Odd noises from an air conditioner are rarely anything good. You can expect certain sounds from your AC’s indoor and outdoor components when it’s running:
- The whir of the motors powering the fans and the compressor.
- Occasional clicking sounds at startup.
- The drip of water in the condensate drainage system.
- The whoosh of air passing through the ductwork.
Sounds aside from this are warning you that’s something is wrong with the air conditioner. One of the most common of these warning sounds is rattling. There are several potential sources for this noise, and if you have any doubts about what’s causing it, it’s time to call for AC repair in Wesley Chapel, FL from our team. We offer 24-hour emergency service—we don’t want you to get trapped with a non-working AC during the Florida heat.
What Is Causing This Sound?
We don’t recommend that you attempt to diagnose AC problems on your own. This is a job for professionals. But we want to give you some idea of what may be wrong with the air conditioner when it starts to make a rattling sound:
- Loose cabinet door: Here is one “problem” you can solve yourself. Check if the door to the AC cabinet is fully shut and latched. If the door is loose, the vibration from the motors will cause it to rattle around.
- Loose part in the blower assembly: The rattling may be a loose piece that is getting knocked around inside the blower assembly. If the noise seems to be coming from the blower fan of the indoor unit of the AC, we recommend shutting off the air conditioner right away and calling for repairs. Letting a loose part bounce around can cause damage to the blower fan or other parts.
- Misaligned fan: The fan in the blower assembly itself may be the problem. A misaligned fan will create a rattling noise, and it will soon begin to strike the casing, creating an alarming clanging sound. This also requires immediate repairs before it creates more damage.
- The cabinet is coming loose: The cabinet of the AC may be coming loose from the slab. This is something you’ll want technicians to look into; they’ll investigate to see if another malfunction with the air conditioner has caused it to start to pull loose.
- Failing compressor: A rattling noise can indicate the motor of the compressor is starting to fail. If the noise is coming from the condense cabinet and you can see the condenser visibly shaking, shut off the system at the electrical panel and call for help immediately.
- Debris: Gravel, pebbles, bark, sticks, leaves, and other outside debris can get into the condenser and rattle around in the fan. This is one of the reasons we recommend keeping the area around the condenser as clear as possible. Repair technicians will need to clean the condenser before the debris creates big problems by damaging the valuable parts in the cabinet.
Experience the Balanced Air, Inc. difference! We have served the Tampa Bay Area with the finest in air conditioning service since 1988.
