Goodman Air Conditioner Not Turning On – What To Do?

Winter has ended, the warm days have started, but your Goodman air conditioner will not turn on to cool your home. We did some research about this issue, and we have the best answer for you.

Power issues are the most common reason why your Goodman air conditioner will not turn on. A tripped circuit breaker could prevent your air conditioner from getting power.

Additionally, the following can also prevent your Goodman air conditioner from turning on.

  • Thermostat error
  • The air conditioner needs a reset
  • Clogged or blocked condensate drain
  • Capacitor issue

We discuss each of these possible causes in detail in the succeeding sections. Additionally, we included simple troubleshooting steps that you can try before calling a professional. Read on!

Huge air conditioning condenser units mounted outside the house, Goodman Air Conditioner Not Turning On - What To Do?

Goodman air conditioner not turning on

The sections below provide a more detailed look at the causes listed above and how you can check and resolve each.

Power issues

It is advisable to connect your Goodman air conditioner to a wall socket that is on a circuit that is not used by any other electrical appliance. The reason behind this is that air conditioners, in general, use a lot of power.

The circuit that supplies power to the air conditioner can easily get overloaded if other electrical appliances draw electricity from it too. Once this circuit gets overloaded, your circuit breaker will get tripped and stop the flow of electricity to that circuit. Hence, your Goodman air conditioner loses power and will not turn back on until the breaker on that circuit is reset.

If you often get a tripped breaker on the circuit where your Goodman air conditioner is plugged in, then the culprit is certainly an overloaded circuit. If your air conditioner is not on a dedicated circuit, you will need to move the other appliances on that same circuit to another wall socket.

This will reduce the load on that circuit and prevent the breaker from getting tripped. Avoid using that circuit except for the air conditioner to prevent the problem from happening again.

Flipped service disconnect box

Two Goodman air conditioning condensers outside the house

There is a service disconnect box outside your house, close to where the outdoor condensing unit of your Goodman air conditioner is installed. This box is used to disconnect the power to the condenser unit before any service or maintenance can be done to the compressor.

Sometimes, a service professional will forget to turn the service disconnect back on after completing maintenance or repair on the condenser. This will prevent your air conditioner from turning on.

Pull out the disconnect plug, wait for a few seconds, and plug it back in. Make sure that the connectors are inserted to make contact.

Some disconnect boxes have an "on/off " label that gets covered based on the position on the disconnect plug.

Blown fuse

A huge fuse box inside the basement being checked by technicians

The Goodman air conditioner has a fuse inside the indoor unit. If this gets blown, the control board will not receive any power. If the control board doesn’t receive any power, the rest of the air conditioner will not power on.

While it is easy to replace the fuse, it is important to find out why the fuse blew in the first place. Have a professional check your Goodman air conditioner to find any short circuits in the system and fix it before replacing the fuse.

Thermostat error

Check the thermostat and make sure that the switch is on the “on” setting. The thermostat is turned off if the display is blank.

Replace the batteries if you cannot turn the thermostat on. Call a professional to check your thermostat if it still won’t turn on after replacing the batteries.

Additionally, make sure that your thermostat is set to the “cool” setting. Your Goodman air conditioner will not turn on if the thermostat is set to “warm.”

Wrong thermostat settings are often overlooked. And it is quite easy to accidentally set the wrong thermostat setting that can prevent your Goodman air conditioner from turning on.

If you need to replace your thermostat, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat is available. Check it out on Amazon via this link.

Air conditioner needs a reset

Mans hands changing the temperature of the air conditioner

Most Goodman air conditioner models will need a reset after a power outage or a power fluctuation. Your Goodman air conditioner protects its circuits by delaying power on after a power interruption or power fluctuation.

Additionally, the reset button on a Goodman air conditioner gets tripped to protect the outdoor unit from overheating.

How to reset your Goodman air conditioner

The reset button is often located on the outside unit of your air conditioner. It is located near the tubing that goes to your outdoor unit. It is a small red button that is often coated in rubber.

Press the reset button and hold it for at least 20 seconds. Press the reset button once more and hold it longer if your Goodman air conditioner still does not power on after pressing the reset button.

Manual reset

Some Goodman air conditioner models do not have a reset button. You will need to do a manual reset for these models.

Follow the steps below to manually reset your Goodman air conditioner:

  1. Locate the power disconnect box near the outdoor unit.
  2. Open the box and pull out the disconnect plug.
  3. Go to the circuit breaker on the main electrical panel.
  4. Turn off the breaker switch that supplies power to the outdoor unit.
  5. Unplug the unit.
  6. Wait for 15 to 30 minutes.
  7. Make sure that the thermostat is set to “cool” before you plug your unit back in.
  8. Turn on the breaker switch and re-insert the disconnect plug that will turn the connection back on.

Frequent resets can be a sign of a bigger problem

It is important to note, however, that frequent resets of your Goodman air conditioner is not a good sign. It could mean that there is a bigger issue that needs to be fixed—even if the resets work all the time to resolve the problem.

If you notice that you’ve been resetting your Goodman air conditioner often, contact a professional to find the underlying issue and fix it for you before it gets worse or before it becomes harder and more expensive to fix.

Clogged or blocked condensate drain pipe

Two Goodman air conditioning with technician tools placed on top

A clogged drain pipe causes water to spill out of the air conditioner instead of draining out. Drain pipes can get clogged by dirt or deposits. These clogging materials accumulate over the years and reduce the inner diameter of the drain pipe.

A smaller inner diameter leads to limited water flow that can cause the air conditioner to leak water. Too much clogging can completely block the drain pipe.

According to Energy Saver, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) consumer resource on saving energy, clogging also prevents your air conditioner from reducing humidity that can discolor carpets and walls.

Drain pan

Water leaking from the air conditioner goes to a drain pan. An emergency switch is installed on the drain pan.

The emergency switch will get triggered once the drain pan gets filled by leaking water to a certain level. It will turn off the power supply of the air conditioner once it gets triggered.

Fixing the water leak

Emptying the drain pan of water is the first step to resolving this issue.

Water on the drain pan means there is a leak, and a leak means that the drainpipe is clogged. Clean the drain pipe with a snake to remove any dirt and deposits that are clogging the drain pipe.

Pour some drain cleaner on the drain pipe and let the air conditioner move the drain cleaner out of the clogged drain pipe.

Try Green Gobbler Drain Clog Dissolver. See it on Amazon via this link.

Capacitor issue

If your Goodman air conditioner doesn’t turn on, the last thing to check is the capacitor. The capacitor is also installed on the outdoor unit. If the capacitor goes bad, the air conditioner will not turn on.

Unless you’re confident with your electronics skills and knowledge, it is best to call a professional to test the capacitor for you and replace it if it has gone bad.

Weak airflow

An air conditioning unit inside the living room

Weak airflow is caused by dirty air filters. According to Energy Saver, dirty air filters can impact the efficiency of your air conditioner. Clean or replace dirty air filters regularly.

Your Goodman air conditioner will need to work extra hard to provide the same amount of cold air if there is limited airflow. Working extra hard also means that it will consume extra energy, and this equates to higher electricity bills for you.

Additionally, if your air conditioner keeps working extra hard, it will be easier for it to overheat.

Conclusion

Several issues can cause a Goodman air conditioner to fail to power on. Knowing how to fix some of them can save you that call to a professional to fix it for you.

If you liked this article, read the following articles about maintaining air conditioners.

Should You Turn Off Air Conditioner When Not Home?

4 Best Air Conditioner Covers For Winter

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