4 Reasons Why Your Air Conditioner Light Keeps Blinking

4 Reasons Why Your Air Conditioner Light Keeps Blinking

Feeling like you have a disco ball in your living room with all those flashing blinking lights? 

The thing is, when your air conditioner light keeps blinking, there’s a reason for it. It’s not just to irritate you—which it’s likely doing—and certainly not for your entertainment. 

There are a number of explanations for blinking air conditioner lights. It could be a refrigerant leak, which is dangerous. Your AC could be choking and about to die because of a lack of airflow. Or maybe your coils are frozen over, which may shut your AC down eventually. And that’s just a few!

Keep reading and we’ll discuss all possible reasons and what you can do to stop the blinking.

What You’ll Need

Depending on what issue your air conditioner has, you may need some or all of the following. 

• New filter 
• Garden hose or spray bottle 
• Mild soap
• Soft brush or vacuum cleaner

What to do When Your Air Conditioner Won’t Stop Blinking…

As mentioned above, there are a variety of reasons for an air conditioner to blink, and they are universal. However, some may depend on the manufacturer. 

Since we don’t know what make and model your air conditioner is, the quickest way for you to find out what’s happening in your situation is to refer to your product manual.

If you threw it out with the packaging and never bothered to read it, don’t worry. We’ve got your back. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Finding Any Product Manual Online.

First up, will discuss the reasons mentioned above and go from there.

… Check for Refrigerant Issues and Call a Pro

If you have a refrigerant leak, there’s a good reason for your air conditioner to blink at you, because this creates a potentially dangerous situation for you and your family.

If you can hear a hissing noise coming from your air conditioner even when it’s on running, or if you can smell something like exhaust, start airing out your house and call a professional.

Step 1

Do not attempt to deal with any sort of refrigerant issue. You can call an HVAC professional or anyone who is certified to handle refrigerant. 

… Check The State of Your Filters

If you aren’t changing your filters in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule, there’s a good chance the air conditioner will blink to notify you.

Dirty air filters are the source of numerous HVAC problems. The longer you go between changing filters, the heavier the layer of dust, debris, pet hair, and dirt builds up — to the point where air can no longer pass through it.

Your air conditioner cannot work without airflow. Eventually, your fan motor will burn out as it tries harder and harder to do something it cannot do.

Step 1

You may have a window or portable air conditioner, so the method of changing the filter will be unique to what you have. 

Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines to open the unit.

Step 2

Find the filter. If it’s dirty, remove it.

Step 3

Replace the filter in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

Step 4

Note that if you have a portable air conditioner, some of them have washable, reusable air filters. If you have a washable filter, follow the steps below.

Step 5

Use a vacuum cleaner to carefully remove as much dust and dirt from the filter as you can.

Step 6

Take the filter outside or place it in a laundry tub.

Step 7

In a spray bottle combine warm water and a bit of mild detergent, such as dish soap. Spray the surface of the filter and allow it to sit for a while. The dirtier the filter, the longer you may want to let it sit.

Step 8

Use the tap in your sink or a garden hose on a low-pressure setting to rinse off the filter.

Step 9

Allow the filter to completely air dry before moving on to the next step. This is important as any moisture will create an environment for mold growth.

Step 10

Reinstall your filter and reassemble your air conditioner, if necessary.

… Check For Frozen Coils

If your evaporator coil freezes over, your air conditioner light will likely blink to notify you.

The evaporator coil is a very important job, it’s what pulls the heat and humidity from your home. It works in conjunction with the other coil in your air conditioner, which is the condenser coil. Together they complete the heat exchange process that turns your warm air to cool air.

Over time, if you’re not keeping up with maintenance, dirt, and dust can build up on the evaporator coils, and they can eventually freeze over. At the very least, that can lead to blinking lights, or your air conditioner just shutting down and not turning on again.

Fortunately, cleaning the coils is a fairly simple job, but you will have to dismantle your air conditioner. If it’s a window unit, you need to lift it out.

Step 1

Unplug your air conditioner.

Step 2

Following your manufacturer’s guidelines disassemble the air conditioner and locate the coil.

Step 3

Use a soft brush or vacuum to remove any dirt.

Step 4

If there’s a heavy buildup of grime, use a foaming coil cleaner, and then rinse it off. If you take your air conditioner outside, you can use a garden hose just be sure to use it on a low-pressure setting.

Step 5

Reassemble your air conditioner and plug it back in.

… Check For a Power Interruption

Your air conditioner may be blinking at you to alert you to a lack of power. This could be because of a blown fuse or tripped breaker, both of which can happen if you have your air conditioner plugged into an outlet that doesn’t have enough amperage to support your air conditioner.

Power fluctuations due to storms could interrupt the power and cause blinking lights as well. 

Step 1 

Check your home’s electrical panel and replace any blown fuses or reset any tripped breakers.

Step 2

If resetting the breaker is a common problem, stop resetting it. The breaker is tripping because the circuit is overloaded, and this is a fire hazard. You may need to move your air conditioner to a dedicated circuit. 

Manufacturer Specific Blinking

The following are very general but they are manufacturer specific. 

Samsung

If you have a Samsung air conditioner and the indicator light is blinking continuously, either press the power button or unplug the unit. If the light is still blinking after restoring power, contact a repair technician.

LG

On some LG models, if the top light blinks twice while the bottom light blinks once, it means you have a compressor malfunction.

Conclusion

Whether you have a portable air conditioner or window unit, flashing lights are perfectly normal. They are typically notifications or indicators of something that needs to be addressed.

If you don’t have your manual, which will tell you in detail what the flashing lights mean, the first thing to do is look for a manual online.

If you have an older air conditioner, and you can’t find a copy of the manual on the Internet, then there are a few things that you should check. Any of these could cause your air conditioner to start blinking.

Check the following:

• If you suspect refrigerant issues you need to call a service technician.
• If your filters are dirty and clogged up, they need to be cleaned or replaced.
• Check to see if your coils are frozen, and if so, clean them off once they’ve thawed out.
• Determine whether or not your air conditioner has suffered a power interruption, either because of a storm, a tripped breaker, or a blown fuse. 

Hopefully, the information above has helped you source the cause of your blinking air conditioner.

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