Help! Where can I find info on how to troubleshoot a broken central AC unit? (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Swartz]

Due to the currrent heat wave, I fired up our house's central AC. However, even though everything is running, it won't cool down the house and no water is draining from the unit (as it should). All fittings appear to be iced up.

Is there some place on the web where I can find some basic advice on what to do or what the problem might be before I call a repairman? Thanks.

-Sweltering

 

[Jon_Are]

Daniel,
Try posting your question here
Jon

 

[aaron campbell]

Hi Daniel, When did you last replace your furnace filter? That is the first thing to look at. You either have insufficient air flow across the evaporator coil, or you have a low charge.

Aaron

 

[Frank Zimkas]

Daniel,
A dirty filter is one possible cause, but there may be other problems with your system. If yor filter is dirty then you should obviously clean or replace it. If the evaporator is froze-up you need to allow time for it to defrost...just leave the fan switch in the ON position. DO NOT run the heat to aid in defrosting, you can cause more problems! I would call your your favorite Heating & A/C company and have the entire system checked before it gets too hot.
You can check out WWW.WARMAIR.COM for more info.
BTW I am in the Heating & A/C business.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

OOPS looks like I put "your" to many many many many times times times!!!

DAMIT!

 

[Philip_G]

Check your filter, where are the fittings iced up? are they iced up outside by the unit?
iced lines can be a sign of an under-charged unit, however if you're not getting anough airflow across the cooling coil it will freeze up also as mentioned, when you check your furnace filter you can probably peek at the cooling coil with a flashlight (it looks like a car radiator, in an A or a W shape sort of, it'll be behind where the AC lines run into the furnace, DUH ) if it looks like a block of ice just as mentioned leave the fan on.. or get a hairdryer and go to town

 

[Daniel Swartz]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will take a look at the filter and coils and get back to you guys tomorrow morning. Thanks again!

 

[Daniel Swartz]

Well, I followed everyone's suggestion and it still won't work. So, we're calling an HVAC contractor today. Thanks for everyone's help!