Central Air Conditioner Doesnít Work At All

If your central air conditioning equipment doesnít go on automatically when the thermostat signals the need for cooling, itís quite likely that the thermostat isnít working properly or the system is receiving electrical power. Before you do anything else, make sure the thermostat is set to COOL and its temperature setting is well below the ambient temperature.
Then do the following:

1 Examine the primary electrical panel and any secondary circuit panels for a tripped breaker or blown fuse. If you discover the problem there, reset the breaker by turning it off and then on or replace the fuse. A central air conditioner needs to be on a dedicated 240-volt circuit.

2 Make sure the furnace power switch is turned on and that the outdoor condenserís on / off switch, that is installed on the outdoor unit, hasnít been turn off. Also be sure the 240-volt disconnect next to the compressor, which is in a metal box usually installed on the house wall, hasnít been shut off.

3 Turn off the power to the air conditioner and check the thermostat. Remove the thermostatís cover from the bottom (usually by yanking straight out) and replace the batteries (if it has batteries). Replace the cover and wait a few minutes and then try the system again.

4 If that doesnít do the trick, open the thermostat again and remove the wire from the Y terminal. Turn the power back on. Holding the wire by its insulation only, touch the bare end to the R terminal and hold it there for about two minutes. If the compressor kicks on, the thermostat is faulty; replace it. If the compressor doesnít go on when you hold the 2 wires together, turn the power back off and contact an air-conditioning specialist.

Still not working? Please keep reading.

Air Conditioner Doesnít Cool Well

If you're able to hear your central hvac operating, but it doesnít cool well, the issue could be caused by a couple of problems. The very first thing to perform is ensure the filter in the air handler is clear so that it receives proper air flow.

1 Turn off the power to the air conditioning unit.

2 Take out the door on the front of the air-handler cabinet to give you accessibility to the filter. Grab the filter and clean or replace it as needed.

3 Look for ice. If you notice ice in the area around the coils, close the device back up, turn the power back on, and turn on the fan. The ice should liquefy within an hour or two.

4 Clear the condensate drain. Ac units can produce a lot of water simply because they remove moisture from the air. To get rid of this, there is a [usually plastic] drain pipe that comes out from the side of the air handler. With time, algae can block this water pipe and, when it does, the A/C wonít work. Water is also likely to puddle around the system or even flood the area. 

5 Clean the outdoor compressor. 

6 Make sure the compressor is working. When you set the thermostat to a temperature below the room temperature, you should notice the outdoor compressor run and see the fan rotating inside the top. If the fan isnít rotating, search for an overload button or switch to reset (not all types have this). Stick a screwdriver down through the top grille and try to spin the fan blades clockwise. They should spin freely. If doing this gives the fan enough of a boost to get going, the device has a defective capacitor that must be replaced by an Hvac repair technician.

If none of these steps worked, the likelihood is pretty good that the coolant needs to be recharged by an air conditioning professional.

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