My AC won't turn on?
Question:I don't know much about how these things work but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do? Maybe I can adjust somethings small or something? It won't turn on. It's central air not a wall/window unit.
Answers:
Some central air indoor air handlers have an automatic shutdown safety switch in the water condensate drain lines at the drain line connection to your air handler so water doesn't overflow the drip pan. Some air handlers are out of sight up in your attic area, or it might be internal to the furnace in the basement (or both in some installations). So all you do is make sure your water condensate drain line is unplugged and flowing freely to the house plumbing drain or to the outside of the house. There should be a U or S shaped drain pipe in the drain at the air handler that holds water at the bottom of the U to keep gases from coming back into the unit. That's where they get clogged up and you need to clean that every year sometimes.
Another thing to do is to find the main circuit breaker in your electric service panel and simply turn it off for 30 seconds and then turn it back on again to reset your A/C system. Check that your thermostat is set correctly according to your operation manual (remember you stuffed it in a drawer somewhere?) Replace your air filters about once per year. Other people will say sooner, but what do they know?
check the thermostat settings to make sure they are in the correct positions also you can look to see if you have a circuit breaker tripped.
You'd better not mess with it. Call a serviceman.
That is, assuming you've got the thermostat set properly.
Regarding the breaker, it may not be so easy to see which breaker has been tripped, if one has been tripped. When you go to your main panel, jiggle each breaker to make sure it's completely engaged.
Its best to call a serviceman if you don't know what you are doing. My advice is to at least check the obvious, fuses, breakers and thermostat to save yourself money on needless service calls.
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Depending on the age, the air conditioner may have a separate breaker box that has been tripped. Might be as simple as flipping it back on.
Check your breaker/fuse panel and look for a separate box marked A/C.
It depends how knowledgeable you are about home things but start by looking at the thermostat and see if its set low enough to turn the air on, also if its a heat/cool t-stat make sure its set to cool, then make sure the breakers or fuses are on, then if it does work make sure the filter on the furnace or air handler is clean, if it don't work by then you need to call a professional.
The furnace or air handler and the outside unit (condenser) should have yearly maintenance done to check everything out. I know it costs a few bucks but it will stop head aches down the road
while you are at it...check to see if you have reinstalled the panel correctly after changing the furnace filter the last time, there is a switch on that panel that holds the fan off unless reinstalled correctly..good luck...tvtop_toptv
All of the other answers are good. Something else you can check, on some af the units that are outside there is high pressure reset button. It is usually red. If you switched directly from heat to cool (if you have a heat pump) this can cause that to trip. Just push it in until it clicks. If that is the problem the A/C will start working.
In addition to the breaker in the panel inside the house, outdoor disconnects are required within about 5 feet of the AC unit mounted to the house. Check to see if the plug has been pulled out of the disconnect
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