Central AC will not turn on; ice on unit?
Question:I just returned from a vacation to a very hot home--90 outside and the central AC is not running despite thermostat set to 'cool.' The indoor part of the split unit is running, but the outdoor component will not turn on (fan not running). There is ice built up where the hose that goes from the unit into the home meets the unit. There is also water weeping from the insulation on the hose that runs inside to the indoor part of the unit. I don't know much about this sort of thing, but I gather it could be a totally ruined compressor, lack of freon, or bad air filter. I'm 90% there is no electrical problem with the thermostat, the breaker, etc. Unfortunately, I don't know what happened leading up to the malfunction as I was out of town and my house sitter said that he simply noticed that the house felt warm for the last day or two.
The unit is a Carrier and is appx. 14 years old. I've been in the house for 1 year and the AC has worked beautifully.
Any recommendations? Thanks
Answers:
With ice forming the compressor is working, and the freon seems OK. ~
Check the drain which usually gets the water out, where it is freezing up now (the ice build up). Check the power to the outside fan, you may have lost that fan or a fuse for it.
The reason it isn't cooling is because the ice formed and it is a bad conductor of heat or cold. The fins need to be clear and stay that way.
Probably time to replace the AC
Its old enough that there are MUCH more efficient units available now.
The icing is indication that it has lost refrigerant, so there's a leak. Finding and repairing the leak then recharging the unit can be very expensive.
My fridge has a similar problem, and I'm told by a guy at work who does refrigeration that this means you're low on freon. Get that looked into..
Robert is right - same thing happened to me. Have the repair place check for major leakes.but your probably just low on freon.
We just bought a house and had the same thing happen to us a week after we bought it. we had to wait 2 days before anyone was able to come out. They informed us our coils needed to be replaced. As the fan outside was not turning either. Also the line may be plugged and may need to be cleared u will have to call a local air conditioner service company to come out and look at it.
i hope this is your solution.i had this problem twice.put it on fan,not cool nor heat let run continously at least an hour to defrost.it is frozen over,the guy who housesat for you was running it too cold,my son did it,too.you can help it along by using your blowdryer on the frozen parts.after it is all defrosted ,put it on the regular temp.you use,70-72 and cool,auto.that should do it!this is not a permanent solution.get someone to add freon,ac guy.
I would try this before you go out and purchase a new unit because this happens every once in a while at my rentals. It needs to be cleaned. alot of times when you mow the grass or weed-eat, the grass clippings will stop up the unit
shut the power off at the unit and take the top off and run water over it and let all of the ice melt. take some bleach white and a cleaning brush and clean the radiator looking part with the bleach white and brush and clean the whole thing if possible. if you have a pressure washer or air hose this will help. use any type of pressurization or thumb over water hose to push the grass clippings thru the radiator looking thing. clean the unit and around it well. once you have done this then put the lid back on and crank up the ac. if it cools than that is all it needed, if not looks like another unit needs to be purchased.
good luck
It can be a number of things, but the fact that it is 14 years old and you obviously flooded it, i think it may be time to replace it. Thing is, nowadays, supply houses are selling 13 Seer units or higher and these require the indoor units to be matched to the outdoor unit so you have to replace both. It may cost you a bit initially but in the long run it will save you a lot monthly.
It sounds to me like something is clogged up.Possibly the accumilater.( Not sure about the spelling )
Sometimes this happen if the thermostat is set to a lower temperature and your unit runs for a very long time ,this will cause the hose from building frost on it , I would unplug the unit until the ice is melted and start the unit over again. If that doesn't work you might need a new unit .
The very first thing is Check the furnace filters to see if they need to be replaced. If that's OK then call a Carrier dealer chances are that it's low in refrigerant and had developed a leak. That A/C should last you another 6 years minimum and possibly another 16 if annual maintenance is done properly.
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