Your air conditioner is giving you massive trouble. It turned on, but it won’t shut off. Normally, the thermostat sends a signal to your AC to say “Hey, we did it, great job” and requests that it power down.
When this doesn’t happen, you’ve got a pretty big problem on your hands. Depending on the time of day and availability, you might call for AC repair in Gaithersburg, MD right away. But what if this happens in the middle of the night? Well, you might have to shut it down in one of these two ways.
Shut Down the Central Air Circuit
If you have central air conditioning, you know that there’s an outdoor cabinet, which houses the compressor and condenser. Right now, they’re receiving power on an order or signal to keep running until they’re signaled otherwise.
There’s a switch near that air conditioner. It might be contained within a flip cap to protect it from weather damage. Open this up, and turn the switch into the “off” position.
If you hear the AC power down, that’s great, but we need to verify it. Go indoors and put your hand over the vent to make sure there’s no more air coming through. Then, call for AC repair.
Power It Down at the Breaker
You have a circuit breaker that normally has a metal door and latch. This could be contained in your basement, bathroom, kitchen—it varies, but your home has one.
Find it, open up the door, and look for labels on the side of the two rows of horizontal switches you see in front of you. If your electrician did their job properly, they’ve labeled everything appropriately. You should see a switch for your air conditioner.
Flip the switch into the “off” position. This might look like two switches that are joined by a metal bracket. That’s okay; they’ll both flip at the same time if that’s the case. Once it’s shut down, verify that there’s no air coming through the vents, then call for repair services.
Should I Touch the Wiring to Power Down My AC?
If neither of these options work to power it down, leave your AC running and call for professional services as soon as possible. Never touch the internal wiring of your air conditioner. It brings an unnecessary risk of electrocution and should only be handled by a professional.
HVAC contractors know how to take proper precautions and identify hazards because it’s their day-in and day-out profession. Never run the risk of getting hurt. Even if you have to call for emergency repair services in the middle of the night, it’s worth it to protect yourself.
So You Shut It Down, Now What?
If it’s powered down, your only remaining step is to call for repair services as soon as possible. Even if you turn it back on and it doesn’t run constantly, it still indicates that there’s some type of issue that could become a health hazard if left unchecked.
Contact Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing today to schedule your air conditioning repair as soon as possible.