Cooling
AC Tune-Ups and Maintenance in Oakland County
An AC tune-up should be real work, not a quick glance. Our family-owned crew cleans the outdoor coil, checks the indoor one, tests the parts that fail in summer, clears the drain and tells you honestly what we found. We show up on time.
Tell us what it is doing. We will tell you straight what happens next.
- Family-owned crew of four
- On time, honest findings
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed
An AC tune-up that is worth having
Your air conditioner spends most of the year switched off, then runs for hours a day through the most humid weeks of a Michigan summer. An AC tune-up is the yearly cleaning and check that gets it ready for that. Done properly, it means panels off and instruments connected, not a walk around the unit. Maverick Heating and Cooling has been maintaining air conditioners in Oakland County for 7 years.
AC maintenance is one of our air conditioning services, and our family-owned crew of four keeps it simple. You call, we come out on time and we work through the whole list. Then we tell you plainly what is fine, what to keep an eye on and what needs fixing now. If nothing does, that is what you will hear. Any repair is priced before it is done, and the visit is 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
What to watch for
Signs your air conditioner is overdue for service
None of these means the system is broken. They mean it is working harder than it should.
Over a year since the last service
Dirt builds on the coils and electrical parts drift out of range slowly, with no obvious symptom along the way. If you cannot remember the last service, it is due.
It runs longer than it used to
Longer cycles to hold the same temperature usually mean the system is shedding heat poorly, most often because a coil is dirty or the filter has been left too long.
The outdoor coil looks gray and matted
A blanket of cottonwood, dust and grass on the outdoor fins blocks airflow. The unit runs hotter, works harder and uses more electricity to do the same job.
A musty smell at start-up
A damp, stale smell when the cooling first comes on often points to a dirty indoor coil, or to a slow drain that is holding standing water.
A new hum or a slow start
An outdoor unit that hesitates or hums as it starts may have a capacitor on its way out. That is far better found in spring than in July.
What we do
What our AC tune-up includes
This is the list we work through on a central air conditioner. Heat pumps and ductless systems get the equivalent checks.
Outdoor coil cleaning
The condenser coil is washed clean of dirt, cottonwood and grass so the unit can release heat the way it was built to.
Indoor coil inspection
We check the evaporator coil for dirt and for signs of a leak, and tell you if it needs a deeper cleaning than a tune-up covers.
Capacitor and contactor test
The two electrical parts behind many summer breakdowns are measured against their ratings, not just looked at.
Electrical connections
Connections are checked and tightened, and motor voltage and current are measured to spot a motor that is straining.
Fan and blower motors
Both motors are checked for noise, wobble and wear, and the blower wheel for the dust buildup that cuts airflow.
Condensate drain
The drain line, trap and pan are cleared and tested so water leaves the house instead of pooling under the indoor unit.
Refrigerant charge check
Pressures and temperatures are measured to confirm the charge is right. If it is low, the system has a leak, and we tell you so.
Temperature drop and airflow
We measure the air going into the system and the air coming out. The difference is a quick, reliable sign of how well it is cooling.
Thermostat and full cycle
Thermostat settings and operation are checked, then the system is run through a complete start, run and stop cycle.
When to get an AC tune-up in Michigan
Once a year, in spring. Late April and May are ideal: usually warm enough to run and test the system properly, and early enough that anything we find can be fixed before you need cooling. Late spring is also when cottonwood seed starts drifting, so if the trees near you shed heavily, the outdoor coil may want another rinse in June.
Missed spring? A tune-up in the middle of summer covers the same list and is still worth doing. If you are reading this in fall or winter, the cooling checks have to wait, since an air conditioner cannot be tested properly in cold weather. That is the season for a furnace tune-up instead. Call us in early spring for the AC.
Power off before you clean the outdoor unit
Before rinsing or clearing the outdoor unit, switch the system off at the thermostat and turn off its breaker. Never remove the electrical cover: the capacitors inside can hold a charge with the power off. If a breaker trips again after you reset it, leave it off and call.
AC maintenance you can do yourself
A few jobs between visits make a real difference, and none needs more than a garden hose. The filter matters most: a clogged one chokes the airflow, so the system runs longer and uses more electricity to do the same cooling. Always turn the power off at the thermostat and the breaker before you touch the outdoor unit.
Leave everything beyond the list below to a technician. Refrigerant is not a do-it-yourself job, and neither is anything behind the electrical cover on the outdoor unit. The indoor coil sits sealed inside the ductwork above the furnace, and without instruments you cannot test the electrical parts or the charge. Those are the checks that predict a breakdown.
- Check the filter monthly in summer and change it at least every three months
- Keep about two feet clear around the outdoor unit: trim shrubs and move stored items
- With the power off, rinse the outdoor coil gently with a hose, never a pressure washer
- Leave the registers open, even in rooms you do not use much
- Watch the drain: water around the indoor unit means the line needs clearing
Is an AC tune-up worth it?
It depends on what gets done. A quick look with a flashlight is not worth much. A proper cleaning and test is, for three reasons. A clean system uses less electricity to do the same cooling. Parts that are about to fail, capacitors above all, can be replaced on your schedule instead of on the hottest day of the year. And equipment that runs clean and cool tends to last longer.
Here is the honest part. A tune-up is maintenance, not a promise that nothing will break, and a part can still fail without warning. It is not a refrigerant top-off either, because an air conditioner does not use refrigerant up. Many manufacturers also require regular maintenance to keep their equipment warranty valid, which is worth checking in your paperwork.
What a tune-up finds, and what happens next
Often a tune-up ends with a clean system and nothing to fix. When we do find something, it is usually from a short list: a capacitor testing below its rating, a contactor with burnt contacts, a drain starting to clog, or a low charge that points to a leak. We show you the reading or the part, explain what it means and give you the price. You decide whether to go ahead. Bigger problems are covered on our AC repair page, and a low charge on our page about refrigerant leak repair.
How it works
How a tune-up visit goes
Call to set a day
Call 248-930-2080 and tell us what kind of system you have and when it was last serviced, if you know. We will set a day and time with you.
We arrive on time
We show up when we said we would and start by asking how the system behaved last summer, since odd noises and warm rooms tell us where to look.
We work the list
Panels come off, the outdoor coil is cleaned, parts are measured and the drain is cleared. We go through every item, indoors and out.
A straight report
You hear what we found in plain English: what is fine, what to watch and what needs repair, with a price before any extra work. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
Why Maverick
Family-owned, on time and honest for 7 years
Family-owned
A family business with a crew of four, in business for 7 years.
On time
You planned your day around us. When we give you a time, that is when we are at your door.
Honest work
We show you what is wrong and tell you the price before we start. If a small fix does it, we say so.
100% satisfaction guaranteed
We stand behind every job. Your satisfaction is guaranteed, 100%.
What is included in an AC tune-up?
A proper AC tune-up is cleaning plus testing. We clean the outdoor coil, inspect the indoor coil, clear the condensate drain, test the capacitor and contactor, tighten electrical connections, measure motor voltage and current, check the refrigerant charge, measure the temperature drop across the system, check the thermostat and run a full cooling cycle. Then you get a plain account of what we found.
Do I really need an AC tune-up every year?
Yearly is the standard recommendation, and it suits most systems. Dirt on the coils and wear in the electrical parts build slowly, and a yearly check catches them before they cause trouble. If the system is new, check what the manufacturer's paperwork asks for. An older system, or one surrounded by cottonwoods, pets or construction dust, should not skip a year.
Does an AC need refrigerant added every year?
No. Refrigerant is not a fuel and it does not get used up. It circulates in a sealed loop for the life of the system. If an air conditioner is low, it has a leak, and adding more without finding the leak just means paying for it again later. During a tune-up we check the charge, and if it is low we tell you so and explain your options.
How often should I change my AC filter?
Check it once a month while the system is running hard and change it when it looks gray and loaded, at least every three months. Homes with pets or renovation dust need changes more often. Thick pleated filters in a media cabinet go longer between changes than standard one-inch filters. A clogged filter cuts airflow, raises running costs and can freeze the coil.
What happens if you never service your air conditioner?
It keeps working for a while, then gradually costs more to run and cools less. Dirt insulates the coils, so the compressor runs hotter and longer. The drain clogs and overflows. Weak electrical parts fail under load, usually in the worst heat. None of that is certain in any given year, but neglected systems tend to break down more often and wear out sooner.
Do you tune up heat pumps and ductless systems too?
Yes, we tune up both across Oakland County. A heat pump gets the same cooling checks, and because it also heats the house it works through more of the year than a cooling-only unit. Ductless systems need their indoor filters washed regularly, which you can do, and a periodic deep cleaning of the indoor coil and blower wheel, which is our job. See whole-system HVAC maintenance for year-round care.
Keep reading
Related services
Other work we do alongside AC tune-up.
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Cooling
AC Repair
Warm air, ice, leaks or a unit that will not start. We find the cause and fix it properly.
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Heating + cooling
HVAC Maintenance
A heating check in fall and a cooling check in spring. One-time tune-ups, nothing to sign up for.
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Heating
Furnace Tune-Ups
A real fall tune-up: cleaned, tested and inspected, with anything we find explained before it is fixed.
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Cooling
Refrigerant Leak Repair
Low on refrigerant means a leak. We find it, fix it and recharge the system to the right level.
Where we work
AC Tune-Ups across Oakland County
We are a family-owned crew of four serving these communities and the towns around them.
- Troy
- Rochester Hills
- Royal Oak
- Southfield
- Farmington Hills
- Novi
- Waterford
- West Bloomfield
- Pontiac
- Bloomfield Hills
- Birmingham
- Auburn Hills
- Clarkston
- Lake Orion
Do not see your town? Call 248-930-2080 and ask, or see our full service area.
Too hot or too cold?
Call the family that shows up
On time. Honest about the problem and the price. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
248-930-2080Maverick Heating and Cooling · Family-owned · Oakland County, MI