Troubleshooting for Split Air Conditioners

One of the most common issues that come up with split air conditioners is that they start to leak. The leaks could be of different types. There could be cases where water leaks out from the unit and there could be other cases where there is a leak in the Freon line.

When the refrigerator coils suck in warm air from the air and cools it. As a result of this cooling, condensed water vapor is formed on the refrigerator coils. When this water vapor is converted to water, it drips on the gutter tray. The gutter tray has an outlet that carries this water and disposes it elsewhere, in most cases, outside.

In some cases, this outlet gets blocked and the water starts accumulating in the gutter tray. This is when the air conditioner starts leaking. This can be resolved rather easily.

The more dangerous case is when there is a leak in the Freon line. As a result of this leak, highly pressurized Freon gas starts leaking into the room. In extreme cases, this can cause an explosion too. There are special leak detection solutions that can help identify this leak.

These solutions are applied to all parts of the Freon line. If there are bubbles forming, then one can identify that there is a leak. The moment a leak is identified, experts should be consulted to take care of this issue before it becomes too big an issue.

There are various ways to fix a hole or leak in the Freon line. However, fixing a hole in the Freon line doesn’t fall under the category of common troubleshooting. For these cases, it is almost mandatory to seek professional help. There are thousands of ac technicians on the yellow pages and one phone call is all that it takes to get someone come over and fix the leak.

For very small leaks, there are chemicals that are available in the market. For example, there is a chemical called Super Seal HVAC that can be used to fix small holes in the Freon line. However, this chemical will certainly not work for bigger holes.

If the air conditioner is losing too much of charge too frequently, that means the chemical is not working. In another method, smooth graphite and Teflon particles are mixed with the refrigeration oil and injected into the Freon line. These particles get forced into the leaks and stop them. However, this solution is also for small leaks. For larger leaks, experts must be consulted.

Recharge the air conditioning unit

The items that are needed to recharge the air conditioning unit are a pressure gauge and a refrigerant (Freon). At first, any leaks in the Freon line need to be detected and sealed. After the sealing is done, recharging is started. Any air conditioner has two pressure ports – high and low.

Recharging is always done through the low pressure port. So, the first step is to locate it. Usually, the high and low pressure ports are indicated with H and L respectively. Once the low pressure port is discovered, the cap on it should be cleaned thoroughly and then taken out.

The pressure gauge is then attached to the low port and with the air conditioner turned on, the pressure is gauged. The user manual will list the ideal pressure.

After the pressure is gauged and found to be low, the refrigerant is put inside the unit through the low pressure port until the pressure reaches the optimum level. Recharging a split air conditioner is also an issue that is best handled by experts. Before doing anything else, the users should check the yellow pages.

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