AC unit running fine, but is not cooling enough to turn off at 75f. Whats wrong?

Question

Yesterday the ac breaker shorted our main circuit. They fixed it by tightening the breaker screws. Now it's running fine ever since they fixed that, but it isn't cooling below 80. Two weeks ago the fan was making a metal on metal shrieking noise. Units old, the oldest model in the complex when it comes to looking at others.

Answer 1

i wouild sugeest cleaning the outside coil first. you can do that with a hose and water. the metal on metal noise isnt good. that suggests bad bearings in the fan motor, aka, a shot fan.

if you arent getting chilled air from the registers, and the outdoor coil, indoor coil, and filter are all clean, and compressor is coming on, well you may need a service call. make certain the t-stat is on cool and not fan. other than those things, you probably need to place a service call. gl with it!

Answer 2

If it was off for any length of time ,it might simply be catching up. You said it's old ,maybe it'll just take awhile.

Answer 3

On central a/c you have a breaker for the inside blower and a breaker for the outside condensing unit.  My guess is the outside unit blew a capacitor or the compressor shorted out. This would explain the lack of cooling and the blown main breaker.  Your inside blower will still blow, but the outside unit is not functioning properly.  Good luck and God Bless.

Answer 4

Check theses things first

both units running, warm air outside and cool air inside.

make sure filter is clean.

If everything is running check the temp difference, measure the room temp and the air out the vents blowing cool air should be around 18 degrees cooler. 18 degree T.D.

If the T.D. is low say 10 degrees the unit could need freon.

You can find out how efficient the equipment is by feeling the 3/8 copper line at the outside unit it should be 85-90 degrees only if hotter the condenser coil might be dirty.

The a/c system is a BTU pump and will remove heat at a certain rate if the heat enters faster that the unit can remove it the unit will not shut off.Check this site for tips!                                           .

Answer 5

OK, could be a few things but the breaker didn't trip without a reason. If the screws securing the wiring to the breaker were loose that could cause a trip. If the evaporator fan (the one on the inside of your apt)is running then the problem is with the outside condenser unit. Can't really diagnose this without more info.