How to Fix Air Conditioner Blowing Hot Air

Key Takeaways

• There are many different reasons why your AC is blowing warm air
• Before calling a professional, check out these common causes that are simple to diagnose and easy to fix on your own
• All of the sudden your air conditioner starts blowing hot air
• With the record heatwave, your handyman may not be available anytime soon
• I will show you the easy ways to troubleshoot and explain to you the reasons in a very simple way

Understanding the Basics

An air conditioning system works by cycling refrigerant between an indoor evaporator coil and an outdoor condenser coil. The outdoor unit contains the compressor (the heart of the system), a condenser fan, a contactor relay, and a start capacitor. The thermostat inside the house sends a signal to the contactor relay, which energizes the compressor and fan. When any of these components fails, the system stops cooling properly. The three most common failure scenarios are: the capacitor is bad (fan will not start), the relay is bad (nothing runs), or the fan motor itself has failed.

Video Chapter Guide

Here is a quick reference for the key sections covered in the video:

• 0:00 Air Conditioner Blowing Hot Air
• 0:27 3 components: thermostat, outside fan, compressor
• 0:47 relay is controlled by thermostat, humming sound
• 1:14 capacitor bulged, jump start fan
• 1:53 remove capacitor
• 2:39 3 ways to tell a bad capacitor
• 3:10 what capacitor spec to buy
• 3:30 comparing good capacitor and bad capacitor
• 4:03 install new capacitor
• 4:42 testing
• 5:03 eliminating thermostat problem
• 5:23 eliminating fan motor

Use these timestamps to jump directly to the section most relevant to your situation.

More Practical Guides

Understanding basic AC troubleshooting empowers you to handle the most common failures yourself and helps you avoid being overcharged if you do need to call a professional.

For more hands-on tutorials, check out our guides on bathtub caulking and peeling garlic easily without special tools. Each one follows the same practical, no-nonsense approach to help you save money and build useful skills.