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After a long day at work, you only want to relax on your couch. You might not even notice the warm air that greets you, and you may be too exhausted to care. But as the hours pass, the discomfort of sweat and stickiness becomes unbearable. At this point, you realize your air conditioner isn’t doing its job. The culprit? A malfunctioning AC fan. Regular maintenance could have prevented this.
Understanding the Cooling Assistance of Your AC Fans
First, you can start with the outdoor fan. To view it, look through the top of the condensing unit. At the top, you will see the fan running importantly from a motor, spinning its blades. On the other function, it is piped into the outdoor unit through copper wires after extracting the heat from your indoor air. From there, the condenser fan blows it to the outdoors through the condenser coil.
The Crucial Roles of Your AC Fans
On the other hand, the blower is located inside the indoor unit under the evaporator coil.
Correspondingly, it is also powered by a motor. After the system takes in the air from the house, the blower blows it over the evaporator coil, removing the heat. After it does that, it sends the cool air into the rooms in your home. From the above, both fans should be used for cold interior airflow. So, whenever you observe either fan not rotating, you must know why that has occurred.
Identifying Non-Functional AC Fans
Knowing which AC fan has given up working is pretty straightforward if your home has been cooling inconsistently. Check the top panel guard of your condenser unit outdoors. You should generally see and hear the fan turning. If it’s inactive, there might be an issue with the fan motor, preventing the expulsion of hot air, which is crucial for the cooling cycle.
On the other hand, the indoor blower fan is not visible because it is in the unit. To check if it is, put a hand in front of the vents to feel if air moves through the openings. Usually, the failure of the blower to operate is indicated by the lack of air movement.
To further ascertain this, follow the indoor unit, listening to see if the fan is running. No sound in that area indicates a fan or the fan motor has a problem. If both fans are not operating, it may be a symptom of a larger system problem. Do not worry, though—we will get to troubleshoot those troubles a little bit later.
DIY Fixes for Your Air Conditioning Fans
Before you rush to call a professional, consider these simple DIY fixes. With some luck, you might be able to get your fans up and running again, saving you from potential repair costs.
Step 1: Ensure that your home is powered. That may sound funny, but when power goes out, it will stop every electrical gadget, including your AC fans. The first is to wait and see if the power comes back by itself; if not, you must check in your home’s main electrical panel for tripped breakers. If there’s no previous problem with your AC, resetting these should do the trick.
Step Two: Reset a Tripped Circuit Breaker Even with power in the home, individual circuits could trip, affecting either or both AC units. Check your home circuit breakers for the indoor and outdoor ones, specifically for the AC units. Tripping may result from poor components, high current flow, or power surges.
Reset any tripped breakers to see if it could reset the system.
Step Three: Turn on the Furnace or Air Handler Switch
This step would affect the indoor blower. The air handler, which circulates air through your home, should have its switch and be able to reset the power into your indoor unit, usually located on or near your furnace or heat pump. If your blower isn’t running, ensure these are on to reset power into your indoor unit.
Step Four: Check the Disconnect at the Outdoor Unit
The outdoor unit exclusively impacts the condenser fan, which has a disconnect switch and is housed in a box near the condenser. This switch controls power to the condenser. So, if you’ve got an issue with the fan’s problems persisting after taking the previous steps, you must ensure that it’s switched ‘on.’
Step Five: Verify and Adjust Your Thermostat Settings
This may easily tamper with the working of the AC fans and, therefore, the whole system if the thermostat settings must be done correctly. Check if it’s operational, and your thermostat is in cool mode. Change the batteries if necessary to check if they have low voltage to operate with.
Step 6: Replace or Clean AC Filters
The filters in AC also get dirty, thus reducing the airflow considerably. They make your blower work overtime, perhaps because it is being heated up. During this time, check AC filters and replace them in time for the airflow not to be blocked, thereby reducing the system’s efficiency and causing problems like the fan running with an overheated condition or frozen evaporator coils.
Why Your AC Fans Might Still Be Non-Operational
If you’ve tried the DIY fixes and the problem persists, remember that professional help is always available. Understanding the potential causes will equip you to have an informed discussion with the technician, fostering a sense of support and collaboration in resolving the issue.
Understand reasons as to why your AC fans may not be running
If your troubleshooting attempts haven’t yielded results, it’s time to consider deeper issues that could be affecting your AC fans. Understanding these potential causes will equip you to have an informed discussion with a technician, fostering a sense of support and collaboration in resolving the issue.
The faultiness of the motors keeps them imp motor stress and age, leading to failing blades powered by the blower and condenser fans. For instance, the motor will fail if the blower filters are dirty. Hence, the whole system will blow dirty air, straining the system. Overheating will also make the motor less efficient and fail, either by continually overworking the motor or needing more maintenance.
Worn or broken belts in the older models of AC In such older systems, the AC will be fans driven by belts that may suffer worn or broken belts, which are critical in linking the motor to the fan blades. In the event of failure, it must be replaced promptly to restore the fan function.
Capacitor Failure Blocking the Operation of the Outdoor Fan The capacitor powers the motors of the condenser unit. Failure of the capacitor means the outdoor fan will not be running because it will not be powered with the required electrical energy to operate. Capacitor problems often result from overheating, physical damage, or natural wear and tear.
Contactor problems in the condenser It supplies the voltage needed to run through the outdoor fan. When the contactor fails—either through dirt or debris or just an electrical problem—it breaks the power to the outdoor fan, which fails to run.
Dirt and Debris on Condenser Fan Blades The dirt, rust, or even sludge accumulating on the condenser fan’s blades will highly reduce its effectiveness. It may cause overheating or jamming of the motor and blades, preventing efficient spinning.
The tree branches were jamming the condenser fan. The condenser fan, however, is likely to bar the falling branches. This is more of a concern as the motor is expected to be damaged or overheated from straining against the physical barrier.
Problems with the Heat Pump Condenser Defrost Control Board In systems where the condenser also doubles as a heat pump, a failing defrost control board might disturb the signal usually needed for cooling, hence stopping the condenser fan.
Burned control board indoor circuit The indoor fan is disabled. This circuit control board can burn out due to manufacturing defaults, overheating, or even electrical surges, all of which may cut the power towards the indoor AC unit and thus fail to work by the blower fan.
Water Leaks Affecting AC System Operation The rusted drain pan and clogged lines would trigger a safety switch in your AC system; both fans shut down, in order not to inflict further damage on the system.
Preventive Measures for AC Fan Longevity This way, you are taking care of these problems and increasing the life of your air conditioner, including the fans, because periodic maintenance will be carried out. Ideally, you’d schedule A/C tune-ups every year right before the summertime heat hits home. You catch problems in their earlier stages so that more significant, expensive issues don’t present themselves. Regularly cleaning and installing external objects on and around the condenser will also prevent them from damaging it.
