Any usual sounds coming from your air conditioner can be alarming if you do not know what is wrong. But when you are able to identify these unusual sounds and what they mean, you’ll know when it is time to schedule service because something needs attention.
Just give our team a call to schedule your AC repair in Temecula and we can address the unusual sound you are hearing. Keep reading to learn more about three common air conditioning problems and the sounds associated with each one inside of your air conditioner.
Humming or Clicking
Both humming and clicking sounds indicate that there’s a problem with your air conditioner turning on for a cooling cycle, although for different reasons. Clicking can mean that your compressor is struggling to start up. The clicking sound indicates that it is trying over and over again to turn on.
It’s normal to hear clicking one or two times, but anything more than that points to a problem. Even if your air conditioner only clicks three or four times to start up, it’s a good idea to schedule service. Allowing the clicking to continue on could worsen the problem.
Humming is similar, although it has to do with the capacitor on the outdoor unit. The capacitor is what provides your air conditioner an extra power boost to first initiate a cooling cycle. After that, your air conditioner is able to sustain the power needed throughout the cooling cycle.
When the capacitor goes bad, you may hear a humming sound before it stops working completely. If your air conditioner suddenly stops working after you hear humming noises for a while, it’s likely the capacitor that needs to be replaced. Luckily, this is a fairly simple repair that our team can make and isn’t too expensive either.
Rattling or Tapping
These two noises usually indicate that something in the system is loose. Rattling can mean that a small component is loose and moving freely throughout the system. Depending on where the sound originates from, rattling also points to potential ductwork problems.
If it comes from your actual AC unit itself, it’s more likely the risk of a loose AC part. But if the rattling comes from the space where your ductwork is stored, individual pieces of your ductwork may be loosening up or disconnecting completely. As air moves through the system, it causes the vents to rattle where they aren’t secure.
Tapping is a similar sound, although it usually means that something is still connected inside of your air conditioner and moving against another component. An example of this might be a fan blade that is warped a little bit and taps in one area as the fan spins around. Or perhaps a component is loose and operation causes the tapping sound as it moves against something else inside the system.
Hissing or Bubbling
These two sounds point to a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant can be in either a gas form or a liquid form inside the refrigerant lines. Leaks that happen where the refrigerant is a liquid will result in a bubbling sound. Leaks that happen in an area of the line where refrigerant is a gas result in a hissing sound.
Either sound is a reason to call for immediate service. Refrigerant leaks can harm your family and even potentially do damage to the surrounding areas of your home since it is a chemical. Plus, it adds a lot of extra strength to your air conditioner as the unit works harder against lower refrigerant levels.
Contact RKM Heating and Air Conditioning today to schedule an appointment with us for AC maintenance. Done Right, Priced Right.