AC Fan Not Working? Reasons Why It Stopped Spinning

There’s nothing better than walking into a cool home on a hot summer day. But what happens when you crank the AC only to find the air conditioner fan not working and your home not cooling? Here are some common reasons why your AC is not working. If these troubleshooting solutions don’t solve your problem, it may be time to contact your local Trane professional for air conditioning repair.

Most homes have a standard split-system air conditioning unit with two main fans. One fan is inside the house, and one is outside the home. When your AC unit is working properly, the blower inside your furnace or AC will blow cold air. The cold air is sent through ducts to the living areas and then returns air to be cooled by the evaporator coil. The outdoor fan, or condenser fan, is outside the home and pulls hot air through the outdoor condenser coils to remove heat from your home.

When your air conditioning stops working, you will first need to determine if the problem is with your condenser fan (located outside) or the blower motor (located inside). Your condenser fan is visible from the top of the unit, and you should easily be able to see if it is running or not. If the condenser fan is operating normally, you may have an issue with your blower motor, especially if you feel low or no airflow from the vents.

These are common reasons why your air conditioning is not working correctly:

1. Your thermostat is not set correctly.
   One of the most common reasons why your AC fan is not spinning is because the thermostat is not set correctly. Be sure the system is set for cooling and not heating and then switch it back to cooling or auto mode and check that the appropriate cooling temperature is selected. If you have a programmable thermostat, be sure that a program is not set to tell your AC not to run.
2. A power surge tripped the circuit breaker.
   Your air conditioning unit runs on electricity so if it is not running, there may be an issue with your power supply. Locate your main breaker box panel and be sure the circuit breaker has not been tripped. Your AC unit should be on its own circuit. If the circuit breaker has been tripped, it may have been from a power surge. You can see whether you have any power connected to the unit and if you don’t, contact your local Trane expert for professional help.
3. The AC unit has a frozen evaporator coil.
   A frozen evaporator coil may also stop your air conditioning unit from working properly. The evaporator coil is located inside the home and pulls heat and humidity from the air inside the home and cools it as it passes through the coil. If the indoor blower fan has malfunctioned, cold temperatures outside the home, or low refrigerant charge, the evaporator coil can freeze. If this happens, call your local Trane expert for professional assistance.
4. The run capacitor is defective.
   A run capacitor is a metal cylinder located in both the indoor and the outdoor unit of your AC system. It controls and supplies the power that starts and operates the motor. If your AC system will not start, or starts but makes a low humming sound, shuts down, or does not blow cold air, you may have a faulty run capacitor. Because these have an electrical charge, you will need to call your local Trane expert for professional assistance. Do not attempt to replace the run capacitor yourself.
5. The outdoor unit has a broken fan blade.
   A broken fan blade in the outdoor unit will cause an unusual noise as it may be out of balance or striking other components in the compressor unit. To check for a broken fan blade, turn the unit totally off and look through the top of the unit to see if your fan blades are intact. If one is broken or damaged, keep the system off and call your local Trane expert for professional assistance.
6. The indoor fan and condenser fan motor are not working.
   If everything else looks like it’s working properly but the blades on your unit are not spinning at all, you most likely have a burned out fan, which would require replacement of the fan motor.

Keeping your AC properly maintained helps prolong the system’s life, and it is also worth it to change your air filter regularly to help keep your system operating at top efficiency. However, there are a few signs that indicate you may possibly need an AC fan replacement. You may need an AC fan replacement if you experience any of the following:

• The AC fan will not start
• The AC fan will not stop
• The blades in the outdoor unit are rotating slowly or not at all
• You can hear rattling from the outdoor unit
• There is no cold air flow coming through your vents
• The AC runs intermittently

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