There is nothing worse than your air conditioner going out on a hot summer day or your heat not working on a cold winter morning. Service calls and little repairs can add up these days and most of the time you can avoid those pesky service calls and repairs by checking a few things before you call your air conditioning company. In this video we are going to go over a few of the common reasons that your air conditioner or heater may not be working and a few things that you can try before you call that may save you hundreds of dollars in the future.

Hello everyone my name is Chris Boyd and I am the operations manager here at Boyd Brothers. We’ve been Charlotte County’s local Air Conditioning and Electrical contractor for over 36 years! Providing top quality customer service, repairs, air conditioner installations, and value is our number one goal.

If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable or safe attempting these steps please call a licensed professional like Boyd Brothers Services and we will be more than happy to come out and get you back up and running and comfortable in no time!

1. Dehumidistat: This is a dehumidistat, you may or may not have one of these in your home. This device can save you a lot of money and wear and tear on your unit especially if you are a seasonal resident or away from your home for long periods of time. But this device can also cause your air conditioner or heating system to do some pretty strange things if not operated correctly. There are two settings that you should use on a dehumidistat, when you will be gone for long periods of time you should turn the dial on your dehumidistat to 60%, But when you are home you should always have your dehumidistat set to the “On” position. When the dehumidistat is set to the on position it allows the thermostat to control the air conditioner. Any other position may cause the dehumidistat to override the thermostat and cause undesired operation.
2. Your thermostat: if you thermostat is blank there are 2 common causes for this, first, your thermostat’s batteries may be dead or installed improperly. Check that the thermostat has new batteries and that they are installed in the proper orientation; most thermostats due require batteries but not all. (***demonstrate how to remove the thermostat to get to the batteries***). Second, Check your Safety float switch. This can be found on the indoor portion of your air conditioner near the drain line, lift the cap out of the cup just like this (***demonstrate checking float switch, also show and explain where the secondary switch may be***) and leave it out making sure that the float is not depressed in any way. If there is water in the cup you may have a clogged drain line; more on that in a minute. Now, with the float switch removed from the cup go try to turn on your air conditioner. There may be up to a 5 minute time delay so the air conditioner may not turn on right away. Once operation is confirmed you should turn the air conditioner off and reinstall the float switch. Bonus tip, you should always check to make sure that your thermostat is set to the proper setting; either cool or heat.
3. Clogged Drain line: one of the perks of living in Florida is its beautiful weather but the beautiful weather also helps all kinds of things grow in your air conditioners drain line. Drain line clogs are very common especially when there isn’t any regular professional maintenance performed on the system. Now you are going to need a wet dry vacuum for this one, but if you see an excessive amount of water forming on you air conditioner or in the drain line (*** show where to check the clean out on a drain line***) take your wet dry vacuum and locate where the drain line comes out, outside of your house. This is commonly found outside by the outdoor portion of your air conditioner. Attach the wet dry vacuum hose to the drain line and turn it on. Now go inside and you should be able to hear suction at your indoor portion of your air conditioner. If you don’t then the drain line is still clogged and may require a service professional to come out and unclog, but this method takes care of most of them.
4. Check your breakers: During some of Florida’s infamous thunderstorms, power surges, power spikes, and brownouts can cause your air conditioners breakers to trip from time to time. While your air conditioner tripping a breaker isn’t common it can happen on rare occasions. There are generally 2 breakers for your air conditioner that can be found in your homes breaker panel, one labeled “heat”, “Furnace”, or “Air Handler” and one labeled “Condenser” or “A/C”. Make sure that these breakers haven’t tripped. There is also another breaker in some cases for each unit called a “service disconnect” located near each part of your air conditioning system. Try resetting the breaker once, if the breaker trips again it’s time to call a service professional.

If your air conditioner is tripping the breaker it could be a sign of a bigger problem.

I hope that this has helped you and in the event that these steps didn’t work please give us a call at 941-627-8881 and we will send one of our trained service technicians to identify and repair the problem 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All of us here at Boyd Brothers Services are committed to providing you the best possible service and experience, we will see you next time, be sure to subscribe and follow us on youtube for more helpful tips and tricks that are sure to save you big. Also be sure to visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/boydbrothersservice for special offers, contests, and discounts!