AC not working in your place? Stay cool, my friend. A checklist for chillin’ with your air conditioner.
So, you’re hanging out, and you notice it’s getting hotter. Your AC is on, but man, it’s like 80+ degrees inside. What’s the deal? Let’s figure it out with this easy AC checklist.
Please note, AC not working is NEVER a maintenance emergency. Inconvenient? Absolutely! (And we apologize for the inconvenience and are ready to help.) But not an emergency. Please be respectful of service people’s evening and weekend time by not using the emergency call queue for non-emergencies.
If you try everything below and you still aren’t chilling out, submit a maintenance request and we’ll get it handled during normal business hours!
Issue 1: Be sure the AC unit is ON and getting power.
Is air flowing out of the vents?
Put your hand by an air vent (not an air return vent — those are bigger). Do you feel any air moving? If not, check the following:
- Is the thermostat set to On and Cool? If not, turn it on.
- Is the fan set to Auto? If yes, set it to ON and see if you get any airflow. (It won’t be cold if the AC isn’t working, but air should flow. If it doesn’t, that’s vital info!)
- If there’s no airflow even with the fan set to On, check the breakers for the unit. Locate the fuse box and find the ones labeled AC (there will likely be more than one). Are they off or tripped (halfway over)? Turn them on. If they were already on, go ahead and flip them off, wait five minutes, and turn them back on. ALSO, check your air filter. If it’s really clogged, it may keep air from flowing at all — and even if it’s just somewhat dirty, it can cause the outside unit to overwork and “freeze up.”
If you still have no air at all coming from the vents, please submit a maintenance ticket through your tenant portal and we will have someone come out during normal business hours.
Issue 2: Air is coming out, but it’s not cold.
So, you have air moving, but it’s not cold? Then the question is why — and the answer is usually that the outside unit is not working, or not working well.
Is the thermostat set to On and Cool?
I know, it seems obvious, but we’ve had calls where tenants turned the thermostat FAN to On but didn’t set the AC to Cool. Check it to be sure.
Is the outside AC unit running (making noise AND with a whirling fan)?
If the outside unit is not running at all…
Are you REALLY sure you’ve checked the thermostat and all the AC breakers? Flip the breakers off for 5-10 minutes, then turn it all back on. Any luck? If not, submit a maintenance ticket with the details of what you’ve learned (it will help us ID what you might need) and we’ll get right on it.
If the outside unit is running but has ice on it…
Does the outside unit look like it has ice on the sides (could be a little, could be a lot)? See “Frozen AC Units” below.
Check the INSIDE part of the AC system (the “blower”).
Is the filter very dirty, or was it partially “sucked up” into the unit?
Replace it — it’s impeding airflow. Get one the exact same size. You may need to unfreeze the unit first (see “Frozen AC Units” below).
Is there ANY water around the filter or the base of the unit?
This is a good sign that the INSIDE unit has frozen up. Another clue: ice around the insulated pipe that usually comes out of the front of the unit (the copper one, not the plastic one).
Frozen AC Units — the most common AC issue in hot weather
You may have a frozen AC unit. If it looks like there’s ice on the outside unit, it’s likely frozen. Turn the AC off (you may leave the fan set to On) so it can thaw out. It can take a while — hours (up to 12!), not minutes.
This happens most often when it’s hot, you crank the AC down, and you have the doors opening and closing a lot (think moving in, or a party). The unit runs too much, can’t keep up, and builds up ice, which makes it less efficient — and it continues until it won’t work at all (and can become a solid ice block!).
You should also check the inside unit and the filter. The pipes leading to the AC may have frost on them and/or the filter could be WET. Both these are signs of your unit freezing up. ALSO, if the filter is really dirty, try replacing it. Dirty filters make it more likely an AC will “freeze.” Either way, you have to wait for it to thaw out. Once thawed, turn it back on, and only lower the AC temperature a few degrees at a time.
A word about High MERV filters. HEPA/Air Quality/small particle filters. If you decided you want your air ‘clean’ and bought a filter that removes tiny particles, that can make your AC unit freeze up. Stick with a standard filter, at MERV 11 or less (we never install/change to higher MERV than that so if we supplied it, that is not likely the problem).
The ONLY solution for a frozen unit (inside or outside) is to turn the unit off completely and let it fully thaw.
Anything else just repeats the cycle (and frustrates you). All AC units are prone to this when they can’t keep up and/or have dirty filters. It can happen to a perfectly healthy unit under these conditions — though if it keeps happening after you’ve addressed the airflow basics, that can point to an underlying issue worth a tech’s look.
Both the inside and outside units can freeze up — one, the other, or both! The inside one is harder to tell, but it usually has some ice around the pipe entering the front of the unit.
Other AC-related concerns? Water leaking…
You might find that your inside or outside AC unit is leaking water. Should you be concerned? Yes — especially inside — but sometimes it’s normal (outside). This blog post from Sears covers various AC water leaks.
No luck?
We’re sorry you’re having trouble with your AC. If you’ve tried all of the above, please submit a maintenance request (noting what you learned while troubleshooting), and we’ll get you chillin’ in no time.
Here’s a quick video that covers some of the steps above:
Note: the electricity in AC units is nothing to mess with. Please do not attempt any repairs that involve taking apart the units — you can get hurt, AND you can cause identifiable damage that is worse than the original problem.