After enough years on Broward driveways, the calls start to rhyme. Same four problems. Same four root causes. Same four fixes that actually hold. Here is the diagnostic order a real technician walks through — both so you know what is happening when we are at your house, and so you can tell a thorough repair from a guess.
1. No cooling at all
The first split is electrical versus mechanical. A tech checks for power at the disconnect, tests the capacitor and contactor, and confirms the thermostat is calling for cooling. A dead capacitor — the most common single failure — is a fast, inexpensive fix. If power is fine and the compressor still will not start, the diagnosis moves to the contactor, the compressor windings, and the refrigerant charge in that order.
2. Cooling, but weak
When air is moving but the house never gets comfortable, the suspects are airflow and charge. The tech measures the temperature split across the coil and reads refrigerant pressures. A low split with normal pressures points to airflow — dirty filter, dirty coil, or duct leakage. Low pressures point to a refrigerant leak that needs to be found and sealed, not just topped off.
3. The system that freezes
Ice on the coil or line set is always either restricted airflow or low refrigerant. The fix starts with thawing the system fully, then identifying which cause is at work. Cleaning the coil and replacing the filter handles the airflow case; a leak search and proper recharge handles the refrigerant case. Running a frozen system "to see if it clears" is how compressors die.
4. Water around the air handler
Almost always a clogged condensate drain, courtesy of Florida humidity feeding algae in the line. The fix is to clear the line, flush it, and verify the float safety switch works — that switch is what shuts the system down before water reaches your ceiling. A drain that clogs repeatedly is a candidate for a treatment tab and a maintenance schedule.
Why the order matters
Each step rules out a cause before spending money on the next. That is the difference between a $200 repair and a parade of replaced parts. When you watch a technician measure before reaching for a part, that is what a real diagnosis looks like.
- Most repair calls reduce to four problems: no cooling, weak cooling, freezing, and water.
- A dead capacitor is the most common single cause of a no-cooling call — and a cheap fix.
- Weak cooling is an airflow-versus-charge question answered by measuring the temperature split.
- A thorough tech measures to rule out causes in order, instead of swapping likely parts.
Cooling problem you would rather not guess at?
We serve all of Broward County with same-day diagnostics and stocked trucks. Get a real answer, in writing, before any work starts.
