Aircon Repair and Servicing in Cape Town and Gqeberha

Signs your aircon needs attention

Aircons rarely fail without warning. Most give signs weeks or months before they stop completely. Catching them early usually means a cheaper repair. Call us if you notice:

• Weak or warm airflow. The unit runs but the room does not get cold, or takes much longer than it used to.
• Water dripping from the indoor unit. Usually a blocked drain line or tray, sometimes a frozen coil.
• Ice on the pipes or indoor coil. Often low refrigerant or poor airflow.
• Error codes or flashing lights. The unit's own diagnosis of a sensor, board, communication or protection fault.
• New noises. Rattling, buzzing, clicking or grinding from the indoor or outdoor unit.
• Bad smells. Musty smells point to mould and bacteria on the coil and filter. Burning smells need immediate attention: switch the unit off.
• Higher electricity bills. A unit working harder than it should uses more power.
• Tripping the power. Electrical faults in the compressor, fan motor or wiring.

The repairs we do most

Gas leaks and regassing

Aircons do not use up their refrigerant. If the gas is low, it has leaked somewhere. Simply topping it up without finding the leak just means it will leak out again. We find the leak, repair it, pressure test the system, pull a vacuum and recharge it with the correct refrigerant for your unit.

Capacitors and starting faults

The compressor and fan motors use capacitors to start and run. These are among the most common parts to fail, especially in heat and after power surges. A unit that hums but does not start, or whose outdoor fan does not spin, often has a failed capacitor. It is a quick and affordable repair.

Blocked drains and leaks indoors

Dust, algae and slime build up in the drain tray and line over time, especially in humid coastal homes. When it blocks, water backs up and drips from the indoor unit. We clear and flush the drain and check the fall of the line.

Fan motors and noise

Indoor blower and outdoor fan motors wear out, and fan blades can crack or become unbalanced. Debris in the outdoor unit can also cause rattling. We replace motors and blades and clean out debris.

Sensors and control boards

Temperature sensors tell the unit when to cool and when to stop. Control boards run everything. Both can fail, often after power surges or moisture damage. We diagnose with the error code and testing, then repair or replace the faulty component.

Corrosion damage

On the coast, salt corrodes outdoor coils, pipe joints and electrical connections. Early corrosion can often be cleaned and treated. Advanced corrosion with leaking coils may mean a major repair or replacement, and we will tell you honestly which makes sense.

What a service includes

A professional service is not just a filter clean. Ours includes:

• Cleaning the indoor filters and checking their condition
• Cleaning the indoor coil and blower to remove dust, mould and bacteria
• Clearing and flushing the drain tray and line
• Cleaning the outdoor coil and removing debris
• Checking refrigerant pressures and temperatures
• Checking electrical connections, capacitors and fan motors
• Checking the brackets and mounting for corrosion or movement
• Testing the unit in cooling and heating and reporting anything that needs attention

How often should you service?

• Normal home use inland or away from the beach: once a year, ideally before summer.
• Beachfront homes and units exposed to salt: every six months.
• Offices, shops and units that run all day: every six months, with monthly filter cleaning.
• Holiday homes: once a year before the busy season, plus a monthly run while the house is empty.

Repair or replace?

We will always tell you honestly. As a rule of thumb, if the unit is under about ten years old and the fault is a capacitor, fan, sensor, drain or a repairable leak, repairing is worth it. If an older fixed-speed unit has a failed compressor or badly corroded coils, replacing it with a modern inverter unit often makes more sense, because the new unit will also be cheaper to run.

Areas we cover

We work on aircons in two regions. In the Western Cape we cover Cape Town and its suburbs, from Sea Point, Rondebosch and Constantia to Durbanville, Bellville, Blouberg and the South Peninsula, plus the Helderberg, the Cape Winelands, the Breede Valley, the West Coast and the Overberg. In the Eastern Cape we cover Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), Kariega and Despatch, Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, St Francis Bay and Kenton-on-Sea.

In Cape Town, coastal units suffer from salt and sand driven by the south-easter, and many households rely on their aircon for heating through wet winters. In the Eastern Cape, salt off Algoa Bay, dust inland and long idle periods in holiday homes cause most of the faults we see.