Air-conditioner Not Working? Check First Before You Call.

So it’s the first really hot day of the summer. You are looking forward to getting home, switching on your air-conditioner and sipping on a nice cold one. It’s time to relax now.

But not today… Your air-conditioning unit is not switching on. And slowly but surely, it is settling in, as the next thing you realize is, you are going to have to call your air-conditioning contractor. How long is it going to be before they can send someone out?  

Luckily there are a few steps you can take before you need to make the phone call. Perhaps you can fix this on your own?

Scenario 1

Your Air-conditioner Is Switching On, and You Are Setting the Temperature Down, but It Is Not Cooling.

Check the mode setting on your air-conditioning unit remote. There is a heating (look for the sun symbol), cooling (snowflake symbol) and fan only (fan blade symbol) mode on your unit controller. Make sure your mode is set to cooling (snowflake). It is very likely that during the winter, your last mode setting was heating, and you forgot to change it.

Scenario 2

Your Air-conditioner Is Not Responsive (No Noise and No Light Going On)

Check Your Indoor Plug

It could be that someone unplugged your indoor unit, to use the power supply for another appliance and they forgot to plug the air-conditioning unit back in or switch the plug on again.

Check Your Outside Isolator

Every air-conditioning unit needs to have a dedicated isolator installed within 1.5 meters of the outdoor unit. It could be switched off or it could be faulty. Make sure that it is on. If it is on, check that the problem is not with the isolator itself. If it is indeed the isolator that is faulty, you will need to contact an electrician.

Check That Your Air-Conditioning Unit Has Not Tripped on Your Distribution Board.

If your air-conditioning unit tripped on your distribution board, there might be a more serious problem with your system. Switch it back on, on the distribution board, and see if your unit is operational. If it trips on the board again, you will need to contact the air-conditioning company that did your installation. Please consider that this problem can also be electrical.

Check If Your Remote Controller Is Functioning

You can do this, by activating the camera app on your smartphone. Point the remote controller at the camera lens and push a button (not the on/off button). Check if you can see the remote light through the screen of your smartphone. If it is on, the problem is on the indoor unit and you will need to check the power to the indoor. Should there be power on the indoor, and it’s not the remote, then your indoor unit is faulty and you will need to contact the air-conditioning company. If the remote controller light it is off, then the problem is on the remote controller itself.

Check Your Remote Controller Batteries

It could be that your batteries in your remote controller are flat. Replace them, and make sure that you insert them the correct way around. If it is still not working, there is a problem with your remote controller and you will need to contact your air-conditioning contractor. They will quote you to replace it. See our blog from October 2019 Why are aircon repairs so expensive, to view how the guarantee structure works.

Please keep in mind that all air-conditioning units are installed with their dedicated isolators, with power to the indoor and outdoor unit, or the outdoor unit only. If your unit is not responsive, there could also be an electrical problem. It will be confirmed upon inspection. Should the unit be found in working order, and electrician will need to be contacted, to establish the problem.

Scenario 3

Your Air-conditioner Is Responsive (There Is Noise or a Light Is Going On), but It Is Not Heating or Cooling

If your unit is responsive (there is a noise coming from it, or a light is on), it means that it is receiving power. However, this scenario will require you to call your air-conditioning contractor. Some units will present an error code, which makes diagnosing the problem quick and easy, but it needs to be done by a qualified air-conditioning technician. 

Please contact Airfreeze if your system is troublesome. We will gladly assist.