I’m here in the desert where it’s 117 degrees. AC has been cranking most of the day. Around 3:21 PM, I noticed the blower for the furnace is going but the air doesn’t feel as cold. I checked my Sense app and notice the blower is on and running but not the AC compressor.
I lowered the temp and went outside and still the compressor wasn’t turning on. I shut off the thermostat, closed the fuse on the main panel for AC, and pulled the fuses on the compressor. I cleaned them up, put them back in, popped the AC fuse at the main, and turned on the thermostat. By that time, the indoor temp had risen to 80 but it started working again.
You can see in the screen grabs where the AC just cut out but the blower was still working.
All told, about 20 minutes to get the AC back on.I’m sure I got lucky with the fix but it was the Sense power meter and bubbles that helped me figure this out. Thanks a million!
In all likelihood what you did was reset the controller in the air conditioning unit by turning off and turning back on the electrical power. It had probably shut down on a safety control, from the details you gave, including the details from the sense unit, I would guess a high head pressure. For those who aren’t aware, cleaning fuses will not fix a problem like this. This problem will likely occur again if you get into that high temperature range. Try cleaning your outside coils on the air conditioning unit if it occurs again. You need to turn off the power while cleaning the coils, then when you turn the power back on this will reset the controller in the unit. Use Google to see how to clean your outside coils or have it done professionally if you are uncomfortable doing this kind of work.
@mwslater Thank you for helping understand this. I clean my outdoor coils every winter for the next summer. But now it sounds like just shutting it down did the trick. So, thank you.
I will say, it’s pretty hairy when it’s 118 degrees outside and your AC goes out. I’m happy that Sense helped me figure out that it was, in fact, off.
You’re welcome. This is a safety feature designed to make people aware there is a problem within their unit. If I’m correct on what caused the shutdown and the unit had automatically reset itself after the condition disappeared the unit could actually burn itself out before you realized there was a problem. I haven’t experienced the temperatures you’re talkin about and I hope I never do but I’m with you on the fact that Sence is helping me to figure out power issues in my own home. It is a great tool. Have a blessed day!
