Two seasons of work, two ways to fail
From the yard a heat pump looks like any air conditioner, and all summer it behaves like one. The difference shows on the first chilly morning, when a valve inside the outdoor cabinet flips the refrigerant flow and the same machine starts carrying heat into the house instead of out of it. One piece of equipment covers the whole year, so a failure can surface as no cooling in August or no warmth in January, depending on which part gave up.
Some faults only show in one mode. A system that cools fine but breathes lukewarm air on a cold morning may have a reversing valve stuck in cooling, a defrost problem, or heat strips doing every bit of the work. A system that heats and refuses to cool can have the same valve stuck the opposite way. The thermostat setting, whether the indoor fan runs, and the sound coming from the outdoor unit each tell part of the story.
Jotting down what happened, and when, shortens the diagnosis.
The power bill is a symptom too
Heat strips are backup electric coils inside the air handler, meant for the coldest hours and for defrost. When the outdoor unit stops pulling its share, the strips quietly take over, the house stays warm, and the bill after a January cold snap jumps far past normal. That jump is often the first sign anything is wrong.
- Reversing valve and its solenoid tested in both modes
- Defrost board, sensor and timing checked
- Heat strip amperage measured at the air handler
- Outdoor fan motor and capacitor tested under load
- Contactor and wiring inspected for storm damage
Background on the equipment is on the heat pump repair page, and photos from past calls fill the gallery.
How a repair call actually unfolds
Hear it, then measure it
The visit starts with what you noticed: warm air, cold air, ice on the outdoor coil, a tripped breaker, a bill that spiked. Then the system runs in both modes while temperatures, pressures and electrical draw get recorded, so the diagnosis rests on readings instead of a hunch.
A heat pump that frosts over and never clears is a defrost problem until the readings prove otherwise.
Name the part and its price
Once the fault turns up, you hear what failed, why it failed, and what the fix costs before any work starts. Common parts like capacitors and contactors may already be riding on the truck. Anything bigger gets explained, with the choice left to you.
Run it both ways again
After the repair the system goes through cooling and heating and the readings are taken a second time. A valve that shifts cleanly, a defrost cycle that clears the coil and strips that stay off when they should are how you know it is finished.
Neighboring jobs on the same route
- Ductless mini-split installation
A workshop or addition on its own zone.
- Refrigerant leak repair
Low charge found at the source.
- Emergency AC repair
After-hours calls when the house heats up.
- AC replacement
When a new system is the smarter money.
Read about the town itself on the Basinger page, or check the wider coverage under service areas.
Send Brian the JobWhat a summer storm leaves behind
The outdoor fan motor and its capacitor take the worst of the weather. A nearby lightning strike or a string of power blinks during an afternoon storm can weaken a capacitor that then fails weeks later, usually on the hottest day of the month. A fan that hums without turning, one that only starts after a nudge with a stick, or a unit running with its fan stopped all point the same direction. Letting a heat pump run like that cooks the compressor, which is the costly part.
Contactors pit and burn, wiring chafes where it enters the cabinet, and control boards can be fried by a surge. Most of those parts are cheap next to the equipment they protect, which is why catching them early pays.
If storm season keeps claiming the same parts, a surge protector at the outdoor disconnect deserves a conversation. It costs little next to a compressor or a control board. Brian brings it up after the repair is finished, quotes it like anything else, and it never lands on an invoice without your yes.
Defrost, in plain terms
In heating mode the outdoor coil runs colder than the air and collects frost on damp mornings. Every so often the system switches briefly to cooling to melt it off, so the outdoor unit may steam and its fan may pause for a few minutes. That is normal. A coil that builds a solid block of ice and never clears points to a failed defrost board, a bad sensor or a low charge.
Safe checks while you wait
Look at the thermostat mode and its batteries, the breaker in the panel, the disconnect outside and the filter. Leave ice on the outdoor coil alone, because the fins bend easily. If a breaker trips again after a single reset, keep it off and call.
When the heat pump is getting on in years
Age alone is no reason to replace a heat pump. A fifteen-year-old system with a healthy compressor and a clean coil can take a new capacitor and keep running for years. The math shifts when the compressor is failing, the coil is leaking, or the unit runs on R-22, a refrigerant no longer produced, which makes every recharge harder to justify.
Repeat calls tell their own story. A system that needed three repairs over two summers is costing money just to stand still. Brian lays out both paths, the repair with its price and the replacement options with their operating costs side by side, and he has steered plenty of customers to the cheaper fix when it made more sense for them.
The Rheem and Trane factory relationships matter on the hard calls, with technical support a phone call away when a newer unit throws an unfamiliar code.
No middleman on the diagnosis
The person reading the gauges also owns the company, carries twenty years of experience, and picks up the phone at any hour. Nobody earns more for a bigger quote.
To speed the visit along, list the symptoms for Brian beforehand, plus the age of the unit if you know it.
What heat pump owners want to know
Did not see your question? Dial 561-339-5729, morning, midnight or weekend, and talk it through with the owner-run crew.
Why does my heat pump blow cool air in heat mode?
Air from a heat pump feels cooler than furnace air even when everything works, often close to body temperature. If it feels genuinely cold, the reversing valve may be stuck, the outdoor unit may have stopped, or the system may be in a defrost cycle. A measurement settles which one.
Why did my electric bill jump during a cold snap?
The heat strips are probably carrying the load. They keep the house warm but draw far more power than the heat pump itself. A short spike on the coldest nights is normal. A bill that stays high after the weather warms up suggests the outdoor unit is not doing its share.
Is ice on the outdoor unit normal?
A light frost on a cold, damp morning is normal, and the defrost cycle should clear it on its own. A thick block of ice that never melts is not. Switch the thermostat to emergency heat or turn the system off, and call rather than chipping at the coil.
My outdoor fan hums but does not spin. What failed?
Most often the run capacitor, sometimes the fan motor itself. Shut the system off at the thermostat so the compressor does not overheat. A capacitor is an inexpensive part, and catching it early protects the compressor, which is the most expensive component in the whole unit.
Do you repair heat pumps of any brand?
Yes. Carrier, Goodman, Lennox, Daikin, York, Ruud and Amana systems are everyday work, with parts available regionally. Rheem and Trane are the factory relationships, yet a working unit from another maker gets repaired with no sales pitch to switch brands.
Should I repair a heat pump that is fifteen years old?
That depends on what failed. A capacitor, contactor or defrost board on an otherwise healthy unit is usually worth fixing. A failing compressor or a leaking coil on an older R-22 system often is not. You see both prices side by side and make the call yourself.
Warm mornings, cool afternoons
Tell Brian what the system is doing and in which mode it misbehaves. The diagnosis, the part and the straight price all arrive before any repair starts.
561-339-5729