This video was a HUGE help. We spent a couple hundred dollars to clean our ducts last year because of this, I thought there was a blockage due to construction dust. Just had it happen again and yep there was a solid block of ice on the line.
Thank you. Your trouble shooting tips helped me and kept me from having to call for ac service. My suction line was frozen and a dirty filter was the culprit. I would have never imagined a dirty filter. Thank you.
sir thank you so much! i woke up to no air and a line frozen to the inside of the outdoor unit, could have never figured this out on my own as my family is away on vacation. Currently waiting for defrosting by running the indoor fan 😄
Thank you for the video. I have a issue with my air conditioner. It is not cooling house at all. I ran airconditioner for 8 hours and not a single degree dropped. It is at 80 degrees right now. Well, Outside condenser fan is runing, but the air that is pushing it is not warm/hot as it used to be it is just ambient temp. Litle copper pipe that goes from condenser to the wall used to be very warm to touch, and now it is barely any heat on it. There was also tiny layer of ice on 3/4 inch copper pipe outside of condenser unit becasue there was no foam insulation on it. I removed panels, fans, etc. I cleaned condener's coils. They were super dirty with lot of dirt, part of leaves, and debris. I cleaned it with foam coil cleaner and washed it down with water from garden hose. I put them all together, and waited 24 hours to dry, and still the same isuue. My evaporeted coil inside the internal unit is not frozen on coil fins. However there is some thin/light ice build up on "spider" pipes right before coils, especially the lower ones. Coil fins are not frozen. Insulated layer of aluminum that covers A shaped evaported coil system is very cold to touch but ducts that are coimg of the unit are just barely cool. All vents are open, fan is blowing, thermostat is set up correctly. It feels like there might be not much air flowing through vents in rooms. What can be an isue?
@@grayfurnaceman Thank you for response. Recharge fixed the issue. However, I've learned if AC unit needed to be recharged that means that there is a leak somewhere. Hvac person didnt recommend UV light leak test becasue he said that it is a waste of money and time since he probably cant fix the unit anyway.
Thank you for all the informative videos you have posted for us on so many subjects! If you could guess for me...I swore I heard a bang from my outdoor unit... I came home from work and it was roasting in my house. The fan outside runs. The furnace blower runs. The thermostat seems to make all the calls properly. Last time I messed around with it, I could swear the compressor was humming (like current was running into it) but as another of my favorite guys to learn things from...AVE would say it just won't chooch. (Run) lol.
I feel sooooo dammm stupid. I forgot you’re supposed to change the filter and now I’m having issues with no air flow. everything running fine, all 3 fans spinning etc. power good. But no air flow just a little air coming out from the control panel inside my house. Line is frozen outside so I changed the filter and am currently running just the fan to hopefully thaw it out and get it running again. Very informative video!
I have a Ground/ neutral question that you covered in one of your older clips. I recently bought a great older ceramic top maytag stove second hand and it only had Three wires coming from it to be hard wired to wall box. Now i hooked up the wires red to red black to black and ground to ground and put a cap on neutral white wire in box. Is this safe ?or should i jumped extra white wire to ground in box? Stove is working great but not sure if this was the best way to hook up a 3 wire to a four wire in wall box.
Prior to the 1996 NEC it was legal for electric ranges and clothes dryers to be grounded through the neutral. They usually had a NEMA 10-50 or 10-30 plug and socket, or like in your case were hard wired with 3 wires, 2 hots and a neutral. After 1996 a 4 wire connection is required that separates the neutral (grounded) and safety ground (grounding) wires, usually with a NEMA 14-50 or 14-30 plug and socket. If your unit's 3rd wire is bare or green and not white it was never wired correctly to begin with, nor is it now with that wire connected to ground instead of neutral in your junction box. Ranges and dryers require a neutral because the timer and/or electronics and drive motor are 120v so that the parts are shared with the gas model for economies of scale. Using neutral as ground was a shock hazard if the neutral ever went high resistance or open circuit, hence why they are separated now. I learned this the hard way once as a child when I touched the range and refrigerator both at the same time. I would convert it to use a standard 4 wire cord and 14-50 socket making sure to remove or isolate the appliance's neutral to ground bonding jumper. I believe GFM has videos on why neutral and ground can't be bonded anywhere other than a single point at the service entrance.
many of the "cooktop only" units don't have a neutral, they're strictly 240V controls and elements. two hot wires and a case ground may be all it needs, it's also common for drop-in/built-in cooktops and ovens to be hard wired. BUT always reference the manual or tags for wiring directions and of course adhere to the NEC and local codes
I am an AC man, but my specialty is installing systems, not troubleshooting. If I had to take a guess, I would say the filter is dirty, or the coil. Or the charge is low.
You can differentiate between an air flow problem and a low charge (or as you say an expansion valve problem) by using the method I indicated toward the end of the video. However, this video is for the homeowner and I don't want to get too deep into technical details. GFM
Hello! I have all these problems yes!! But have year old new run tru by trane system, new filter, nothing is dirty etc. I even had my home warranty get a tech to come out but all they did was recharge the system & nothing else so that was also done. What is different from year one & today is the fan speed from when I initially bought my house a year ago, it is slower than it once was. So my question is If I set the fan speed to high will this problem go away, I’m guessing from what I gathered here the higher fan speed mean more hot air passing through the coils which in return makes them not freeze up?
I've looked at this series of videos and can't seem to find a matching set of symptoms to my unit. My AC unit outside starts up, the fan and compressor are both running, but there is no air coming out of the vents. I checked the furnace area and the fan is not coming on. Any ideas I can try?
My pipe was frosted, like you showed, so I shut off the AC and switched it to the furnace but the air flow was still weak. Is that normal until the pipe becomes unfrosted? Thank you.
I turned my fan on (just to move air out of the vents) but not the AC unit. My fan motor is working, and the fan cylinder is turning; but there is no air coming out of the vents. My air filter is a new clean one. Ant idea on this problem?
So basically if the evaporator freezes up the compressor can be damaged because the refrigerant doesn't evaporate fully and liquid can enter the compressor? Thanks
I have a strange one, I started my AC up for the first time this year.no cold air. out side fan , compressor, inside fan all run. the A coil is clean, filters clean. The only lines that are freezing are 6 small line's that spider off from the high side line into the A coil. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
If the fan is running, you probably have no problem with the control wiring. No air inside probably means you have a problem with the indoor fan or a blockage of the A/C coil. GFM
Shut down the A/C, turn on the indoor fan. Let it run for about an hour until all ice has melted. Check filter. Is it plugged? If so, that is probably your problem. If it freezes up again, you may have a low refrigerant charge, or plugged coil or fan blades. GFM
I have a question whenever it comes on everything works whenever it blows cold air it gets really cold but for some reason it isnt working today no air at all?
Yes, everything works until it stops. lol. I assume the indoor fan is not coming on at all. Thermostat calling for cool? In the "cool" position? Indoor air handler switch on? Breaker on? GFM
@@rosalyntrevino7640 You have an airflow problem (low) or the unit is undercharged. Airflow problems could be plugged filter, dirty blower wheel, plugged A/C coil or ductwork problems. GFM
This video was a HUGE help. We spent a couple hundred dollars to clean our ducts last year because of this, I thought there was a blockage due to construction dust. Just had it happen again and yep there was a solid block of ice on the line.
Thank you. Your trouble shooting tips helped me and kept me from having to call for ac service. My suction line was frozen and a dirty filter was the culprit. I would have never imagined a dirty filter. Thank you.
Glad it helped.
GFM
sir thank you so much! i woke up to no air and a line frozen to the inside of the outdoor unit, could have never figured this out on my own as my family is away on vacation. Currently waiting for defrosting by running the indoor fan 😄
Thank you for the video. I have a issue with my air conditioner. It is not cooling house at all. I ran airconditioner for 8 hours and not a single degree dropped. It is at 80 degrees right now. Well, Outside condenser fan is runing, but the air that is pushing it is not warm/hot as it used to be it is just ambient temp. Litle copper pipe that goes from condenser to the wall used to be very warm to touch, and now it is barely any heat on it. There was also tiny layer of ice on 3/4 inch copper pipe outside of condenser unit becasue there was no foam insulation on it. I removed panels, fans, etc. I cleaned condener's coils. They were super dirty with lot of dirt, part of leaves, and debris. I cleaned it with foam coil cleaner and washed it down with water from garden hose. I put them all together, and waited 24 hours to dry, and still the same isuue. My evaporeted coil inside the internal unit is not frozen on coil fins. However there is some thin/light ice build up on "spider" pipes right before coils, especially the lower ones. Coil fins are not frozen. Insulated layer of aluminum that covers A shaped evaported coil system is very cold to touch but ducts that are coimg of the unit are just barely cool. All vents are open, fan is blowing, thermostat is set up correctly. It feels like there might be not much air flowing through vents in rooms. What can be an isue?
My first thought would be low refrigerant charge.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman Thank you for response. Recharge fixed the issue. However, I've learned if AC unit needed to be recharged that means that there is a leak somewhere. Hvac person didnt recommend UV light leak test becasue he said that it is a waste of money and time since he probably cant fix the unit anyway.
Thank you for all the informative videos you have posted for us on so many subjects! If you could guess for me...I swore I heard a bang from my outdoor unit... I came home from work and it was roasting in my house. The fan outside runs. The furnace blower runs. The thermostat seems to make all the calls properly. Last time I messed around with it, I could swear the compressor was humming (like current was running into it) but as another of my favorite guys to learn things from...AVE would say it just won't chooch. (Run) lol.
either low in refrigerant or plugged filter or insulation fell on blower inside air handler. you are 100% right all the other things you mentioned ..
I feel sooooo dammm stupid. I forgot you’re supposed to change the filter and now I’m having issues with no air flow. everything running fine, all 3 fans spinning etc. power good. But no air flow just a little air coming out from the control panel inside my house. Line is frozen outside so I changed the filter and am currently running just the fan to hopefully thaw it out and get it running again.
Very informative video!
It generally takes about 1 hour to thaw a frozen coil, so you should be good.
GFM
Thank you! This was exactly what I needed😄
I have a Ground/ neutral question that you covered in one of your older clips. I recently bought a great older ceramic top maytag stove second hand and it only had Three wires coming from it to be hard wired to wall box. Now i hooked up the wires red to red black to black and ground to ground and put a cap on neutral white wire in box. Is this safe ?or should i jumped extra white wire to ground in box? Stove is working great but not sure if this was the best way to hook up a 3 wire to a four wire in wall box.
Prior to the 1996 NEC it was legal for electric ranges and clothes dryers to be grounded through the neutral. They usually had a NEMA 10-50 or 10-30 plug and socket, or like in your case were hard wired with 3 wires, 2 hots and a neutral. After 1996 a 4 wire connection is required that separates the neutral (grounded) and safety ground (grounding) wires, usually with a NEMA 14-50 or 14-30 plug and socket. If your unit's 3rd wire is bare or green and not white it was never wired correctly to begin with, nor is it now with that wire connected to ground instead of neutral in your junction box.
Ranges and dryers require a neutral because the timer and/or electronics and drive motor are 120v so that the parts are shared with the gas model for economies of scale.
Using neutral as ground was a shock hazard if the neutral ever went high resistance or open circuit, hence why they are separated now. I learned this the hard way once as a child when I touched the range and refrigerator both at the same time.
I would convert it to use a standard 4 wire cord and 14-50 socket making sure to remove or isolate the appliance's neutral to ground bonding jumper.
I believe GFM has videos on why neutral and ground can't be bonded anywhere other than a single point at the service entrance.
many of the "cooktop only" units don't have a neutral, they're strictly 240V controls and elements. two hot wires and a case ground may be all it needs, it's also common for drop-in/built-in cooktops and ovens to be hard wired. BUT always reference the manual or tags for wiring directions and of course adhere to the NEC and local codes
I am an AC man, but my specialty is installing systems, not troubleshooting. If I had to take a guess, I would say the filter is dirty, or the coil. Or the charge is low.
Probably 80% of the time, the dirty coil or filter will cover it.
GFM
Another great video. Some of the older units with thermal expansion valves could fail causing similar issues. Thanks for the video's
You can differentiate between an air flow problem and a low charge (or as you say an expansion valve problem) by using the method I indicated toward the end of the video. However, this video is for the homeowner and I don't want to get too deep into technical details.
GFM
Hello! I have all these problems yes!! But have year old new run tru by trane system, new filter, nothing is dirty etc. I even had my home warranty get a tech to come out but all they did was recharge the system & nothing else so that was also done. What is different from year one & today is the fan speed from when I initially bought my house a year ago, it is slower than it once was. So my question is If I set the fan speed to high will this problem go away, I’m guessing from what I gathered here the higher fan speed mean more hot air passing through the coils which in return makes them not freeze up?
I would first be checking air filter, A/C coil, blower wheel and ductwork for restrictions. Thenadjust fan speed.
GFM
Thanks for this video!!
Excellent info thanks.
Welcome
GFM
just turned on after wk of non use...same symptoms EXCEPT no frozen line....?
I've looked at this series of videos and can't seem to find a matching set of symptoms to my unit. My AC unit outside starts up, the fan and compressor are both running, but there is no air coming out of the vents. I checked the furnace area and the fan is not coming on. Any ideas I can try?
Look for power to the motor.
GFM
Would you have to find the freon leak even if it took ten years for it to get low ?
That is for the service tech and the customer to decide.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman I kinda just wanted to know if it was "law" . Ya know, because of the supposed freon leak. And thank you for answering my question.
@@johnaverick7468 In residential units, there is no refrigerant leak law.
GFM
My pipe was frosted, like you showed, so I shut off the AC and switched it to the furnace but the air flow was still weak. Is that normal until the pipe becomes unfrosted? Thank you.
Yes. The fan should run for at least 1 hour to clear the ice from the coil. You must also find out why to froze up.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman Thank you. I think that froze up because it was 38 degrees and I had the air on, could that be it?
@@johnjohn8431 Sure could.
GFM
my handler is working, outside unit working but not cooling. What capacitors to I check. I have a 16 seer Nutone AC
First, I would determine if the compressor is running. There should be a humming noise from the unit. Kind of subtle but it should be there.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman
Thanks will check
I turned my fan on (just to move air out of the vents) but not the AC unit. My fan motor is working, and the fan cylinder is turning; but there is no air coming out of the vents. My air filter is a new clean one. Ant idea on this problem?
I would check the A/C coil for blockage.
GFM
Excellent explanation thanks for the video buddy simple and straight to the point 👏👍
Welcome
GFM
Thanks for this video. My Heat pump is not keeping up with the cooling. The unit isn't freezing anywhere and the filter was just changed. Any idea??
Is the suction line sweating?
GFM
grayfurnaceman
Yes, the line was wet with condensation. Thanks
Now you will have to look at efficiency problems such as inefficiency of the compressor. Also, the unit may not be large enough for the load.
GFM
grayfurnaceman OK thanks. The unit has been in service and working fine for ten years. This issue has started recently. Perhaps it needs charging???
The sweating of the suction line argues against low charge, but it could be.
GFM
So basically if the evaporator freezes up the compressor can be damaged because the refrigerant doesn't evaporate fully and liquid can enter the compressor? Thanks
Yes.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman Thank you
I have a dumb question. Can the unit being overcharged cause the evaporator to freeze up? Thanks
I have never seen it.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman That's what I thought, thanks
I have a strange one, I started my AC up for the first time this year.no cold air. out side fan , compressor, inside fan all run. the A coil is clean, filters clean. The only lines that are freezing are 6 small line's that spider off from the high side line into the A coil. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
Probably very low on charge.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman thanks I appreciate the reply
If I accidentally hit the hiring with my weed wacker, could that cause the lack of air flow? The fan is running outside but no air is coming out.
If the fan is running, you probably have no problem with the control wiring. No air inside probably means you have a problem with the indoor fan or a blockage of the A/C coil.
GFM
My lines are frozen, I changed my filters, it worked today and now no air is blowing even tho the fan is going… what do I do please help
Shut down the A/C, turn on the indoor fan. Let it run for about an hour until all ice has melted. Check filter. Is it plugged? If so, that is probably your problem. If it freezes up again, you may have a low refrigerant charge, or plugged coil or fan blades.
GFM
thanks for this ...
Thanks for sharing
Welcome
GFM
Thank you!
I have a question whenever it comes on everything works whenever it blows cold air it gets really cold but for some reason it isnt working today no air at all?
Yes, everything works until it stops. lol. I assume the indoor fan is not coming on at all. Thermostat calling for cool? In the "cool" position? Indoor air handler switch on? Breaker on?
GFM
my ac is unit outside is running but no air inside my house
Is there ice on one of the pipes at the outdoor unit?
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman there was but not anymore , it melted off
@@rosalyntrevino7640 You have an airflow problem (low) or the unit is undercharged. Airflow problems could be plugged filter, dirty blower wheel, plugged A/C coil or ductwork problems.
GFM
If you are going to title a video title it correct you didn’t show why Compressor wasn’t coming on!!!!!!!!!
Watch the video again. the compressor is running.
GFM
This video didn't teach anything. Thanks