DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Air Conditioner Help

It was warm enough in Chicago to have the AC on all day. One problem - it wasn't cooling. I went outside to take a look, and inside of the unit there is a tube from the motor to the bottom and out, and into the house. Well, this tube has about a 1/2 inch of ice around it, and it is also icy on the outside of the unit up until the black insulation going into the house.

Here's the kicker - a friend of my ex installed it. It is only 2 years ago, and I'm looking at a Ducane general 5 year warranty, but I never registered it. The guy that installed it (I had 2 numbers) is gone - and his name is Bob Steele - try finding that - there's hundreds of them. I have no idea what happened to him.

I called a friend of mine that works on ACs and left him a message. Hoepfully he can diagnose and fix it. If not, do any of you know what caused this and how to fix it?

Sound's like the compressor might be out, but not sure with out seeing the unit my self...Good luck to you

i would be willing to bet that the condenser fins are blocked....

take a look outside at the fins below the fan....(i'm talking about the out side edges)....they are probably blocked by either grass clippings or those little cottonwood seeds (those little white furry things)

if it is blocked it will cause the line and evaporator to ice up....low freon also does this but you can't fix that yourself....


if you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can turn off the ac, pull the fuse outside, take off the outside cover and gently clean all the crap off....

mine is a rheem, its about 10 screws and the whole cover comes off....there are a ton of different models so i could tell you for sure just look, but if you decide to do it yourself just get a soft plastic brush and gently brush with the fins to remove the debris...

Actually if your lines have ice, then check the the fins in the air handler (Where thos elines goto in the house), they probably are covered in ice as well, usually the result of poor airflow and/or high moisture.

If so, turn off the AC, open the access panel to the cooling coils, and let them thaw out, you can use a low heat hair dryer to speed it up some. Just don't pick at it and damage the fins.

Once thawed, spray some 409 on the fins and use a soft bristled brush to brush them clean. Then rinse with sprayed water, let dry, and you should be fine.

Also, check the filter in the air return, it's probably filthy. They need to be changed or cleaned about every 30-60 days depending on how much you use the AC.

Thanks guys - I will check it when I get back from Scottsdale Saturday - leave soon for a sales meeting.

It is a new (2 yrs old) Ducane. My buddy that works on these is coming over this weekend too - I'll let ya know how it turns out.

When this happened to mine, the problem was that the refridgerant was low and needed "Re-charged".