Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with AC Repair
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
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Call (325) 219-0005Air conditioners that blow warm air, will not start, leak or make new noises, traced to the part that failed and repaired, with a plain answer on when a repair stops being worth it.
01AC repair
Each of these points at a different part of the system. Which one it is gets confirmed at the equipment.
The indoor fan is moving air but the system is not removing heat from it. A clogged filter, an outdoor unit that has stopped, a failed capacitor or a refrigerant leak are the usual causes, and a technician works out which before replacing anything.
Nothing happens when the thermostat calls for cooling. The cause can be as simple as a thermostat or a tripped breaker, or a safety switch that shut the system off because its drain backed up, or a failed control board or motor.
Water around the indoor unit usually means the condensate drain is blocked, and ice on the coil or copper lines means the system is short of airflow or refrigerant. Both get worse if the system keeps running.
Buzzing, grinding, squealing or rattling that was not there before usually points at a fan motor, an electrical part or something loose inside the unit. Caught early, it is often a smaller repair than the failure it leads to.
Short, frequent cycles wear the compressor and leave the air damp. A thermostat in the wrong spot, an overheating outdoor unit, a low charge or a system too large for the building can all cause it.
02Urgency
Most cooling trouble builds over weeks. Heat, water and burning smells change that.
None of this repairs the system. All of it limits the damage while it waits to be seen.
Switch the system off at the thermostat, and at its breaker if the panel is safe to reach. Leave it off until a technician has looked at it.
A breaker that trips again after being reset is protecting the wiring or the equipment from a fault. Leave it off and mention it when calling.
If water is pooling around the indoor unit, switch the system off at the thermostat and keep people and pets away from standing water near outlets or equipment.
Older people, infants and anyone with a health condition are at real risk in extreme heat. Move them to a cooler room or building while the system is out.
AC Repair
Serving Abilene, TX.
03How it is diagnosed
An air conditioner is a handful of parts working in sequence, and diagnosis follows that sequence.
The thermostat calls for cooling, the indoor blower starts, and outdoors a contactor closes to power the compressor and the condenser fan. A technician checks that chain in order: the thermostat and its signal, power at both units, the filter and the blower, then the capacitor, contactor and motors outside. Many no-cooling calls end at one of these electrical parts.
Only once the system runs can the refrigerant side be judged. Pressures and line temperatures show whether the charge is right, whether air is moving across the indoor coil as it should, and whether the compressor is doing its work. Reading those numbers before replacing parts is what separates a repair from a guess.
04Repair or replace
The part that failed and the condition of the rest of the system decide it, more than the age of the unit alone.
One component has failed and the rest of the system is sound: a capacitor, a contactor, a fan motor, a thermostat, a blocked drain or a leak at an accessible fitting. Replacing that part returns the system to the way it ran before.
The compressor has failed, the indoor coil is leaking, or repairs have started to repeat on an older system. A system that runs on a refrigerant no longer produced adds weight to replacing it, because every future leak gets harder to recover from.
05Questions
It depends on which part failed and the state of the rest of the system. A capacitor, contactor or fan motor is normally worth replacing. A failed compressor, a leaking indoor coil or a system that uses a refrigerant no longer produced is where replacement usually becomes the better answer.
No. Refrigerant circulates in a sealed loop and is not used up. A system that is low has a leak somewhere, and adding refrigerant without finding it only delays the next time it runs short.
Usually the basics before anything else: the thermostat, the power to both units, the filter and the condensate drain. From there the outdoor unit is checked electrically, and the refrigerant pressures and temperatures are measured once the system can run.
A smell of gas, a carbon monoxide alarm, a burning electrical smell, or no heat or cooling in dangerous weather: urgent. A system that runs longer than it used to, a new noise or one room that is off: worth a visit soon, but not tonight.
If it smells of burning, is leaking water, or the outdoor unit is humming without its fan turning, yes: switch it off at the thermostat. A system that runs but does not keep up can usually stay on until it is looked at.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005