Is your air conditioning system freezing up and you want to know why? There are several issues that could be causing your AC to freeze up and all indicate serious problems that need to be fixed in order to prevent additional damage—and costly repairs—to your air conditioner.
The most common causes for air conditioners freezing up are:
- Low Refrigerant Levels – low refrigerant levels can actually make the coils on your air conditioning system too cold. To prevent this from happening, you must have the refrigerant leak fixed and the system’s coolant refilled.
- Low Air Flow – although it may seem like you want to keep warm air away from your cooling system, your air conditioner actually needs warm air to keep the cold coil from becoming too cold. When your air conditioner produces cold air, moisture is also drawn out of the air. If enough warm air is not present, the condensed water your system creates will freeze before it is able to drain away. Low air flow can be caused by a number of things, but is most commonly caused by dirty air filters and closed registers. If this continues to occur after you replace your air filters and open the registers, call a professional AC repair company for help.
- Malfunctioning Fan – another cause of low air flow and subsequent freezing of your AC unit is a malfunctioning fan. The fan needs to run in order to move air over your coils. If the fan is not running or it is not running fast enough, there will not be enough air flow to keep your coils from freezing. If this is the cause of your problem, you will either need to replace the fan or have the fan rewired to run faster.
- Broken Thermostat – your air conditioning system should never run at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Running your system below this temperature can cause your system to freeze up and damage the compressor. Typically your cooling system will not run at temperatures below this level, but if your system has a bad thermostat it may continue to run even when the temperatures fall below 50 degrees.
- Clogged Drip Pan Drain – on humid days, your air conditioner will condense a lot of water vapor. This water vapor should be quickly drained outside to prevent leaks and freezing, but if your drip pan drain is clogged, water can back up and freeze.
- And More – if none of these issues are the cause of your freezing AC system, there are a number of other problems that could be causing it. Call your local air conditioning repair company to have a proper diagnostic check to determine the cause.
If your air conditioning system is freezing, shut it off immediately. If you continue to let it run, you risk severe damage to the system that will require very costly repairs.
AC Repair in Scranton, PA
If you are in the Scranton, PA or Wilkes-Barre, PA area and are having problems with your air conditioner freezing up, contact the air conditioning repair experts at T.E. Spall & Son today. Ignoring the problem will only cause more serious issues for your air conditioning system later on, so get this problem fixed today to prevent further damage to your cooling system.
Contact us today to schedule air conditioner repair in Scranton, PA with the leading heating and cooling company in the northeastern Pennsylvania area.
