Anatomy Of A Window Unit Air Conditioner

Before you go running out to purchase Sears appliance parts (or whichever brand you may need) to repair a window-unit style air conditioner, a new do-it-yourselfer should take a moment to get familiar with the air conditioner.

Air conditioners consist mainly of a compressor, fans (and fan motors) a hot coil and cold coil, and an expansion valve. There is also a control unit.

If your air conditioning unit is getting frosty coils, you probably don't need to buy new or used appliance parts. You should first clean the filter, oil the fan motor, and clean the condenser coils. Clear away any dust you find on the interior of the unit, but take care not to bend or break coils and tubes. The unit should become less frosty after this maintenance.

If your window unit seems to hum without blowing air, chances are your fan motor is bad and needs to be replaced.

If you find that your coils or tubes are leaking coolant, call an air conditioning repair service. Do not attempt to deal with leaking coolant unless you know what to do.