A/C stopped working. Then it started working agin. Huh?

Mid-afternoon my thermostat was set at 74, but room temp was 77. A/C fan was on, but it was not cooling. Oh, $hit. Hubby comes home in the evening. Shuts everything down. Flips circuit-breakers a few times. Turns on the thermostat again, and voilà! It works again. 

So, my question is: Is this a sign that a/c is failing? Do I still need to call in a service? Or can I skip it now that we're cool again?

This is far from my area of expertise, but if the fan was working, I don't see how flipping switches in the service panel would make it start cooling again. I would have guessed it was a freon issue -- I bet in the morning you will hear from some HVAC experts who can explain a recommended course of action.

It's not my area of expertise, either, but I do know that the outside cooling unit has a different circuit breaker than the inside air handler. So, it is possible to blow the circuit breaker on the cooling unit while the fan continues to run.    

If the circuit breaker blew, something caused that. It could have been a surge in power from the thunderstorm, or it could be something else. If it were me, I'd wait and see if it happens again before I'd call for service.

Thank you. 

are you set up with pseg to "cycle" your compressor?

oots said:

are you set up with pseg to "cycle" your compressor?

Whaaa? Ma zeh? What's that?

they have a program to "reduce your bill " a little if you give them access to cycle your a/c compressor on/off during periods of heat wave.  maybe you signed up?

oots said:

they have a program to "reduce your bill " a little if you give them access to cycle your a/c compressor on/off during periods of heat wave.  maybe you signed up?

Hmmm. Doesn't sound familiar, but I'll check.

Something in the unit probably froze.  Having it off for a while gave it time to thaw.

Klinker said:

Something in the unit probably froze.  Having it off for a while gave it time to thaw.

This is likely. As annoying as this is, A/C failures are most common when need is greatest.

Tom_Reingold said:

Klinker said:

Something in the unit probably froze.  Having it off for a while gave it time to thaw.

This is likely. As annoying as this is, A/C failures are most common when need is greatest.

I think that's pretty much true of all appliances.

Klinker said:

Something in the unit probably froze.  Having it off for a while gave it time to thaw.

That would indicate either an impacted / dirty coil, a clogged filter, or the system being low on refrigerant. 

Red_Barchetta said:

Klinker said:

Something in the unit probably froze.  Having it off for a while gave it time to thaw.

That would indicate either an impacted / dirty coil, a clogged filter, or the system being low on refrigerant. 

Alright, I'll have it checked out. Otherwise it will fail when it's 95 degrees.

sac said:

Tom_Reingold said:

This is likely. As annoying as this is, A/C failures are most common when need is greatest.

I think that's pretty much true of all appliances.

I'm not talking about Murphy's Law where the TV doesn't work for the Super Bowl and your dishwasher doesn't work after Thanksgiving. It's the actual heat that *makes* the A/C fail, just when you need A/C.

Tom_Reingold said:

sac said:

Tom_Reingold said:

This is likely. As annoying as this is, A/C failures are most common when need is greatest.

I think that's pretty much true of all appliances.

I'm not talking about Murphy's Law where the TV doesn't work for the Super Bowl and your dishwasher doesn't work after Thanksgiving. It's the actual heat that *makes* the A/C fail, just when you need A/C.

No ... I mean that the washing machine or dryer dies (or at least reveals that it is dead) when you have laundry to do, dishwasher when full of dirty dishes, etc.

@sac, the dirty dishes or clothes don't cause the washer to fail. The failure is inconvenient because of the presence of the need. A/C's are different because heat does cause their failures.

Tom_Reingold said:

@sac, the dirty dishes or clothes don't cause the washer to fail. The failure is inconvenient because of the presence of the need. A/C's are different because heat does cause their failures.

That's true but I wasn't talking about cause.  The comment said that they fail when the need is greatest and, in my experience, that's pretty much the case always.  The washer and dryer don't fail right when you finish the laundry, nor does the dishwasher fail when all the dishes are clean.  (Or if they do, you don't know it until the next time that they are needed.)