The Four Failures We See Most in Newton
First, run capacitors. Newton's older condensers sit in full afternoon sun on the south and west sides of the house, and heat kills capacitors faster than age does — this is the single most common no-cool call we take, and it is usually a same-hour fix. Second, condensate backups. Attic air handlers in West Newton and Auburndale drain into long, shallow-pitch lines that clog with biofilm; the float switch does its job and shuts the system down, and homeowners assume the AC died. Third, frozen evaporator coils from restricted airflow — a filter that has not been changed since spring, or return ducts undersized for a finished third floor. Fourth, contactors pitted from years of arcing, which produce that maddening intermittent failure where the unit runs fine while we are standing there and quits an hour after we leave. We test all four on every Newton emergency visit rather than only chasing the symptom you described on the phone.