The AC is running, the fan is pushing air, but what comes out of the vents feels warm. In a Bakersfield summer that gets uncomfortable fast. A few causes are things you can check yourself in five minutes. Others need a technician. Here’s how to tell the difference.
1. Check the thermostat
Make sure it’s set to Cool, not Heat or Fan, and that the set temperature is below the temperature in the room. Then look at the fan setting. If it’s on On instead of Auto, the blower runs all the time and pushes room-temperature air between cooling cycles, which can feel like the AC quit. If your thermostat runs on batteries and the screen is blank or dim, replace them.
2. Look at the air filter
A clogged filter chokes the airflow across the indoor coil. The system cools less, and in bad cases the coil freezes over. Pull the filter out and hold it up to a light. If you can’t see light through it, replace it. (Here’s how often to change it in Bakersfield.)
3. Check for ice
Look at the larger copper line running into the outdoor unit, and at the indoor coil if you can get to it. Frost or ice means the coil froze, usually from poor airflow or low refrigerant. Switch the thermostat from Cool to Off, set the fan to On, and let it run for a few hours to thaw. Don’t chip at the ice. If it freezes again after you’ve put in a clean filter, it needs a service call.
4. Listen to the outdoor unit
With the thermostat calling for cooling, go outside. The fan on top of the outdoor unit should be spinning and you should hear the compressor running.
- Nothing running outside, but the inside blower is on: check the AC breaker in your electrical panel and the disconnect switch on the wall next to the unit. If the breaker trips again right after you reset it, leave it off and call.
- Humming, but the fan isn’t spinning: this is often a failed capacitor or fan motor, one of the most common AC repairs we do in the summer. Turn the system off so it doesn’t overheat. Don’t poke the fan blades with a stick to get them going, and don’t open the panel. Capacitors can hold a dangerous charge even with the power off.
5. Clear around the outdoor unit
The outdoor unit’s job is to get rid of the heat pulled out of your house. Weeds, stacked boxes, dust and leaves packed against the coil fins make that harder, and on a 105-degree afternoon it may not keep up. Keep about two feet clear around it. To clean the fins, turn the power off at the disconnect first, then rinse them gently with a garden hose. No pressure washer, which bends the fins.
When to call a technician
Call if you’ve gone through the list and it’s still blowing warm, or if you notice any of these:
- A breaker that keeps tripping
- A burning or electrical smell
- Ice that comes back after a new filter
- Hissing or bubbling near the refrigerant lines
- The outdoor unit humming without the fan turning
Low refrigerant always means a leak somewhere. Adding refrigerant without finding the leak only buys a little time, so a good tech will find and fix the leak first.
Palmer Heating and Air handles AC repair across Bakersfield, with after-hours emergency calls. Call (661) 889-0990 or book online and we’ll take it from there.
