner won’t receive the signal to turn on. Ensure your outlet has power. This can be checked by plugging in an electronic device such as a phone charger. If there isn’t any power coming from your outlet reset the breakers at the power panel and recheck for power.

Check the coils and filters
Dirty, clogged up air conditioner parts can and will affect how well your air conditioner works or if it even works at all. If you are used to leaving your windows open and doors open in the warm weather, it is possible that dust and atmospheric particles will get into your air conditioning system. It is remarkable how much damage built up dirt, hair and debris can do to the inside of your air conditioning system and how much it can affect the way it runs. It can block the system and affect how well the airflows through it. When this happens, look at what the damage is, then clean the coils and filters in your air conditioner. Coils should be cleaned by being washed down with a garden hose. The filters also, need frequent cleaning. In extreme cases and depending on how old your air conditioner is, replacing your filters may be a better option.

Check the electrical components
One of the main causes of air conditioner breakdowns is the electrical supply. Switches trip without our knowledge all the time and sometimes all that is required is a simple observation of the electrical set up. If you have a new air conditioner or have recently introduced new components into the electrical circuit, you may overload your power socket. Also, it could just be that a fuse has blown. Blown fuses affect many household appliances and stop them from Working. Luckily, this issue can be very easily fixed. Replacing various components may require a bit more in depth electrical knowledge and that you dedicate time to read the air conditioner manual. Sometimes, various components require being replaced. Ensure you know the component you need for your specific make and model of air conditioner. Once this is done, you can continue to use your air conditioning for a nice cool breeze in your home.

Thaw frozen coils
In hot weather, we are likely to use the cool setting for a long time. This can wind up doing a bit of harm and stopping your air conditioner from working. Sometimes the coils within your air conditioner will become frozen. As much as you may not want to do this when the weather is warm, what needs to be done is to shut off the system’s compressor. The next thing you want to do is turn the temperature to be higher than room temperature. It may take a few attempts to work out just how warm that needs to be. Another way that this can be solved is by switching the setting to the fan-only setting. Allow air to flow through the conditioner for a few hours and after this, it should be working again. Frozen coils will be worsened by accumulated dirty, a low air conditioner refrigerant or a blocked drain.

Examine your ducts
If you feel comfortable climbing into your attic, check out your ducts to make sure air is coming out of them. In the event they are dirty enough to block air flow they will surely need to be cleaned. Often a register may have been accidentally closed partly or even all the way. A cursory check will show if air is flowing through the ducts.

The above are some of the points you should look at if your Air Conditioning unit is on the blink. These can help you save you a lot of cash before you call in a specialist air conditioner repair company. Of course, some issues can only be dealt with by a qualified service company. Issues like electrical repairs and adding Freon have to be done by the gurus. That being said, more in depth and extra information on various air conditioner repair hacks can be found with a little research. If you need visual explanations there are many video slideshow and picture representations available online for you to explore.

Many air conditioning issues come from lack of routine maintenance. Remember when repairing your air conditioning unit yourself to always put safety first. If it is out of your skill set you may want to call a pro. It’s easy to get electrocuted and hurt by a moving part if you have no idea what you’re doing when repairing your air conditioner on your own.