Wouldn’t it be great if there were air conditioning systems that could self-diagnose problems, and report them to homeowners in detail? Let’s face it, we’ll probably get there someday, but, today is not that day. It’s up to the homeowner to detect when something is out of the ordinary when it comes to the day-to-day operations of their West Palm Beach, FL HVAC system. Signs of an air conditioner in disrepair may include a drop in cooling power, a spike in energy bills, or repeatedly tripping circuit breakers. But that’s not all.
One of the best ways to determine whether or not your air conditioner needs repair is by listening to it. Anything unusual—meaning anything different from the hum of the fans and compressors and occasional clicking you normally hear—is a sign of a potential malfunction that needs to be discovered ASAP. Remember though, actually determining what exactly is wrong with your HVAC system should be left to the pros, as we have the training and expertise necessary to accurately pinpoint what’s going on.
But you have to know that something is wrong to begin with to even know to give us a call, right? Go ahead and pick up that phone if you hear:
- Mechanical Shrieking: This can be a rather alarming sound, and a pretty apparent sign that something is wrong. What it likely indicates is that you have motor bearings that are wearing down. If those bearings fail, then the stress on the motor can permanently damage it. Our technicians can replace the bearings in order to rescue the motor.
- Grinding: This is another potential indication of motor problems, often due to a motor that’s accumulated too much dust or lost too much lubrication. If this is accompanied by an acrid scent from the vents, you probably have an overheated motor, and should shut off your AC system right away until a repair technician can get there.
- Rattling: This might be a minor problem—something like a cabinet door that’s come loose. However, it could potentially be loose components being knocked around in the blower fan, bent fan blades, or a cabinet that’s coming loose from the slab—this last one is at least one repair you definitely never want to delay. If the rattling sound is coming from your ductwork instead, you might have damaged or loose connections in the air ducts.
- Hissing: One of the biggest reasons we get called for AC repairs is due to refrigerant loss. And unfortunately, there’s a common myth that refrigerant is something that’s supposed to run out, but this is simply not the case. If your air conditioner is losing refrigerant, it means that you have a leak that must be located and repaired for full air conditioner functionality and efficiency. While a loss of cooling power is one sign of a refrigerant leak, another big one is the sound of hissing, as this indicates that refrigerant gas is exiting the system somewhere.
