A/C isn't acting right, please help!!!


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Old 07-09-14, 11:05 AM
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A/C isn't acting right, please help!!!

I rent a house. The central air unit wasn't cooling the home so the landlord got a brand new outside unit. I was still having problems so he thought maybe the unit was faulty from the factory so he got me another brand new one. Something still isn't right. The a/c has been an ongoing issue for over 2 weeks now and at this point the landlord thinks I'm crazy but I know something is still wrong...here's what it's doing. Whenever its cloudy out the air is fine. BTW, I live in Florida, aka the "sunshine" state. Anyway, once the sun is shining bright it blows fan air inside. I have it set on 75 and it climbs up to 78+. At first when that would happen I would turn it down to 70 and it would drop down and be fine and i could slowing increase back to 75. Mind you the whole time the fan on the outside unit is running. But I had to mess with the temp in order to make the compressor kick on to give cold air otherwise it's just fan air. By now, a few days later with yet another new unit I have to play around with the temp to get it to work. Yesterday, the sun came out as usual and it got 78 inside so I put it on 70 to cool it down from being on 75. It ran for 3 hours set on 70 and the temp dropped to 75 and stayed there. It's no longer dropping to 70. Today, it was cloudy this morning, the house was nice and cool. Then the sun came out, no matter what temp I have it set on its 80 yet the fan on the unit is running and water is coming out the the spout like it should. The compressor won't kick on and even when it does, the temp inside doesn't change. the landlord says the unit is new and there shouldn't be a problem. He's not listening to me when I say what's happening. I decided I am moving. I'm looking for places now, but until I get out of here, I would like to have a cool house. Any experts have any ideas? He's had 3 a/c guys come out within the past week and still no resolving the problem. My landlord is a cheap guy, they duct taped the air ducts thinking that would help. Nobody has checked the handler or thermostat. I'm not air tech but maybe that's the problem? I don't think these guys are even real air people but someone he got on craigslist for $20. that's how it seems anyway. But is there anything I could try to maybe fix it myself considering my landlord isn't doing anything about it?
Please help, I have a dog that's 13 yrs old who is hot also, so I take her on car rides so she can have a/c or go to friends houses to get her out of the heat. At night, when the sun is gone, it's not so bad. Sometimes, It's even freezing. I'm at a loss.. thank you to everyone in advance!
 
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Old 07-09-14, 12:51 PM
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Sorry to hear your problem, there are a lot of experts on this forum, hopefully some one can help you. First, get us some data to start. When both your outside compressor and outside fan running, what is the cold air temperature that blow into the room ? also the current room temperature ? Then go outside to your condenser, while the system is running, hand feel the 2 pipes (large insulated one and small copper one), do they feel hot ? warm ? or cold ? Also, is the register's airflow strong ?
 
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Old 07-09-14, 03:00 PM
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It could be the unit is undersized, dirty indoor coil or dirty air filter in inside unit. Make sure all the registers are open. I'm a dog guy, so anything I can do to keep the dog cool (and you), let me know.
 
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Old 07-09-14, 08:32 PM
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Welcome to the forums

Anyway, once the sun is shining bright it blows fan air inside.
What ?!?!?!

Mind you the whole time the fan on the outside unit is running. But I had to mess with the temp in order to make the compressor kick on
When the outside fan is on..... the compressor is on too.

How long have you been renting there ? Was it ok in the past ?
How is the airflow coming out of the ducts ?
Many systems will cool fine when there is no sun or it's cool out. Your apartment is probably lacking from insulation tool.
 
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Old 07-10-14, 08:57 AM
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Thank you all for your replies, the air blowing from the vents is strong air. Just not always cold air. I've been here 7 years and the air has been fine. The two pipes feel warm. when the fan is on the room is 78 or more. the air coming out is the same temp as a ceiling fan. I don't have fancy tools just normal, hammer, screwdriver etc so I don't know volts or anything. Once the sun comes out and it starts acting up. After I put it on 70 it will blow cold air. But not as cold as it should be. Like I said 3 hours later being set on 70 and the temp only dropped to 75 :/
 
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Old 07-10-14, 09:29 AM
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'The two pipes feel warm' indicates a problem. The small one should be warm, but the large one should be cold (ice cold). Make sure the AC filter is clean, outside condenser coil is clean, and the outside compressor is running. This problem can be caused by low refrigerant, dirty coil, stopped compressor and few others.
 
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Old 07-10-14, 11:22 AM
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Wink

I called my own air company to come out and informed the landlord I will deduct the bill off my rent since he won't solve my problem. The guy said he knows what I'm talking about and messed with all kinds of stuff. So far so good, I have the sir set on 76 and it's staying that temp even with it being sunny outside. Hopefully, that means it really is fixed after all this time and 20 a/c guys later. I'm not exactly sure what he did but he's the first guy to check the handler and actually crawl up inside the air unit. He drilled holes and took longer than 5 mins to look at it unlike everyone else. It's only been a few hours that's it been working but usually by now with the sun out the house would be 80 but now it's staying at 76 kicking on and off. Thank you for all your replies, hopefully, the issue has been resolved
 
 

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