Air Con problem

[Golden Triangle]

Hi all,

 

I'm just looking for a bit of advice & guidance re a problem with my air con.

 

Firstly the house is rented so the problem ultimately lies with my land lord, but I consider myself to be a responsible tenant and not take the Micky with my land lord as he and his wife are nice people and treat us well.

 

The other night I went to bed and hit the power button to fire up the air con and nothing happened, I tried the other 3 remotes (all the units are LG and look to be the same size) still it wouldn't work,  I ended up having to use a long handled broom hand to power it up with the power button on the main unit. Of course this then means that it is running at minimum temp, 18 degrees or thereabouts when I have it set normally for 26 or 27 degrees, the room becomes like a freezer and in the middle of the night I have to get up and try and switch it off with the broom handle again.

 

This has been going on for a couple of nights now, but just out of habit I tried the remote and now it is working again !! 

 

Can anyone point to what may have happened for the air con unit to not to respond to the remote ?

 

The house is about 10 years old and as far as I can work out the AC's were installed when the place was built, so is 10 years good for an AC unit ?

 

The unit in the bedroom is always serviced regularly as it's the only one we use, the others get a service if we have people (Family or Friends) coming to stay for a while.

 

I have informed my landlord but his wife is loathe to buy a new one and wants to use one of the units from one of the other rooms to replace it with ???? 

 

Thanks in advance for any insight into the problem you can give.

 

 

[Jan Dietz]

- Check if the IR window on the unit is dirty, clean it (maybe remove cover and clean the dust out of the IR receiver as well)

- Electrical interference (power outage..) can upset the microcontroller inside the unit. Powering it off altogether at the fuse box, waiting 5 minutes and powering it on again may reset it to normal behavior

 

[chickenslegs]

Is there a reset button on the remote or on the ac unit?

[geisha]

Can I butt in and ask how much a service would cost for my air con, small one, I think it’s just very dirty , smells a bit when you put it on ? Im in a rented condo (3/4 months a year) and think I might have more success paying myself. Thanks.

[worgeordie]

Might have been the remote,sometimes you have to move the battery

about a bit ,then works, and you did check the battery in the remote.

"I have informed my landlord but his wife is loathe to buy a new one"

typical Thai landlord,happy to take the rent,but fixing anything....

regards worgeordie

[transam]

2 minutes ago, geisha said:

Can I butt in and ask how much a service would cost for my air con, small one, I think it’s just very dirty , smells a bit when you put it on ? Im in a rented condo (3/4 months a year) and think I might have more success paying myself. Thanks.

500bht...

[Golden Triangle]

46 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Is there a reset button on the remote or on the ac unit?

I have not looked but I will check, thanks for the advice. 

[eyecatcher]

Did you at some point accidentaly press the timer button to an off time,locking the system out.

 

I didnt think using other remotes would make a difference, they are programmed to each unit

[Golden Triangle]

33 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Might have been the remote,sometimes you have to move the battery

about a bit ,then works, and you did check the battery in the remote.

"I have informed my landlord but his wife is loathe to buy a new one"

typical Thai landlord,happy to take the rent,but fixing anything....

regards worgeordie

I changed the batteries and used all the other remotes and it still wouldn't work, it has seemed to have reset whatever the problem was, and although noisy it is working ???? It looks like the owner is going to buy a new one (Yippeee) hopefully won't be noisy and cheaper to run, result ???? 

[Golden Triangle]

1 minute ago, eyecatcher said:

Did you at some point accidentaly press the timer button to an off time,locking the system out.

 

I didnt think using other remotes would make a difference, they are programmed to each unit

All the remotes work all the units, and no I didn't hit the timer button. ????

[timendres]

I once had a bug covering up the IR sensor in the unit. It was dead, so I had to realize it was there and remove it. Maybe yours simply moved. Had a jing joke lay across the incoming electricity inside a microwave once, leaving him a rubbery corpse. When the microwave stopped working, it took opening it up to see the problem. Easily corrected.

[Naam]

2 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

Did you at some point accidentaly press the timer button to an off time,locking the system out.

 

I didnt think using other remotes would make a difference, they are programmed to each unit

nope, units of one manufacturer are interchangeable. only ceiling mounts are different.

[Naam]

3 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

I have informed my landlord but his wife is loathe to buy a new one

why not repair this one???

[Golden Triangle]

32 minutes ago, Naam said:

why not repair this one???

If the guy (handyman) that came to look at it and scratched his head is anything to go by then they don't have a clue, the landlord is usually pretty good on things like this but are a bit out of the picture as they are in Norway, it needs a qualified air conditioning guy to inspect and report back to them but they use people totally unsuited for the job, I don't want my landlord spending money unessacarrily if he doesn't need to but they need professional help. 

[bankruatsteve]

8 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

If the guy (handyman) that came to look at it and scratched his head is anything to go by then they don't have a clue, the landlord is usually pretty good on things like this but are a bit out of the picture as they are in Norway, it needs a qualified air conditioning guy to inspect and report back to them but they use people totally unsuited for the job, I don't want my landlord spending money unessacarrily if he doesn't need to but they need professional help. 

Well then, how can we help?

[tjo o tjim]

This happens to me in hotels with the captive-key energy savers periodically. You just need to power cycle the unit normally to reset it, from the breaker is likely your easiest strategy.  If it happens frequently (more than a couple times per month), the logic board is likely shot and time to replace either the board or whole unit. 

[emptypockets]

3 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

I changed the batteries and used all the other remotes and it still wouldn't work, it has seemed to have reset whatever the problem was, and although noisy it is working ???? It looks like the owner is going to buy a new one (Yippeee) hopefully won't be noisy and cheaper to run, result ???? 

When you say noisy - what do you mean exactly? Is it a standard domestic unit?

 

WRT the reset button, often it is 'hidden' near the battery compartment of the remote and needs a pencil/pen/paper clip to depress the button.

[Golden Triangle]

22 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Well then, how can we help?

Because believe it or not but some members may have had the same problem, and have a valid answer to my question, unlike you.

[Golden Triangle]

3 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

When you say noisy - what do you mean exactly? Is it a standard domestic unit?

 

WRT the reset button, often it is 'hidden' near the battery compartment of the remote and needs a pencil/pen/paper clip to depress the button.

I will look when I get home, but as mentioned it looks like the landlord has decided to bite the bullet and stump up for a new one, good tenents are hard to find these days and we have been there for 5 years, never a problem or take the <deleted> with regard to problems, many of which I have had fixed without the landlords knowledge ????

[Golden Triangle]

8 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

When you say noisy - what do you mean exactly? Is it a standard domestic unit?

 

WRT the reset button, often it is 'hidden' near the battery compartment of the remote and needs a pencil/pen/paper clip to depress the button.

Standard domestic unit, the fan in the main unit is very noisy, it wakes me up and I have to switch it off to get some decent kip, 

[moontang]

they have really improved the surge and spike protection on them in the last few years.  if it has been getting beaten by unstable current, I would think the board, but I think the reset methods suggested would be a good starting point.  Ants or critters can spell disaster...power it off at the breaker, check the voltage..

[emptypockets]

11 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

Standard domestic unit, the fan in the main unit is very noisy, it wakes me up and I have to switch it off to get some decent kip, 

Main unit being the inside one in the bedroom? Try resetting it with the hidden button. if that doesn't fix the problem then I fear it may be a board problem as a previous poster mentioned. Not unfixable but have to weigh up the costs of repairing or replacing with a more efficient, more modern unit. If the landlord will pay for the replacement unit but you are paying for the electricity then the decision is easy.

 

I got 'smart' with a unit in Australia. It kept shutting down, so I went online and found out how to get the fault codes for the unit. It told me the electronics board was faulty. Duly ordered one for 600 dollars and the air con guys came and changed it. Made no difference as the copper pipe from the condenser had corroded through and lost the gas. 1600 bucks later I had an new aircon and a useless 600 dollar electronics card.

Edited August 22, 2019 by emptypockets

[moontang]

that's why the Thai guys hate the boards...but they run around 2500 thb here.  I took the LG TECHNICIAN course online...they are overly reliant on the codes.  Tried to make them idiot proof, and created a lot of junk.  A lot of the maintenance is a scam...should never be low on gas, and should not use pressure or chemicals in the coil.  gotta keep that intake clean, though..like 6 weeks...but twice per year is bs.

[Golden Triangle]

1 hour ago, bankruatsteve said:

Well then, how can we help?

I don't want to start a fight, I have just seen your qualifications (for want of a better expression) DIY & electrical forum expert !! Okay fair enough, I was out having dinner with the Mrs when I read your reply, sorry if it sounded dismissive, it was meant to be ???? Plenty of other guys or even gals for that matter (equal rights and all that) and the fact that my daughter is a qualified mechanical engineer have chuff all to do with it have offered their advice, but you ask " Well then, how can we help" ?

 

I know nothing about air con or electricity or plumbing, brickwork, painting walls, you name it I know sod all, so I reach out to the wider community here and ask, I have had some helpful replies.

 

You didn't exactly (as an expert) help at all, thanks.

[Golden Triangle]

Thanks for all the "Helpful" replies chaps & chapesses. The actual landlord (actually landlady) has been over ruled by her boss (the guy with the money) and will have a new unit fitted in the bedroom, a better result than moving one 10 year old unit from one less used room to the most used room. ???? 

 

Thanks all for your helpful replies and will check various bits as we go, once again, Thanks.

[Naam]

11 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Duly ordered one for 600 dollars and the air con guys came and changed it.

was the board (cost 18,000 Baht) 24k gold-plated and embedded with small diamonds or are you trying to pull a fast one?

[paahlman]

15 hours ago, geisha said:

Can I butt in and ask how much a service would cost for my air con, small one, I think it’s just very dirty , smells a bit when you put it on ? Im in a rented condo (3/4 months a year) and think I might have more success paying myself. Thanks.

500 baht or 400

[bankruatsteve]

10 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

You didn't exactly (as an expert) help at all, thanks.

I asked how we can help because you had dismissed all the suggestions so far as something you didn't want to do.

[dotpoom]

I thought one of the early replies would have been to check the batteries in the remote?

  Too obvious...I suppose?

 

 

[emptypockets]

2 hours ago, Naam said:

was the board (cost 18,000 Baht) 24k gold-plated and embedded with small diamonds or are you trying to pull a fast one?

I can assure you the cost of the Daikin electronics board for the reverse cycle air conditioner in Australia was 600 dollars, the cost in baht is irrelevant as baht is rarely used in financial transactions in Australia. I guess you are using US dollars in your 18,000 baht calculations.  Guess what?  we don't use them in Australia either. Nor Swiss Francs, Krugerrand nor Laos Kip. I'm surprised that someone with your knowledge of the financial world was unaware of this. Happy to educate you.

Maybe someone was pulling a fast one,  but it certainly was not me.  The new air conditioner was 1600 dollars. 

Any further questions? 

Sometimes a smartarse question deserves at smartarse answer. 

Edited August 23, 2019 by emptypockets