How To Trouble Shoot Your

Heat Pump

During Heating Season:

Ice build up?
Under certain weather conditions, the outside unit will develop ice . This ice should disappear. This is called the defrost cycle. During this cycle the unit gives off a water vapor which appears to be smoke. All this is normal.

If excess ice builds up on the outside coil after more than 90 minutes of elapsed time, move your thermostat switch to emergency heat to "ON" . Let the ice melt. Turn your thermostat back to your normal setting. If the ice builds up again and will not go away by itself, call your serviceman at Automatic Climate. Go ahead and move the thermostat back to the emergency setting and let the ice melt. The serviceman can not work on a unit that is a block of ice.

Auxiliary heat light "ON" (located on thermostat)?
Supplementary heaters are providing heat (usually when outside temperature is lower than 30°).
Thermostat has been adjusted up more than 1.5°, which causes supplementary heaters to come on until thermostat is satisfied.
If auxiliary heat light stays on when the outside temperature is above 40°, call your serviceman at Automatic Climate.

Little or no air flow at supply registers?
Filters may be dirty-replace or clean.
A blower motor or belt may have failed. Call your serviceman for repair at Automatic Climate. You may have a possible air leak from your ducts. The ducts may have come apart. Call for expert service at Automatic Climate.
Your return grill may be blocked. Keep area free of furniture.

Outside unit continuously running?
All units run continuously below the balance point, usually when outside temperature is in the 30°s.
You may have your thermostat set too high, may need adjustment.
The refrigerant level may be low. Refrigerant does not leak in normal cases. A small amount may seep out, but if you are losing refrigerant, you have a leak. The only way to determine if you have a leak is to perform a leak search. Once the leak is identified then repairs can be made. This can only be done by a qualified service technician. This problem if not addressed may cause more serious and expensive problems.
The thermostat may be exposed to a cold draft.
The outside unit coil may be blocked by snow, ice, etc. Keep area clean.

During Cooling Season :

Outside unit continuously running?
The refrigerant level may be low. Same as in the heating mode. This should be checked by our service technician at Automatic Climate.
The thermostat may be set very low or very warm weather.
The outside coil may be partially blocked. Keep leaves away from unit.
The thermostat may be located near heat source, such as appliances, T.V, etc.
You may have dirty filters or too many registers closed limiting air movement.

Unable to cool house and reduce humidity level?
The condensation drain may be blocked. This can cause water to appear. If the drain is clogged, it may back up into the pan located under the unit. Once the pan is full it may run over. This needs to be cleared by your serviceman at Automatic Climate.
The refrigerant level may be low. Your unit may have been low all through the heating season as well, but you did not realize you had this problem. You will need to call your service technician to determine if the refrigerant is low and why.
You may have a possible compressor failure. The compressor is the heart of the outside unit. It pumps the refrigerant through the system. If this compressor is bad, it may be replaced. Depending on the age of your unit it might be cost effective to replace the entire outdoor unit. If your system is old, your efficiency level may be old as well. A new unit will cost you less in the long run.
Keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible.
Check for air leaks and excessive moisture in the crawl space. Make sure there are no visible ducts that have come apart.

Water Leaking?
There are two reasons you may have water leaking. One is simply the drain that lets the water run out is stopped up. This can be the result of algae or Debris. Homeowners can try to clear the path or you need to call a technician.
The second reason is more complicated. Your unit may be low on refrigerant causing the coil to freeze up. When it melts, a lot of water overflows the pan. This needs immediate attention by our service technicians.