Thermostats dead

[Anonymous]

Thermostats (main level and basement) are blank! Do I call the hvac company or electrician?

I checked the breaker, and it is fine. Is this something simple that I might be able to fix?

Thank you for any advice!

[Anonymous]

We used HVAC. If you’re handy you might be able to do it. We’re very handy and can change out a thermostat but we got hung up when we tried to put in a programmable one.

[Anonymous]

If both units are out, it’s probably not the thermostat. I think either can handle though

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I agree that since both thermostats are dead, it’s probably not the thermostat itself, but rather the low voltage power for the thermostat.

Any guesses as to which (HVAC or electrician) would be cheaper?

Tempted to get a battery operated thermostat to see if I can get the A/C working in the short term, while I research whether it’s something I can figure out myself (maybe penny-wise, pound foolish).

Thanks for your replies!

[Anonymous]

Are you sure the breaker isn't tripped? Are these two independent systems or are both thermostats connected to the same system?

Seems unlikely that two thermostats to die at the same time without a common cause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure the breaker isn't tripped? Are these two independent systems or are both thermostats connected to the same system?

Seems unlikely that two thermostats to die at the same time without a common cause.

Yes, 99% sure that the breaker isn’t tripped (I found the box, with the breaker labeled a/c, and turned it off and back on). I suppose I can go through and turn all of them off and on to make sure…

[Anonymous]

Did you replace the battery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you replace the battery?

I opened up the thermostat. I think it’s hardwired and not battery operated.

[Anonymous]

I went through a lot of effort with updating my thermostats last summer. And learned way more about thermostats that I ever wanted.

Are your thermostats smart? ie are they registered online with an account. If so you can call the thermostat maker customer support. I did that with Sensi, our brand, and they had a very technical person try to resolve the problem with me. I even sent her photos of wiring and and wiring in the hvac.

One thing she had me to do, as a quick way to check if your HVAC is fine, is to touch two of the color wires together manually. It jumps the system and it should turn on. If it doesn't, then something is wrong with your system or wiring. I forgot the colors, but if you google it you will find out.

Before I did that I called an HVAC technician, it was not at all helpful. I don't know if they just didn't send the right person. My problem all started with one of my two old-fashioned non-smart thermostats began to fail. It would show the wrong temperature all the time. He told me it was going to be very expensive for him to replace with a smart thermostat and that I could get a free one from Pepco (I'm in Maryland).

I called Pepco and the wait was something like 2 weeks to get a technician out there. We were sweating meanwhile so we decided to replace ourselves with a Google Nest. It would not work, it would not stay powered on. There was no C wire as it turned out, to that particular thermostat. Story goes on and on. I won't bore you with it. Eventually we rewired the system and got it all working again.

My two cents, a smart electrician will be better for this. In my experience master electricians are problem solvers. HVAC people are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went through a lot of effort with updating my thermostats last summer. And learned way more about thermostats that I ever wanted.

Are your thermostats smart? ie are they registered online with an account. If so you can call the thermostat maker customer support. I did that with Sensi, our brand, and they had a very technical person try to resolve the problem with me. I even sent her photos of wiring and and wiring in the hvac.

One thing she had me to do, as a quick way to check if your HVAC is fine, is to touch two of the color wires together manually. It jumps the system and it should turn on. If it doesn't, then something is wrong with your system or wiring. I forgot the colors, but if you google it you will find out.

Before I did that I called an HVAC technician, it was not at all helpful. I don't know if they just didn't send the right person. My problem all started with one of my two old-fashioned non-smart thermostats began to fail. It would show the wrong temperature all the time. He told me it was going to be very expensive for him to replace with a smart thermostat and that I could get a free one from Pepco (I'm in Maryland).

I called Pepco and the wait was something like 2 weeks to get a technician out there. We were sweating meanwhile so we decided to replace ourselves with a Google Nest. It would not work, it would not stay powered on. There was no C wire as it turned out, to that particular thermostat. Story goes on and on. I won't bore you with it. Eventually we rewired the system and got it all working again.

My two cents, a smart electrician will be better for this. In my experience master electricians are problem solvers. HVAC people are not.

That’s super helpful. I am going to test with a voltmeter (and testing with connecting wires, as you describe). Just to clarify—you ended up rewiring your house??? Sounds like $$$

Thanks for taking the time to explain all of that.

[Anonymous]

is it the same unit? Try replacing filters. They sometimes shut down if the filters are dirty. (in addition to what other people are suggesting)

[Anonymous]

have you turned off the breaker switch waited 10 minutes and turned it back on? It resets the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is it the same unit? Try replacing filters. They sometimes shut down if the filters are dirty. (in addition to what other people are suggesting)

Different units but that’s definitely worth a shot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:have you turned off the breaker switch waited 10 minutes and turned it back on? It resets the system.

I didn’t know I had to wait. Will try that this evening when I get home from work)

[Anonymous]

Two more things to check
1 does outside unit have circuit breaker outside to
check
2 is there any water or floor flood protection cutoff device that could have been jostled or tipped thus cutting off system see if there are any and reset then