Guide
Five AC “faults” that are not faults
Weak cooling, a smell, water on the ceiling, a unit that never stops, and ice on the pipe. All five get reported as breakdowns. All five are usually maintenance.
This matters because the call-out you book decides who turns up. A repair visit for a maintenance problem costs you a diagnosis and fixes nothing.
The five
In the order we are called about them.
Weak cooling with no fault code is usually airflow. A smell is usually the drainage tray. Water marking a ceiling is usually a blocked condensate line, not a leak in the unit. A unit that runs constantly is usually working harder than it should through a blocked filter. Ice on the pipe is airflow again, one stage further on.
All five have the same first step: open it and look. That is a technical diagnosis, it is AED 100, and it is adjusted against the invoice if you go ahead with the work.
Book a diagnosis on WhatsAppWeak cooling
- ·No fault code, no noise
- ·Filter, coil or duct restriction
- ·Airflow before refrigerant, every time
A smell with the cooling
- ·Drainage tray, most often
- ·Not something a spray reaches
- ·Photographed so you see the cause
A mark on the ceiling
- ·Usually the condensate line, not the unit
- ·Clears before it becomes a repair
- ·Left alone it becomes plaster work
Running constantly, or ice
- ·The unit compensating for restricted airflow
- ·Ice is the late stage of the same thing
- ·Switch it off before booking anything
When it really is a repair
And how you will know.
A fault code, a burning smell, a compressor that will not start, or a unit that trips the breaker. Those are repairs, and the diagnosis finds them the same way — by opening it.
We price repairs from the inspection, not from the phone call. Nobody can quote a fault they have not seen, and a figure given down the phone is a figure that changes on site.
See how AC maintenance worksCommon questions
Asked before calling out.
Should I book a repair or a clean?
Book the diagnosis. AED 100, adjusted against the work if you proceed, and it tells you which of the two — a repair or an AC duct clean — you actually need.
My AC has a fault code. Is that still maintenance?
A code usually means a repair. Bring the code to the call — it saves time on site.
Is the diagnosis fee refunded if I do nothing?
It is not refunded, because the work was done: you get the inspection and the written report either way. It is adjusted against the invoice if you go ahead.
Can you do the repair the same day?
Sometimes. Parts decide it, and we tell you at the inspection rather than after.
