With the heat of summer now upon us, it’s essential that your air conditioning system be fully functional to provide the comfort needed by your household occupants. So it’s understandable that you might experience a moment of panic when you attempt to turn on your air conditioning unit, and nothing happens. This actually happens more frequently than you might think. Here are some of the common reasons that your cooling system might not immediately turn on when needed.

Circuit Breaker is Tripped

Circuit breakers are supposed to shut off when they detect an overload of electricity, and that’s a good thing because it will protect your home from a fire which might otherwise occur. Your circuit breaker might have tripped because too many appliances are being used at once, or because one particular appliance is drawing a lot of electricity. When the circuit breaker which provides power to your cooling system gets tripped, your air conditioner will not turn on. Check the circuit breaker, and make sure you don’t have a lot of appliances turned on all at once.

Blown Fuse

To determine whether or not a blown fuse could be the culprit, you’ll need to perform a continuity test with a multimeter. Check the fuses for your air conditioning system, and when your multimeter issues a little beep sound, it means that the fuses are functioning normally. If either one of the two fuses does not beep, you’ll simply have to buy a replacement fuse at your local hardware store.

Clogged Condenser Lines

In the same way that air filters can become dirty and clogged up, so do condenser lines. Over a period of time, it is possible for algae or mold to grow on them, and it’s even possible for rodents or birds to set up nests in your condenser lines. Check to see if any of these are causing problems for your condenser lines and clear them out if that’s the case.

Dirty Evaporator Coils

All kinds of gunk can accumulate on your evaporator coils, condenser, or your cooling system filter. Cooling units are vulnerable to the buildup of debris and other material which gets circulated around your household, and when it accumulates on the various components of your cooling system, it takes away from unit efficiency. If allowed to build up to a critical point, it can even cause a complete breakdown of your air conditioning system. To prevent this from happening, schedule regular maintenance on your air conditioning system.

Clogged Air Filter

This should not happen if you faithfully change your air filters every few months, or if you make a point of cleaning them at the beginning of summer. Your air filters ensure proper airflow throughout the household, and when they get clogged with dust and debris, they can become completely obstructed. Your cooling system also absorbs humidity from your home normally, and that water falls into a condensation tray which gets drained outside. However, when air filters become clogged, those water droplets will freeze instead, and you cover the coil with a layer of thin ice.

Faulty Motor

If you’ve been observing some strange sounds coming from your air conditioner, it could be that you have a faulty motor. In order to determine whether or not your motor is still functional, you can perform a capacitor test. If it turns out that you do have a faulty motor, you should get multiple quotes to find out what it would cost to fix it, as opposed to replacing the entire cooling system.