# Air Conditioning Problem

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 25, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333 "2009-04-25T18:58:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333/1 "2009-04-25T18:58:32Z")

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My houses’ central air unit has an annoying problem. I’m not sure of the technical terms, but basically the pipes(?) become clogged(?) and freeze. As I speak there is a quarter-inch layer of ice on the pipes.

What can be done to prevent this?

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### Author: ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333/2 "2009-04-25T19:17:53Z")

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Icing is an indicator of low pressure. I’d suspect you have low refrigerant levels, possibly due to a leak. A competent technician can fix it.

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### Author: ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333/3 "2009-04-25T21:48:32Z")

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It is time to call a service teck. Sounds like you may be low on charge, which may mean that you have a small leak. And if the leak is not properly fixed major damage can be caused.

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### Author: ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioning-problem/494333/4 "2009-04-25T23:57:47Z")

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Low Freon charge is only one cause of icing, although it is one of the most common.

A dirty coil, a dirty filter, a blower that is not working, a clogged metering device are among other causes.

I ran a call this morning on a unit that 2 inches of ice on the coil/line set.

The cause? A thrown belt on a belt driven motor.

Call a service tech.