AC not blowing cold air
AC not blowing cold air in Winter Springs, Florida
Four causes cover most of it: a failed run capacitor, a failed contactor at the condenser, a low refrigerant charge from a leak, or an evaporator coil iced over because airflow dropped. Check the filter and the breakers yourself. If the outdoor fan spins but the air inside is not cold, switch it off — a compressor pulling against a restriction is how a repair becomes a replacement.
Diagnosis
What is most likely wrong
| # | Cause | How common | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Failed run capacitor | Very common | Indoor blower runs and blows warm; the condenser hums, or its fan does not spin. |
| 2 | Blocked filter, iced evaporator coil | Very common | Weak airflow at the vents, ice on the copper at the air handler, water afterwards. |
| 3 | Failed contactor | Common | Indoor blower runs, outdoor unit never starts, sometimes a buzz at the contactor. |
| 4 | Low refrigerant charge from a leak | Common | Cooling faded over weeks, then stopped. Oil residue or frost near a fitting. |
| 5 | Dirty condenser coil | Common | Runs all afternoon, air is cool not cold, condenser very hot to the hand. |
| 6 | Thermostat or control fault | Less common | System runs on ‘fan’ but never calls for cooling, or calls and nothing answers. |
| 7 | Failed compressor | Less common | Condenser fan runs, compressor does not, or trips its overload after seconds. |
Before you call
What you can safely check yourself
- Thermostat set to cool, fan on auto, set point below room temperature. Batteries if it takes them.
- Both breakers — one for the air handler, one for the condenser. Reset a tripped breaker once. If it trips again, stop.
- The filter. Grey and matted means replace it and leave the system off for a few hours if there is any ice on the line.
- The outdoor unit: is the fan spinning? Is the coil packed with grass clippings, mulch or pool-cage debris? Rinse from the inside out with the power off at the disconnect.
- If the outdoor fan runs but the air inside is not cold, switch the system off at the thermostat and call. Running it is the expensive option.
Where the licensed line is
Refrigerant, capacitors and the inside of an electrical panel are not homeowner jobs. A run capacitor holds a lethal charge after the disconnect is pulled. Refrigerant handling requires EPA Section 608 certification. And in Florida the work itself is regulated: an air-conditioning contractor licensed under Chapter 489 may replace, disconnect and reconnect the power wiring at the dedicated disconnect, and repair or replace breakers and fuses on dedicated HVAC circuits — s. 489.105(3). Verify any Florida contractor's licence at the DBPR licensee search before work begins.
In Winter Springs
Why this happens in this housing stock
The first two causes are airflow and heat, and Winter Springs supplies both. 51.2% of the city’s 13,297 improved residential parcels were built 1970–89 with a single central return and R-4.2 attic flex; that stock is already near its airflow limit before a filter starts restricting it, so a dirty filter ices a coil here that it would merely annoy elsewhere. And 31.3% of the city’s homes carry a pool, which usually means a condenser on a hot side yard beside the pump pad and inside or against a screen cage — the environment that cooks a run capacitor.
The age of the house does not tell you the age of the equipment. A 1977 Winter Springs Unit 4 house is on its third or fourth condenser; the nameplate, not the plat, says which. Build year plus nameplate.
Source: Seminole County Property Appraiser CAMA extract, files dated 5 September 2026. Improved residential parcels (single-family, townhome and condominium; DOR codes 01xx and 04xx) in tax districts W1 and W2.
Cost
What the fix typically costs
| Job | Researched range | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic visit | $70–$200 | Usually credited to the repair. After hours costs more. |
| Capacitor replacement | $150–$400 | Most common single part failure on a Florida condenser. |
| Contactor or relay | $100–$450 | A wear item. |
| Drain line clearing | $80–$250 | The routine local call. |
| Refrigerant leak repair | $200–$1,500+ | Finding the leak is most of the cost. |
| Compressor replacement | $1,000–$3,000+ | The point where replacement gets costed properly. |
Researched ranges from HomeGuide, HVAC Calculator Hub and This Old House (national, updated 16 March 2026), checked September 2026. Not our prices.
Read this before you use any number on this page
These are researched market ranges, not our prices and not a quote. The dollar figures come from published third-party cost guides — named and linked at the foot of the page — plus one figure that is not a range at all: the City of Winter Springs’ own published mechanical permit fee. They are here so you can tell whether a quote you have been handed is in the ordinary range for this work. No two houses in Winter Springs cost the same to do, and we do not quote a job before we have seen it.
Problems
Not getting anywhere?
Tell us the symptom, the build year of the house and roughly how old the equipment is. That usually narrows it to two candidates before anyone drives out.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from
Every figure above is either a primary-source document or a named third-party cost guide, and all of it was checked in September 2026. Fee schedules, rebate amounts and market prices change without notice — if you are about to spend money on one of these numbers, open the source and check it.