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Aircon Not Turning On: Run This Checklist First
An aircon not turning on at all is the problem people most often call a technician for — and the one where a five-minute self-check most often saves the callout entirely. Total silence (no response, no light, no beep) has a short list of causes, and the first three are things you can check safely from floor level. Work through this in order; if you reach the end and it's still dead, you'll at least have handed the technician a half-finished diagnosis.
Minute one: the remote, seriously
It's the resolution to a humbling share of 'dead aircon' calls. Fresh batteries first — weak ones can light the display yet fail to transmit. Then check the remote hasn't wandered onto a timer setting or an unfamiliar mode. The definitive test: most units have a physical AUTO/ON button under the front flap; if that starts the unit, your aircon is fine and your remote is the patient. No response to the unit's own button moves you down the list.
Minutes two to three: power supply
Check your distribution board for a tripped breaker — aircon circuits have their own, and a tripped one kills the unit completely while the rest of the flat hums along. Reset it once. If it holds and the aircon wakes, note whether this recurs: one mystery trip is forgivable, repeated trips are a fault (and their own problem page). Also check the wall isolator switch near the unit, if fitted — cleaners and curious toddlers turn these off more often than you'd think.
What it means if the checklist comes up empty
A unit with confirmed power that still won't respond usually has an internal electrical fault: a failed PCB (the unit's control board), a blown internal fuse, a dead transformer, or — on multi-splits — occasionally a condenser-side fault that stops everything. These aren't guessable from outside and aren't DIY territory; they're precisely what the $50 diagnosis visit is for. You get the actual fault identified, a fixed repair quote, and the $50 folds into the repair price if you proceed.
The repair-or-replace conversation, had honestly
Dead-unit faults span the full cost spectrum — some are genuinely small component swaps, while a failed board on an ageing system can approach silly money against replacement. Because we quote repairs fixed and also do installations (quoted per site), we can lay out both paths without a thumb on the scale: what the repair costs, what a replacement roughly involves, and which we'd choose in your position. The $50 diagnosis buys that clarity even when the answer is 'don't repair this'.
One thing not to do
Don't repeatedly toggle the breaker hoping the unit 'catches'. If it tripped for a reason — a shorting component, moisture in a connection — each forced restart re-stresses the fault, and electrical faults are the category where persistence makes things worse and occasionally dangerous. One reset is a test; five resets is a gamble. Leave it off and book: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm across Punggol, and the WhatsApp assistant will find the earliest slot the moment you message.
Frequently asked questions
My aircon is completely dead — no light, no beep. Is that expensive?
Not necessarily: a good fraction of total-silence cases end at the remote, the breaker or the isolator, which cost nothing. Of the genuine faults, some are modest component replacements. The $50 diagnosis (waived if you proceed with the repair) tells you which case you're in before you commit to anything.
The unit beeps when I press the remote but nothing starts. Same problem?
That's actually a better sign — the unit hears you, so power and receiver work, and the fault sits further in: often a fan or compressor start issue rather than a dead board. Mention the beep when booking; it usefully narrows what the technician tests first.
Only one room's unit is dead; the rest of the flat works. What does that tell you?
On your System 3/4, it clears the shared condenser and power supply — suspicion falls on that fan coil unit itself or its connection. That's typically a smaller diagnosis than a whole-system failure, and worth stating up front on WhatsApp.
Can you tell me the likely fault over WhatsApp before I book?
We can narrow it — tell the assistant what you've checked from this page and what the unit does or doesn't do, and you'll get an honest read on likely directions. But quoting a repair without diagnosis is how this industry invents numbers; the $50 visit is where real answers come from.
Checklist done and still dead? Book the $50 diagnosis at /book or WhatsApp us what you've tried — the fee is waived the moment you approve the repair.