Central Air Conditioner Blowing Hot Air? A Glendale, AZ Tech Explains

We’ve all been there. It’s h-o-t, and the AC blower fan won’t start up, the thermostat completely ignores you, and nothing works! If your AC won’t turn on, it’s a problem you need resolved quickly to survive Arizona’s heat.

Many central air conditioners fail to turn on for these reasons:

Your Patrick Riley | Isley’s experts have seen it all here in Phoenix, but sometimes it doesn’t take a professional to find out what might be wrong with your system. We’ll walk you through a few things you can try to get your AC up and running before you have to call the professionals.

If you have a hybrid heating and cooling system, did you make sure the thermostat was set to ‘COOL’ and not ‘HEAT’? If the thermostat is set to COOL, try turning the temperature at least five degrees below the room temperature.

If the thermostat isn’t working at all, you may have to replace the batteries. If the thermostat still does not work after changing the batteries, there may be a wiring issue that you’ll need to have a Patrick Riley | Isley’s professional solve.

Head over to Step 2 if your thermostat isn’t the issue.

Find your electric panel and check the AC’s circuit breaker.

If the air conditioner’s breaker is tripped, then you’ve easily solved the mystery behind why your AC unit won’t turn on. Your AC will (hopefully) turn on at this point.

If the breaker doesn’t ‘click’ when you flip it or if the breaker trips immediately after you turn the AC back on, you need to have an expert look at your AC. The breaker trips to prevent a more serious problem from happening with your AC, so you’ll need a professional to address this before your unit can run normally again.

Many different things will cause an AC circuit breaker to trip. The worst-case scenario would be a short circuit somewhere in the wiring. Or it could be that the breaker itself has gone bad. Replacing circuit breakers is relatively inexpensive, but you’ll need a professional to help you with this.

Sometimes the circuit breaker trips because the AC is drawing too much electrical current, causing it to overheat.

In order for your AC system to cool your home, all that heat has to go somewhere. An indoor unit absorbs heat from your indoor air and then ‘dumps’ that heat outside via the outdoor unit.

If the outdoor unit is dirty or covered by a bush, it makes sense that it would struggle to release that heat, causing your unit to overheat, the breaker to trip, and the AC unit not to turn on.

So, after you flip the breaker back to ‘ON,’ check the outside unit and make sure that it’s clean and clear of any shrubbery.

A dirty air filter could cause your unit’s breaker to trip or, in some cases, cause your unit to stop running altogether. So, whether you successfully reset your breaker or the breaker wasn’t the issue, your next step is to check your air filter.

Changing the air filter is a necessary maintenance task that helps keep your air conditioner running and your family breathing fresh clean air. Most air filters last for around three months before they get full of dust and need to be replaced.

A dirty air filter reduces airflow into the AC’s return vent. This reduced airflow can cause several issues:

If you have not changed the filter before, it’s rather simple:

1. Turn off your AC at the thermostat.
2. Find the return vent in your home.
3. Change the filter if it’s dirty.
4. Reset the AC thermostat.
5. Turn on the AC at the thermostat.

If the filter isn’t dirty, go to Step 4 below.

Your AC unit not only cools your home, it dehumidifies it, too. As your AC dehumidifies the air, water gathers on the cold copper coils and drops down into a condensate line, which makes its way outside the home.

Unfortunately, over time, this condensate line can get clogged with dust, mold, and other substances. When this happens, water backs up into the AC and trips a safety switch that shuts down the AC.

Following these steps may fix the problem, allowing the AC to turn back on. If your AC won’t turn on after flipping the breaker, call 602-286-0027.

If you’ve exhausted all of your DIY options, you’ll need a professional to come and fix it. Schedule a repair with Patrick Riley | Isley’s today! We know our way around all kinds of cooling machines and will determine why your AC won’t turn on. Homeowners in Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, and surrounding Arizona cities trust the quality of our work, whether it’s for furnace, HVAC, or plumbing repairs.

Patrick Riley | Isley’s has friendly technicians all across Maricopa County to ensure we can get your HVAC repair done quickly and painlessly and to your complete satisfaction. Sign up for a flexible payment plan, check our Coupons page for this month’s savings opportunities, or consider a VIP maintenance plan for scheduled maintenance and exclusive discounts. We help alleviate the most anticipated problems that come with repairing the inside of an AC unit.