My HVAC is not working. A few weeks ago I noticed the central air unit was not working. A friend of mine told me that I should try setting the thermostat to just air. That didn’t work. I replaced the thermostat. Still no heat, no air, no fan. Then he said to flip all of the circuit breakers and try again. Still not heat, no air. The house is 8 years old, our hot water heater and heat are propane gas, the hot water heater works fine. I assume the air conditioner is electric because our electric bill skyrockets when we run it. Obviously I don’t know much about the system. I also looked around for a kill or reset switch but was unable to find one. The name on the system is American Standard. I’m hesitant to call an HVAC repairman because I’m afraid of getting ripped off.
It’s impossible to say given your description. Maybe the bearings on the fan have seized, maybe it’s the condenser, maybe it’s the compressor. You need someone qualified to come round and take a look.
It just seems strange that neither the heat or air work and I thought they were separate systems. They are on separate circuit breakers. Could there be a reset switch that may have tripped that would effect both systems? Where would I find that switch?
Presumably they use the same blower/air handler, so to me the most likely explanation is that the blower is broken in one way or another. It could be the the transformer is burned out. Or the starter cap on the motor is shot. Or the motor itself is shot. Or the fan bearings seized up. Or a rodent chewed the thermostat wiring going to the air handler. Unless you are handy with a volt meter and know what you are looking at inside the air handler(and more importantly know what to NOT touch), it will likely take a professional to figure it out.
I hate to say it, but it’s time to bite the bullet, so to speak, and call an HVAC service tech. In the past 20 or so years, air handlers, furnaces and air conditioners have gotten very complicated in the name of energy efficiency.
If you’re lucky, the air handler may have a status display that’s blinking out a code to indicate what’s at fault, but you first need to find it, and then translate it. Most likely, the translation will need further translation as you go from four red blinks to “NTLK OFF ERR” to “Interlock Relay Stuck Closed” - great, what’s an interlock relay?
Thanks for the assistance. I will contact an HVAC tech. I’m a widow and don’t have much extra left each month. I hope the tech is honest and that the repairs are not too expensive. I’ve made it this far with no heat and we have had some mighty chilly damp days.
The breaker labeled as air conditioner will be the air conditioner unit only, and won’t affect heating. The one labeled “furnace” will control the blower, which as said above will also affect the AC.
One thing you can do is check the furnace breaker. Tripped breakers may not be obvious, and to reset it you need to turn it all the way off, then turn it back on. Since that’s free and easy, try turning the breaker labeled furnace off, then back to on.
Paging “raindog” our in-house HVAC expert.
Yes it is time to call a pro. With both AC and heat lets assume that the condensing unit is not the main problem. That leaves the furnace, containing the heater and the cooling coils.
Posssable problems. Bad fan motor. bad fan bearings. bad stat. bad control board. bas low voltage wiring. bad control transformer. bad limit. bad safety. bad breaker. These are a few of the possable problems.
I am glad you have called a pro. If the repair is expensive it is OK to get a few bids on the work. Keep us posted.
Thanks to everyone. I’m going to look on Angie’s List for a repairman.
It would be common to have had a specific problem with your AC and a different problem now, because of a slight error in replacing your t stat. In other words, it may be seem that the problems then and now are related----and they might be-----but it’s best to just focus in on one thing at a time.
It’s probably not your condenser, compressor, cap, motor, bearings, or anything high voltage related.
It may be your transformer, circuit board or thermostat, but I doubt it.
I would start by turning off your furnace at the 115V switch and making sure your low voltage wiring is correct. The problem is likely in the low voltage circuit.
On the stat, Red to R, White to W, Green to G, Yellow to Y, and if there is Blue it should be to C.
The same wiring should be on the furnace with one small twist: there are 2 wires heading off to your A/C outside. One of the wires should go along with the Y terminal, and the other to the C terminal. So…on the furnace the Y and C terminals will have 2 wires there; one from the thermostat, and one from the A/C outside.
Verify that your low voltage wiring is correct, and we’ll give you the next thing to do.
This is good advice, but you have to remember that the OP wasn’t sure if his AC was powered by electricity or not. Your instructions might be a little on the advanced side.
You’re right
Thanks for the info. I’ll give this a try this evening. I’m not mechanically inclined but I can follow directions.