If floodwater or storm damage reached it
Water and electricity don't mix. If floodwater touched the outdoor unit, or a storm damaged it or its cable, keep it switched off at the switchboard, as long as you can reach the board safely and it's dry. Have a licensed technician or electrician test it before it runs. Leave the covers on.
Townsville's repair seasons
Power cuts
On 25 January 2024, after Cyclone Kirrily crossed the coast north-west of Townsville, nearly 34,000 homes and buildings were without power. The QRA's table, based on Bureau of Meteorology categories, lists likely power failure from Category 3.
Floods
The 2019 monsoon flood damaged about 3,300 homes. Get Ready Queensland recommends raising air conditioner units and switchboards above the flood level in flood-prone homes, which is worth planning if yours has to be replaced.
Heat
Townsville Airport's mean maximum for January, the average of each January's hottest reading, is 35.4 degrees, and the record is 44.3. ActronAir says units lose cooling capacity above 35 degrees, so the hottest days show up a tired or undersized unit.
The wet
Six months of wet season, November to April, means humid air, drips and blocked drains. Mitsubishi Electric says to stop using a unit that leaks from the indoor unit and consult your dealer.
When it stops after an outage
Look at the switchboard
See whether the air conditioner's circuit breaker has tripped, and reset it a single time. A breaker that keeps tripping is one of the signs Mitsubishi Electric lists for switching the unit off and calling for help.
Give it time
Mitsubishi Electric's units can't be run for about 3 minutes after a restart, as a built-in protection.
Check the controller
Fresh batteries in the remote, the right mode, and no timer or sleep setting switched on.
Look, don't touch
From the ground, check the outdoor unit for debris, damage or water. Don't open anything.
Warranty first, then insurance
If the unit's under warranty, call the brand or your installer before anyone else. Daikin's card says its repairs are done in normal business hours by Daikin or a repairer it arranges, and Toshiba's certificate says repairs by non-authorised agents during the warranty period void its express warranty.
For storm or flood damage, talk to your insurer too, and keep photos and the technician's written report. Whatever the warranty says, the Australian Consumer Law still requires repair services to be done with due care and skill. Our main repairs page has more on error codes and warranty claims.
Who's licensed to repair it
In Queensland, repairing air conditioning is mechanical services work that needs a QBCC licence at any value. Repairs that touch the refrigerant need a full RAC01 licence, and the ARC says topping up before the leaks are found and fixed is illegal.
Where we have them near Townsville, licence-checked technicians who fix your kind of system see repair jobs, and the one who takes yours is the only one who gets your details. If none near Townsville takes it within 48 hours, technicians elsewhere in Queensland may see it too. The Townsville page has more on the city's weather.
Questions before you say yes
- Was this caused by the storm or outage, or was something already failing?
- Is the part in stock, or will I wait for it?
- Can you do warranty work for this brand?
- Is this unit worth repairing, given its age?
Your part, and theirs
You can
- Check the breaker, the remote and the filters.
- Photograph storm or flood damage for your insurer.
- Keep the unit off if water reached it, and find the warranty card.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Testing electrics after an outage, flood or storm.
- Opening casings and replacing parts.
- Refrigerant leak repairs and recharging.
What we'd do
What we'd do after a storm
Check the breaker once, give the unit a few minutes, and if it still won't run, leave it off and call. If water reached it, we wouldn't switch it on at all until it's been tested. For an old unit with storm or flood damage, we'd get a replacement quote alongside the repair, and if it's replaced, we'd raise the new outdoor unit above the flood level.
