People try to make their life easier with various household appliances, for example, the presence of an air conditioner ensures a comfortable temperature in the house. But, technology, unfortunately, tends to break. The climate controller is a great purchase, and in order not to worry about breakdowns, you should know how to repair the air conditioner yourself, because the services of professionals are not cheap.
Repair the air conditioner yourself
DIY air conditioner repair
Not all malfunctions can be fixed on their own, but a person can cope with most breakdowns even without the skill of repairing household appliances. This is not such a difficult task as it might seem at first glance, while it is also possible to significantly save money.
Before repairs, it is necessary to diagnose the device, it will help to identify the cause and type of failure of the air conditioner. Also, diagnostics are carried out before preventive maintenance.
In order to conduct a full diagnosis of the air conditioner, you must:
- Inspect the device for mechanical damage.
- Check if the electrical connection and blocks are firmly fixed.
- Inspect the condition of the filters.
- Test the air conditioner in different modes.
- Check how the display system works.
- Measure system pressure
- Make sure all connections are tight.
- Inspect other parts (operation of the blinds, evaporator temperature).
In many models, an indicator with a changing color or a different blinking frequency is built-in. Thanks to him, you can determine the cause of incorrect operation without diagnostics.
The user manual describes the causes of the malfunction, depending on the indicator. If the instructions do not have enough information, consultants in the store where the device was purchased will help you figure out what the change in the indicator means.
After the diagnosis, you can proceed directly to the repair. For an effective repair, you need to know what types of malfunctions generally occur, and how to correctly eliminate them.
Air conditioner diagnostics
Malfunctions of conditioners and their elimination
Not always to eliminate breakdowns of HVAC equipment, specialist intervention is necessary. Sometimes you can repair the air conditioner with your own hands. To do this, you need to know the common breakdowns of this type of equipment and their solutions.
The device does not turn on
The most common problem. During prolonged use, at least once every owner of the device encountered it. If the device does not turn on, then the problem is clearly in the electrical part. Most often, such failures occur when the device is simply not connected to the mains. There may also be problems with the control board or loss of communication between units located outside and inside.
The reason may not even be in the air conditioner, but in the breakdown of the remote control from it or the receiving module.
It happens that the breakdown was formed not because of a technical reason, but because of problems in the settings, then the device cannot turn on due to an error, this happens when it goes into "sleep mode".Sometimes this situation may occur when the split system incorrectly executes the owner’s commands, this may occur due to incorrect connection of wires that connect the blocks. Then the wires must be connected correctly according to the scheme, if this is not done, more serious malfunctions can occur. In the end, the air conditioner may not turn on due to the trivial wear of any parts. In this case, worn parts must be replaced.
Air conditioning does not turn on
Compressor failure
If this important part in the air conditioner overheats, it is possible that the compressor in the air conditioner will not start. Its overheating usually occurs due to incorrect operation of the control board or protective relay. It may also overheat due to contamination. Dirt interferes with the removal of warm air, which is why the compressor works hard and heats up. Cleaning, which should be done regularly, for prevention, will help solve this problem.
If the device was recently charged, then the overheating of this unit can be explained by the destruction of the balance of the condenser and the evaporator, as a result of which the compressor is unnecessarily loaded. To find the reason why it does not turn on, it is necessary to measure the pressure in the lines, if the pressure is above normal, then you need to bleed off the excess refrigerant.
There may be problems with the external unit, it may not rotate at all or rotate at a low speed. Common causes of compressor temperature rise may also be due to improper operation, clogging of capillary tubes or a dryer filter. In this case, you need to replace one of the tubes or clean the filter.
Compressor malfunction
Condensate leak
During hot weather, owners of air conditioners are faced with the fact that the capacity in the indoor units is full. To prevent liquid from flowing from the containers, periodically drain water from them. If the heat exchanger is frozen, it should be insulated with a suitable material, then water will no longer leak. If leakage occurs in the connection area, it is better to fix the nuts, and treat the joints with sealant. If the drainage tube is clogged, you need to clean it, after which the problem with the leakage of the indoor unit will be solved.
Condensate leak
Difficulty in the operation of the device
One of the most common user complaints. Most often, this problem occurs in the summer. In summer, the device consumes a huge amount of energy, but is not able to provide the desired temperature. This happens when air filters become clogged or dust accumulates on the impeller (in the indoor unit).
A problem may arise due to accumulation of dirt in the heat exchanger (on the outdoor unit) or if refrigerant leaks.
Inefficiency of the air conditioner
Bad smells
Bad smell from the device
If an unpleasant odor is heard from the air conditioner, then there are reasons for this:
- If the smell can be described as “stale air”, then the product can be called poor-quality.
- With the smell of burning it is worth taking this seriously, it may indicate a tanning wiring.
- If the smell can be called "raw" and even mold is felt, most likely, bacteria have spread in the system. You can cope with this using antifungal drugs.
Sometimes, to eliminate breakdowns of household appliances, there is no need for specialist intervention.
Air conditioner repair
The reasons for the breakdown of the air conditioner for cancellation
If most of the problems can be fixed, then there are problems in which the air conditioner is written off. In order to understand whether the air conditioner is suitable for decommissioning or not, a thorough diagnosis of the entire unit is carried out.
If we are talking about devices that are installed at enterprises or in offices, cancellation is possible only after the approval of the person dealing with such issues and his signature on the relevant act. A full audit of all work units is carried out.
In domestic conditions, the period of operation of the air conditioner ends after the period of use recommended by the manufacturer or in the presence of breakdowns that can no longer be fixed.
DIY air conditioning hose repair
Due to a violation of the sealing in the hoses and main pipes, the air conditioner is malfunctioning. This is the most common failure in the car cooling system.
The pipes in question are located at the bottom of the car. Due to their location, they are affected by an external mechanical effect, which leads to various damages and the air conditioning of the car stops working correctly. The most reasonable solution to this problem is to replace the device’s hose.
There is a version that reducing the life of the hose and pipes is due to their contact with dirt and high humidity. In addition, debris on the road and vibration in the area of the wheel arches provokes cracks, so you should think and replace the highways with metal, as they are more resistant. Although, even such a resistant material as metal has its own drawback - tubes made of it are subject to corrosion and are not resistant to temperature changes.
Hose repair
Replacing a hose is far from cheap, so you should know how to do it yourself.
If the rubber hose is not substantially damaged, you can solve this problem with a patch. The patch is done using specialized tools and substances, its damage is significant, then the hose must be replaced with a new one.
If you decide to replace the hose with your own hands, follow the description below:
- To get started, you need to choose a hose that is suitable in size.
- After that, crimp cylinders are hung on it.
- In conclusion, it is mounted on the teeth and crimped with cylinders.
In order to avoid such problems, it is important to regularly repair and prevent the climate system of the machine, if you do not repair the breakdown in time, the malfunction can become more of a major problem.
Video detailing the repair of air conditioning hoses:
How to remove air conditioning so that freon does not leak
During air conditioner removal There is a problem - Freon is leaking from the device.
When buying a new split system, the required volume of freon is located in the areas of the outdoor unit. Twisted service taps in the outdoor unit hold the gas inside its elements. In the indoor unit there is ordinary air. During the installation period, these 2 units are hermetically joined by tubes, only after this action the cranes open and freon acts on the indoor unit. A closed loop is formed, according to which freon circulates throughout the system.
If you should save Freon, in this case, "pumping" it back into the outdoor unit is considered the only option. All that needs to be done is to turn on the taps when the freon is in the outdoor unit.
Procedure:
- We turn off the taps and attach pressure gauges to them. This action must be performed as carefully as possible, during the connection of pressure gauges, freon is released under pressure. To avoid a burn, you need to use gloves.
- For this method, you will need a hex key. With it, you need to close the tap of a thin tube. Turn the valve clockwise, making an effort, tighten it fully. At this point, the pressure level on the gauge will drop. After 15-20 seconds, when the pressure level drops to zero, you need to turn on the tap of an already thick tube. Immediately after all actions, the device turns off.
This method is best used only in the most extreme cases (during cold weather on the street, when the unit cannot be turned on). It is necessary to tighten the two taps of the external unit (the air conditioner is inoperative). So it will be possible to save not all freon, but more than 50%.
Freon Conservation
Using the above methods, you can eliminate small malfunctions in the operation of the air conditioner yourself, while saving your money on a specialist call. More serious damage to this type of equipment is extremely rare. If you regularly carry out preventive maintenance of the device, the probability of damage is significantly reduced.
