AC repair in Naples, FL
If your Naples home or condo is warm and the system is running, or not running at all, we find the cause and fix it. We repair central air conditioners, heat pumps and ductless mini-splits, along with the air handlers, drains and thermostats attached to them.
What AC repair in Naples usually comes down to
Most of the failures we find are small parts. A run capacitor that gave out in the heat. A worn contactor that no longer pulls in. A float switch that did its job and shut the system down because the drain line backed up.
Others take more work. A blower motor, the fan motor on the outdoor unit, a control board or a refrigerant leak in a coil that has corroded through can all leave you with a warm house, and each one needs a different fix.
The part that failed is only half the answer. We also want to know why it failed, because a capacitor that dies every summer usually points at something else going on, and that’s the thing worth fixing.
Signs your AC needs repair
Any one of these is worth a call:
- The air from the vents is warm or barely cool, even with the thermostat set below room temperature
- Ice on the larger copper line at the outdoor unit, or on the indoor coil
- Water around the air handler or standing in the pan under it
- The outdoor unit hums but its fan doesn’t spin
- A breaker that trips again right after you reset it
- The system starts and stops every few minutes without cooling the house
- The thermostat screen stays blank even after new batteries
Refrigerant leaks get found, not topped off
Refrigerant isn’t used up like fuel. If a system is low, it either leaked or it was charged wrong when it was installed.
Adding refrigerant without finding the leak means paying for the same problem again next season. The EPA asks homeowners to have technicians locate and repair leaks instead of topping them off, and we agree.
We check the charge with digital gauges and temperature probes against the manufacturer’s numbers for that unit, then search for the leak before anything goes back in. Venting refrigerant on purpose is illegal under the Clean Air Act, so anything we take out of a system gets recovered into a tank.
Older R-22 systems
Some Naples houses still have an R-22 system running in the garage or the hall closet. Production and import of R-22 ended in the United States on January 1, 2020, and service work since then relies on refrigerant made before that date or recovered and reclaimed since.
There’s no drop-in replacement for it. An R-22 system can usually still be repaired, and for a capacitor or a contactor that’s often the right call. When the coil has corroded through or the compressor is failing, we’ll talk through replacement with you instead, and our AC installation page explains how that goes.
Water at the air handler
Naples air holds a lot of water, and your air conditioner pulls plenty of it out while it runs. That water drips into a pan under the indoor coil and leaves through a PVC drain line.
When the line clogs with dust, debris or mold, the pan fills. Florida’s building code requires a backup for that drain, either a secondary drain or a water-level switch that shuts the equipment off before the pan overflows. On a system with the switch, a clogged drain often looks like a dead AC with no water anywhere in sight.
We clear the line, flush the pan, check that the trap is holding water, and test the switch so it trips when it should. If water is already on the floor when you find it, switch the thermostat to off. The coil stops making water once the system stops.
How a repair visit goes
Before we arrive
Tell us what the system is doing, roughly how old it is if you know, and where the equipment sits. A rooftop condenser or a unit on a stand under a raised house changes what we bring.
Diagnosis
We measure before we replace anything: voltage and amp draw at the motors, refrigerant pressures, the temperature of the air going in and coming out, and the state of the drain.
Your decision
We explain what failed, what caused it if we can tell, and what we’d recommend. Nothing gets replaced until you say so.
Repair and test
With the repair done, we run the system while we watch the pressures and the air temperature at the vents, and we make sure the drain is moving water before we pack up.
Heat pumps, mini-splits and condo systems
Most homes here cool with a heat pump. In summer it runs like an air conditioner, and a reversing valve flips the refrigerant flow when it needs to make heat. We repair both sides of it, including that valve.
Ductless mini-splits get the same diagnosis, with a few extra things to look at: the drain on each indoor head, the wiring between the heads and the outdoor unit, and the line set where it passes through the wall.
In condos we usually find the air handler in a hall or laundry closet, sometimes right beside the water heater, and the condenser on the roof or in a bank of units behind the building. If yours is on the roof, mention it when you call so we can sort out access with the building first.
If the outdoor unit hums but the fan isn’t turning, switch the thermostat off and call us. A failed capacitor is one of the most common causes of that hum.
No cooling? Call or text us.
Or open the chat button. Tell us what the system is doing and where the equipment sits, and we’ll set up a visit.
Related
AC installation and replacement
New air conditioners, heat pumps and mini-splits, sized for the house, strapped down and tested before we leave.
AC installation and replacement detailsAC maintenance
Coil cleaning, drain line clearing, electrical checks and a refrigerant check, with extra care for salt on coastal units.
AC maintenance detailsAC not cooling? Check these first
Six checks to run before you call, in the order we’d run them, and what each symptom tends to point to.
Read the guideQuestions we get
Can you just add refrigerant to get me through the summer?
We’d rather not, and the EPA agrees. If the system is low, it’s leaking, and topping it off means paying for refrigerant that leaks right back out. We find the leak first, then repair it or talk with you about replacing the leaking part.
Why does my AC freeze up?
Ice on the coil usually means too little air moving across it or too little refrigerant in it. A clogged filter is the easy cause. Switch the system to off, let the ice melt on its own without chipping at it, and call us if it freezes again.
Is it worth repairing an R-22 system?
Sometimes. A failed capacitor or contactor on an R-22 system is an ordinary repair. A leak in the coil is harder, because R-22 is no longer produced or imported and there’s no drop-in substitute. We’ll give you both options and the reasoning behind each.
Can you work on a ductless mini-split?
Yes, along with central air conditioners, heat pumps and the air handlers that go with them.
Do you do AC repair on Marco Island?
Yes. Our Marco Island page covers what’s different about working on the island.