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AC repair

Air conditioning repair in Garland, Texas

When the thermostat calls for cooling and the rooms keep warming up, a short call with an independent HVAC contractor sorts out whether it is a part, a leak or a bigger problem.

Call (469) 804-6158

What usually gives out on a hot afternoon

Outdoor units in Garland run long cycles from June into September, so the parts that wear with heat and starts are the ones that fail first. A run capacitor that has lost its rating can leave the fan or compressor humming without turning. A contactor with pitted points may stop sending power to the condenser at all.

Refrigerant does not get used up. If the charge is low, there is a leak somewhere in the coil, the copper line or a fitting, and adding refrigerant without finding it only buys time.

  • Vents blow room-temperature air while the outdoor fan is still: often a capacitor, contactor or fan motor.
  • Frost on the larger copper line: low airflow or a low charge.
  • The breaker trips soon after the system starts: an electrical fault worth leaving to the contractor.
  • Indoor fan runs but nothing outside starts: the low-voltage wiring, a safety switch or the contactor.
Person in a grey work shirt holding refrigerant gauges connected to an outdoor condenser

Safe checks before you call

These take a few minutes and need no tools. Anything past them belongs to someone with meters and gauges.

  1. Read the thermostat

    Confirm it is set to cool, the setpoint is below room temperature, and the screen is not blank from dead batteries.

  2. Check two switches

    Look at the breaker for the outdoor unit and the furnace or air handler. A tripped breaker that trips again should stay off.

  3. Pull the filter

    A filter packed with dust starves the indoor coil of air, which can freeze it. Swap it if you have a spare.

  4. Look, do not open

    From outside, see whether the condenser fan spins and whether the copper lines show ice. Leave the panels on.

Garland treats some repairs as permitted work

The City of Garland says on its air conditioning repairs page that repairs to AC units need a permit, and it names coil replacement as one of them. Swapping the condensing unit or the heating unit needs one too.

Ask the contractor on the call whether the repair they expect falls under that rule and who will apply for it. For rental homes the city requires a licensed HVAC contractor to do the work, with no exceptions.

More on the city's rules: Garland HVAC permit rules.

If your system still runs on R-22

The EPA's homeowner questions page says no new R-22 has been made or imported in the United States since January 1, 2020. Systems that use it may keep running, and reclaimed R-22 is still sold for service.

The same page tells owners to have a leak found and fixed instead of topped off. On an older R-22 condenser that leak repair is often the moment to weigh replacement.

See repair or replace for the full set of questions.

Common questions

Is it safe to keep running an AC that blows warm air?

Turn it off at the thermostat if the outdoor unit hums without the fan turning or if ice is building on the lines. Running it that way can overheat the compressor or flood the coil with meltwater.

Will a technician need to get into my attic?

Usually. In many Garland homes the furnace and indoor coil sit in the attic, so clear a path to the access hatch before the visit.

Does adding refrigerant fix the problem?

Only for a while. A low charge means a leak, and the EPA advises having it located and repaired rather than simply refilled.

Where these facts come from

Talk it over with an independent HVAC contractor

Say what the equipment is doing and where it sits in the house. The contractor on the call can tell you what a visit would involve and whether the work needs a city permit.

Call (469) 804-6158