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Strange Noises You Don’t Want to Hear from Your Air Conditioner

It’s going to be an absolute scorcher of a summer.

And whether you’ve had your air conditioner for one year or ten, it should always run reliably, smoothly, and quietly.

If you hear any of the following noises coming from your home cooling system, don’t just hope they’ll “go away on their own”, because they probably won’t.

Instead, contact the team at Handy Bros. Home Comfort for immediate air conditioner repair.

Rattling noise

  • Could indicate the compressor is reaching the end of its lifespan.
  • Parts inside your air conditioner (such as screws and bolts) have come loose.
  • There might be an obstruction (like a branch) that the fan keeps hitting.

WHAT TO DO: Turn your AC off and contact us immediately. Otherwise, you could completely blow out the compressor. If that happens, the entire air conditioner can’t operate properly.

Squealing noise

  • Commonly associated with the belt or motor.
  • The belt may have become loose and/or misaligned.
  • It’s also possible the belt is beginning to fray from regular wear-and-tear.

WHAT TO DO: Keep using the air conditioner if it’s unbearably hot. Keep in mind the belt might totally snap or fail, thus making your AC useless. Get it looked at as soon as possible.

CapcitorsBuzzing noise

  • A low buzzing noise is normal; a loud buzzing noise is not.
  • If the buzzing sound is accompanied with a clicking noise, it’s an electrical issue.
  • It could be coming from the thermostat, compressor, or the capacitors are faulty.

WHAT TO DO: Since it’s an electrical issue, don’t try to fix it yourself. You could end up getting injured from a shock. Give us a call and we’ll take care of it for you.

Screaming noise

  • Excess pressure is building up somewhere inside the air conditioner.
  • That excess pressure is getting released via the compressor, thus causing the screaming sound.
  • Sometimes, your AC shuts itself off and turns itself back on.

WHAT TO DO: Turn off your air conditioner and schedule air conditioner maintenance. High-pressure inside the system is actually very dangerous.

Gurgling noise

  • It sounds like water is bubbling from your AC during operation.
  • It’s possible that refrigerant is leaking somewhere in the system.
  • Another possibility is that there’s an issue with the condensate drain line.

WHAT TO DO: You could keep running your air conditioner. Eventually, you’ll run out of refrigerant. At that point, you’ll need a professional to provide more refrigerant.

AC Fan motorScreeching noise

  • Sounds like metal-on-metal scraping.
  • The fan motor bearings are beginning to wear out.
  • If the motor bearings are shot, the fan motor itself will need to be replaced as well.

WHAT TO DO: If it’s crazy hot, keep running the AC. But as soon as the possible, you’ll need to get it fixed.

Is your air conditioner noisy? Contact us today

A noisy air conditioner sucks.

But a noisy air conditioner that doesn’t actually provide cool air? That’s just terrible.

If your air conditioner is making the sounds listed in this blog (or other noises which have you worried), contact us for a service call.

We’ll be there ASAP – no matter where you live in Chatham-Kent and surrounding areas – and get your AC in safe working order.