What's wrong with my central air conditioning, it's dead?

Question

My central air conditioner just quit working today, the unit is dead, no sound and the fan on the unit is not running either. I set thermostat at

75 degree and it didn't help, the unit is still dead. There is a small air

blowing out from the air outlets. I would welcome any helps and answers.

Thanks.

Answer 1

nine times out of ten you will need a new unit. If you don't have the money make sure that somebody didn't pull out the disconnect panel (its a common crime now) set your thermostat on the lowest setting possible then if there is still no noise coming from the unit you should call your warranty company (if you have one) and get a claim # if not you will have to pay out of pocket and that will cost lots of $$$$. Hope that helped you out.

Answer 2

It sounds like the blower motor in the air handler is still working if air is still coming out of the vents.

It sounds like the blower motor on the compressor unit outside is dead. If the fan outside is not working, the compressor can turn the coolant back into liquid to send back to the air handler, where the condenser is located.

If you are really handy, and know how to discharge a very large capacitor without hurting your self, you can replace it your self.

Shut off power to the AC from the circuit breaker. Remove the cover from the out door unit and discharge the capacitor (if you don’t know what you are doing, just call a repair person, it is cheaper than a trip to the emergency room or morgue). Remove the capacitor and blower motor (mounted to the grill at the top of your unit) and take it to THE local AC repair shop that replaces motors. You may have to ask local AC shops who they take their stuff to install motors. The AC repair shop will put a new motor on and give you a new capacitor. Make sure if you need a capacitor that has a separate pole for the blower and compressor (will have three leads) they give you one. Then all you have to do is reinstall it. Takes about 3 hours, and costs $50 to $80 to DIY.

Update: if air is coming out of the vents inside, the air handler is kicking on, and it is unlikely to be the thermostat. When air is coming out of the inside vents, can you hear the blower running in the air handler?

One little trick, if your air handler is in your basement and your basement is underground (and therefore cool) when the outside unit fails. You can take the lower cover off your air handler, and remove the funace filter and cover. There is a button on most air handler covers that stop the blower motor when the cover is remove, you will need to tape this down. By doing this, the fan will run, drawing cool air up from your basement and putting into your home. It's not the same as AC, but it will cool the house a little. Put your thermostat on fan only. If your basement is smelly (like mildew), you won't want to do this though. If your air handler is in the attic, this trick will not work, you will only blow hot attic air into the house.

Answer 3

have you checked all circuit breakers to see if they are tripped (Check the one in the service panel and then the one by the compressor outside).  

Answer 4

Could be you lost power to your indoor unit.Check breakers and control fuses in the indoor unit.Could be a control transformer.Could be the thermostat.Check them one at a time and start to narrow down the possibilities.Good luck

If the outdoor unit is not running it could be the contactor.