Last night my central air stopped working

Question

Normally when you go outside you hear it running and see the fan spinning,, but now when I turn on the ac warm air comes out and the ac unit outside the fan is not spinning and there is no noise, so it's just not running. I have turned the breakers on and off and I even turned the one that is located outside on and off and still it doesnt' work. Do you know what the problem may be? Any suggestions? Right now I don't have money to call a tech, because the price for them to just come out is 100, so is there anything I could do myself to fix it? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Make sure it isn't frozen outside (yes they can ice up) it should be defrosted by now... check the circuit breaker again.  Next check the thermostat - try putting it to 65 and AC(cool)   if it is set to heat nothing would happen.

How about the drain is it clogged? We pour bleach down our drain pipe 2X a year to keep it cleared out..

Check the settings on the thermostat - maybe someone changed them or played with them and they had no clue what they were doing.Check the batteries in your thermostat - yup some run on batteries - usually it pops off the wall and there it is...

Be CAREFUL.

Answer 2

Make sure your filters are clean. and it probably needs a part on the outside unit. Have someone you know get the part and fix it. Mine quit working and I had my bf look at it. He took a part off and got another one for about $15 and it was fixed in less than 10 minutes. If you call someone to fix it they will charge around $100 probably.Most men can work on an ac.

Answer 3

Start by cleaning it. The vents on the sides- take your garden hose and blast water in there. You probably have some dirt built up which only makes it that much harder for your AC to work. If that doesn't help, it sounds like you're going to need to call the repair man. It sounds like you're just not getting any electricity to your unit- it sounds like a simple part replacement and shouldn't be too expensive, the part would be under $75.  

Answer 4

It is going to be one of these things:

1) Capacitor for assiting the starting of the fan and/or compressor

    motors

2) Contactor (relay), the thermostat sends 24 volt to it and it closes

    contacts that let 240 volts go to the motors.

3) Low on refriderant if you have a low pressure cut off.

4) The fan and/or compressor motor is shot.

If you are good with troubleshooting these it can be done with a multi-meter but is dangerous.

Answer 5

When you have the thermostat set to cool do you hear a humming sound at the outside unit? If you don't can you check the furnace control board (if it has one) and see if you have any blown fuses. Can you get a multi-meter and check to see if you have 24 volts at the small wires on the contactor in the outside unit? You also might have a loose wire that goes to the outside unit. Some units have a time delay start.  It is a small black box with a setting dial on it. They are usually set for 10 minutes or so.  This will stop the compressor from short cycling in the event of momentary power interuptions. Also if there is a drip pan under the furnace look to see if there is a float switch that might be stuck. This will shut off the power to the compressor if the condensate drain is plugged and keeps water from leaking all over the floor. If there is a condensate pump these also can be wired to stop the compressor if the pump fails. If you are getting 24 volts at the contactor try pressing the button on it with an insulated screwdriver to see if the compressor will start. If it does pull the disconnects and turn off the furnace check to verify the 240 volts are off. Note the positions of the wires on the contactor. Remove it and take it to an electrical or HVAC supplier and get a new one. Install the new one. Connect the wires reset the disconnects and the furnace. Everything should be working.

Good Luck

Answer 6

There are a couple things you could visually check in the control panel in the outdoor unit.

Turn off the breaker to the unit and open the control panel.

There should be something that looks like http://bigskycomfortsystems.com/zencart/... Look to see if the brass areas are black. See if you can push the plunger in. If the contactor is black and pitted, it may not let volatge through to start the unit.

There should be something that looks like http://bigskycomfortsystems.com/zencart/... Does it appear to be swollen or is it leaking an oily substance?

Although these things can be replaced by you, it is recommended to have an experianced person replace them if they are bad.