If your air conditioner doesn’t respond to the remote it doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem with the air conditioning unit – it may be a problem with one of:
- the remote batteries
- the remote itself
- the infra red receiver board (infrared sensor card) on the indoor unit; or
- the air conditioner unit itself
Check to see if the air conditioner remote control is functional
The first step is to see if the display on the remote is legible – it is blank or very faint – then it is probably just the batteries of the ac remote control you need to change. Installing fresh batteries might be all you need to do to fix the problem/
Check to see if the LCD display changes when you press the buttons on the remote control – if they do not, and you have charged batteries, it is likely the problem is with the remote and it should be repaired or replaced.
One problem we do see from time to time is sticky buttons – with one being depressed. When one of the buttons is depressed any new remote control commands cannot be received by the air conditioner
Check the remote to see if it is transmitting
If you have established your remote is apprently functional then you can next see if it is transmitting. The remote control sends infrared signals, which are received by the infrared sensor card on the front of the air conditoner, which then tells the air conditioning unit what to do. If the remote control is not transmitting, the air conditioner will not respond.
One easy test you can carry out to see if your air conditioner remote is transmitting is to press a button on the remote and have a digital camer on and pointed at the remote. You should see a red light if the remote control is working. If you see a red light but the remote control still is causing the air conditioner to do anything – move on to the next step
Reset the remote control
Some remotes have a reset button on the back or side, failing that you can also pull the batteries for a few minutes.
Check with another remote control
If you happen to have the same brand split air conditioner in the house you can grab the working remote from that system and try it on the malfunctioning system.
Check the Air Conditioning unit for normal operation
Many air conditioners have a test button on the side of the indoor unit – if after trying to run the air conditioner with the handheld remote control you cannot get it to run – try the test button. If the air conditioner doesn’t respond to the test button – then it may not be remote control damage that is your issue – rather a problem with the air conditioner itself.
If this still doesn’t work one last thing you can do is a hard reset of the air conditioner. You can do this by turning the unit off at isolator at the outdoor unit for at least 20 minutes.
Still No Luck?
If after all that your air conditioner still doesn’t run from your remote control then it is likely you have a problem that will require diagnosis and repair by a qualified technician.
At Sun City Air Conditioning we carry out over 5,000 jobs per year. Our combined experience, together with our trained and knowledgeable tradesmen mean we are perfectly placed to diagnose and repair your air conditioner.
