Why is My Air Conditioner Making Weird Noises?
Summer is just around the corner, which means you’re soon going to be using your air conditioner on a daily basis to keep cool. As you start to use your AC more often, it’s important that you keep an eye out for signs that the system is malfunctioning in some way. The added strain of summer is usually a trigger for all kinds of air conditioning issues, either creating new problems or exacerbating old ones.
The faster that you can recognize signs of a problem with your system, the faster you can have them repaired and the more damage you can possibly prevent. With that in mind, let’s go over one of the most common symptoms that indicate a problem with the air conditioner: strange noises during operation.
Grinding
Your air conditioner moves air throughout the home by way of an air handler, which is basically just a motor with a fan attached to it. This air handler has a number of oiled bearings inside it to help reduce friction on the motor while the system is running. Moving that much air around creates quite a lot of strain, after all.
While the bearings do their job well, they will wear down over time. The more worn down the bearings get, the more friction on the air handler increases. If you hear a loud grinding sound coming from your air conditioner while it’s running, it could mean that the bearings in the air handler are about to fail. You should have them replaced by a professional technician right away, or the air handler motor will overheat and burn out.
Hissing
Hear a sound like the air being let out of a tire? That’s probably because there are air bubbles forming in your air conditioner’s refrigerant line. That means you have a leak. Refrigerant leaks are a serious threat to the health and operation of the air conditioner. The lower the refrigerant level in the air conditioner drops, the lower the system’s output capacity will drop as well. Eventually, the refrigerant level can drop so low that the air conditioner will break down entirely. Make sure you call for repairs before that happens.
Short Cycling
If your air conditioner is turning itself on and off every couple of minutes instead of completing a full cooling cycle, that means it’s short cycling. Short cycling cuts into the system’s output capacity, but it also seriously increases the level of wear and tear the system accumulates over time. The longer the air conditioner is allowed to short cycle, the more likely to break down the system will become. Short cycling can also shorten the lifespan of the air conditioner by several years if it goes unchecked for long enough. Make sure you call for repairs if you hear your air conditioner short cycling.
PRK Services, Inc. provides comprehensive air conditioning repair services in Flower Mound, TX. If you need professional air conditioner repair services, contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our expert technicians.
