Are you having complications with your air conditioning system? It’s important to keep up with your heating, air conditioning, and plumbing maintenance every year to ensure smaller issues don’t become bigger problems that cause a lot more damage.

Many homeowners end up with some kind of costly air conditioner repairs every year. However, if you work with a professional HVAC technician it can help eliminate a lot of the costly air conditioning system problems that can arise.

If you do happen to have a problem with your air conditioner before you call a professional there are a few different ways to figure out the source of the problem you're facing to help quickly solve the problem faster. It can also help your HVAC technician be able to clarify the issue with more detailed information while you discuss your faulty AC unit.

Air Conditioning System Is Making Loud Noises

If your air conditioning system is making weird noises or is unusually loud all of a sudden, there can be a number of possible reasons this is occurring. To help figure out the culprit let's narrow down the possible cause of the most common noises your air conditioner can make when something is wrong:

Screaming-Like Noise

If your air conditioning system is making a loud screaming-like noise it’s usually an indicator that the compressor is faulty. Air conditioning systems that have a faulty compressor typically experience a high amount of pressure that builds up which causes the compressor to emit a scream-like sound.

If this is occurring, you should turn off your AC unit immediately. Having a high-pressure that’s building up can be extremely dangerous and a professional should be contacted to inspect the unit and fix it.

Banging, Clanging, or Knocking-Like Sounds

If your air conditioning system is making any of these kinds of sounds, there is likely some kind of obstruction that is blocking the fan. Another potential cause can be that the fan itself has come loose. If this occurs, have a professional come out and fix the issue.

Gurgling and Bubbling Sound

If you happen to notice a gurgling sound happening while your air conditioning system is running, it’s likely there’s a problem with the drain line or there could be a leak inside of your air conditioning system. You can continue to let your air conditioner run however, you should still contact a professional to investigate the issue before it gets any worse.

Screeching Loud Noise

When your air conditioning system is making screeching-type noises or any other kind of loud noise, it is most likely a faulty fan motor causing it. Your outdoor air conditioner unit has a fan that removes heat from the refrigerant component. If you are having problems with your air conditioning systems motor you can continue to run it, however, again you should contact a professional to investigate the issue further.

Water Leaking On Or Around Furnace

As the weather starts to change and it begins to warm up outside and you really start running your air conditioning system in full gear, you may end up noticing some water leakage. If you happen to notice that there is some water that is leaking into your home while your air conditioning system is running there are a number of things you should do:

# If your air conditioning system happens to drain by using gravity, make sure the condensation is flowing outside freely. And, you should inspect the drain line, particularly the elbow to see if there is a clog from mold or slime build-up.

# If your air conditioning system happens to use a condensate pump, you should inspect the pump to see if it’s working properly. If it is failing, this could potentially cause water to back up and overflow the drain pan.

# Inspect the condensate pan which is the big metal pan that sits below your system and sees if it is rotted or full of holes because this could be the cause of the water leakage.

# If you have any one of these issues, it’s time to contact a professional HVAC technician to come and help fix the problem at hand. They can replace the condensate pan and unclog the condensate pump if needed.

Your Outdoor Unit Isn’t Turning On At All

If you happen to notice that your air conditioning system isn’t turning on there is most definitely a problem with the circuit breaker. When this first occurs, locate the circuitbreaker panel and address the problem by resetting the breaker.

If this doesn’t fix the problem, the next possible culprit is the thermostat. A faulty thermostat can stop communicating with the rest of the air conditioning system. Your local HVAC technician can most certainly fix this issue for you.

Lines Are Frozen Or Have Ice On Them

If your coil is frozen this can indicate that there is a problem with the airflow, which can be caused by dirty air filters or the return air ductwork having an obstruction. Indoor coils that are frozen can also be caused by there not being enough refrigerant in the system.

Warm Air Is Blowing Through The Vents

When your air conditioning system is no longer blowing cold air, it typically means there is something wrong with the control board or the refrigerant. Either way, you will need to contact a professional HVAC technician to address the problem. They will need to be able to diagnose the problem properly because refrigerant is quite hazardous when not handled properly.