AC & heat pump
AC Keeps Tripping the Breaker? Stop Resetting and Read This First
One trip is an event; repeated trips are a message. Weak capacitors, seized fans, dirty coils, shorted compressors and tired breakers, in diagnosis order.
Formerly Adam & Sam Brothers RepairNorth Kirkland · Totem Lake to Finn Hill
AC and heat pump repair for north Kirkland
We cover the north end of Kirkland, Totem Lake, Juanita, Kingsgate and Finn Hill, where 1970s and 1980s houses sit near apartments and the EvergreenHealth campus. We repair air conditioners and heat pumps first, then help you choose a replacement when a fix stops paying.
- Drive time
- 21–26 minutes to Totem Lake, Juanita and Kingsgate.
- Heating mix
- An even split: about 49% gas, 49% electric.
- Utility
- Puget Sound Energy for electricity and gas.
- $85 diagnosticBecomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 offAny repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- No-charge site visitInstalls are quoted in writing, equipment and installation work in one number.
Much of north Kirkland joined the city fairly recently. Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate came in through the 2011 annexation, which added about 33,000 residents, and Totem Lake was annexed in 1974. The housing in those areas is mostly from the 1970s and 1980s: about 37% of Kirkland homes date from 1960 to 1979, 23% from the 1970s alone, and another 31% from 1980 to 1999. Gas and electric heat are split evenly at about 49% each, and both come from Puget Sound Energy. Most of those houses were built when air conditioning was rare in the Northwest, so cooling arrived later, and a lot of it is now in its second decade.
The cooling we repair in those neighborhoods is mostly air conditioners on gas furnaces and heat pumps on electric ones. Contactors with burned points, indoor coils with slow leaks and compressors that won't start are the usual problems, with capacitors failing in every heat wave. About a fifth of Kirkland's housing is in buildings of twenty or more units, many of them around Totem Lake, where compact heat pumps in tight mechanical closets or on rooftops add a different kind of work: access and building rules shape the job as much as the repair does. Our technicians carry the common electrical parts and handle refrigerant work in-house. Google and EvergreenHealth are among the larger employers nearby, and some of the newer equipment in the area is young enough to still carry a manufacturer's warranty, which we check before quoting parts.
North Kirkland AC and heat pump symptoms
Outdoor unit chatters but never starts
- Likely cause
- Contactor coil failing or contacts pitted
- What we do
- Replace the contactor, then check the thermostat wiring and the transformer feeding it
Water stains under the furnace or air handler
- Likely cause
- Coil drain pan rusted through or a plugged drain
- What we do
- Clear the drain, dry the area, then replace the pan or the coil if it has failed
Gradual loss of cooling over several summers
- Likely cause
- Slow leak in a second-decade indoor coil
- What we do
- Find the leak with gauges and a detector, then price a coil repair against replacement
Kingsgate split-level cools the main floor only
- Likely cause
- Ducts and returns sized for heating, not cooling
- What we do
- Measure airflow room by room and propose return, duct or zoning changes before any new equipment
Condo heat pump trips its breaker
- Likely cause
- Compressor, outdoor fan motor or a wiring fault
- What we do
- Test the compressor, fan motor and wiring one at a time and quote the fix in writing
Heat pump short of heat on frosty Juanita mornings
- Likely cause
- Defrost problem or a low refrigerant charge
- What we do
- Watch a defrost cycle, check pressures in heat mode, then repair the fault
Annexed neighborhoods, PSE and the I-405 drive
Much of Kingsgate and Finn Hill is 1970s and 1980s housing, including split-levels and two-story houses on sloping lots. Their ducts were sized for heating, so adding central cooling sometimes means adding a return or enlarging a trunk line. We check that before quoting, because a new outdoor unit attached to ducts that can't carry the air will be noisy, inefficient and short-lived. Juanita, around Juanita Beach Park and the bay, has more of a mix, including townhomes and condos, and Totem Lake adds the larger apartment and condo buildings near EvergreenHealth, where we coordinate roof or closet access with the building manager before a visit.
Puget Sound Energy provides both electricity and gas in Kirkland, so a dual-fuel setup, a heat pump paired with your gas furnace, involves one utility and one set of program rules. Kirkland also takes part in a regional Eastside heat pump program. When we quote an install, we check which PSE or regional programs or rebates apply to your home and tell you what they require, without promising amounts. For gas homes whose furnace is under about fifteen years old, the dual-fuel route is usually the lower-cost way into a heat pump.
We're farther from Kirkland than from most of our cities: twenty-one to twenty-six minutes to Totem Lake, Juanita and Kingsgate by I-405, and longer to downtown. That's why our Kirkland work centers on the north end. Call in the morning, Monday through Saturday, and we can usually fit in a same-day visit; there's no surcharge for the distance. Reading us the model number from the outdoor unit's label and what the thermostat display shows helps us bring the right parts the first time.
North Kirkland starting prices
For Kirkland homes, AC and heat pump repair starts at $285, with burned contactors and slow indoor coil leaks the jobs we see most. For homes ready to replace, a central air conditioner starts at $5,000, and an inverter variable-speed heat pump starts at $6,000. Treat these as entry prices across our service area, not your quote: after the diagnostic, you'll get a written estimate with the exact number, and no work starts until you agree. Install prices include equipment and installation, and the site visit and written install quote cost nothing. When ducts need a new return or a larger trunk to work with new equipment, that work appears as its own line so you can see what it adds; if the ducts are fine, the estimate says that too.
- AC / heat pump capacitorfrom $285
- Contactorfrom $285
- Heat pump defrost boardfrom $300
- Outdoor fan motorfrom $425
- Refrigerant leak repair and rechargefrom $500
- Heat pump reversing valvefrom $1,100
- Indoor (evaporator) coilfrom $1,500
- Compressor (out of warranty)from $2,200
- Diagnostic visit$85, included in the repair
Starting prices for the north Seattle area, 2026. The $85 diagnostic is included in any repair you approve, and the exact price is in the written estimate before work starts.
System, installed
- Central air conditionerfrom $5,000
- Heat pump outdoor unit onlyfrom $5,250
- Inverter (variable-speed) heat pumpfrom $6,000
- Heat pump with air handlerfrom $7,000
Install prices start here, equipment and installation included, before any utility program. Multi-zone systems are priced after a visit. We do not charge for the site visit or the written quote.
Twenty years in: what to fix and what to replace
Many north Kirkland systems were installed in the late 1990s and 2000s, before or soon after the 2011 annexation, and are now near twenty years old. Fix the electrical parts at any age; a contactor or capacitor costs little next to the equipment. A leaking indoor coil or failing compressor on a system that old usually points toward replacement, more so if it runs on R-22. When replacing, the choice in a gas-heated Kingsgate or Finn Hill house is between a new central AC and a heat pump that also shares the heating; the heat pump costs more but lowers gas use through the mild months. In electric-heated homes an inverter heat pump is usually the clear choice. And if the ducts can't carry enough air, we'll say so first, since no new equipment fixes that. Totem Lake condo owners have a narrower choice, since the building usually dictates the equipment type and where it sits, but the repair-versus-replace math is the same. Each option arrives priced in writing, and the decision stays with you.
Common questions
Do you cover downtown Kirkland and Houghton?
Our Kirkland work focuses on the north end: Totem Lake, Juanita, Kingsgate and Finn Hill, twenty-one to twenty-six minutes from our shop. Downtown and the south end run longer, especially at peak times. Call with your address and we'll let you know what we can schedule.
My split-level only cools the main floor. Will a bigger unit fix it?
Usually not. In many Kingsgate and Finn Hill split-levels, the problem is ducts and returns that were sized for heating, not the unit's capacity. A bigger unit cools the main floor faster and shuts off before upstairs catches up. We measure airflow by room and suggest duct or zoning changes before talking about equipment.
Should I get central AC or a heat pump?
If you heat with gas, both cool the same. A heat pump costs more up front but also heats your home through the mild months, with the furnace taking over on cold days. If you heat with electricity, a heat pump is usually the better investment. We price both so you can compare.
Which heat pump programs apply in Kirkland?
Puget Sound Energy supplies both electricity and gas, and Kirkland participates in a regional Eastside heat pump program. Eligibility depends on your current heating, and some offers depend on income. We check which programs or rebates apply when we prepare the quote and don't promise amounts.
Can you repair heat pumps in Totem Lake condos?
Yes, when the equipment is accessible. Condo heat pumps often sit in tight closets or on rooftops, and some buildings require a manager to approve work or replacements. We repair what's there and write up any replacement with the details the building will want.
Talk to Adam & Sam
Call (425) 570-9520 with the model number from your unit's label, or book online from Totem Lake, Juanita, Kingsgate or Finn Hill and type it into the form. An approved repair includes the $85 diagnostic, and booking online saves you up to $18 on the repair. Replacing your system? The site visit is at no charge.
From Sam’s repair notes
AC & heat pump
The Small Part That Kills Most ACs in a Heat Wave: Capacitor Failure Explained
Humming outdoor unit, a fan that needs a stick-start, breaker trips, cooling that quits late in the day: the run capacitor's tells, and the right fix.
AC & heat pump
Outdoor AC Fan Not Spinning: Capacitor, Motor or Contactor — the Stick Test Tells
A still fan on a humming condenser points to one of three parts. Why the stick-start trick is a warning, not a fix, and what each repair involves.
Schedule a repair
Request a visit from Adam & Sam
Send the basics and we call you back with an arrival window, most days the same morning.
- $85 diagnostic Becomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 off Any repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- $10 off A second appliance’s diagnostic when we check it during the same trip.