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 RepairShoreline · Seattle City Light territory
Shoreline AC and heat pump repair, and furnace-to-heat-pump conversions
More than half of Shoreline's houses heat with electricity, often baseboards or an aging electric furnace, and most were built after the war with no thought of air conditioning. We repair the cooling that is here and help the rest make the switch.
- Drive time
- Eight to eleven minutes from our shop via I-5 or Aurora.
- 1950s homes
- About 23% of houses were built in that one decade.
- Electric utility
- Seattle City Light serves all of Shoreline.
- $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.
Shoreline grew faster than any other part of the Seattle area in the early 1950s, adding 64% between 1950 and 1957, and those years still define its streets. About 35% of homes were built before 1960 and another 31% between 1960 and 1979. Ridgecrest, Briarcrest, Parkwood and Richmond Highlands are full of houses from that era, heated by gas or electric furnaces or baseboards and cooled, if at all, by a window unit. Where central cooling does exist, it is usually a heat pump or condenser added within the last twenty years. In houses like these the attic and ducts were never planned for cool air, which affects how we size and place new equipment.
Our repair calls here split between those added systems and the newer homes and townhouses going up near the Shoreline South/148th and Shoreline North/185th light rail stations. Those newer buildings are more likely to have heat pumps from the start, since Washington's 2021 energy code, in force since March 2024, steers new construction that way. Townhomes there often have compact outdoor units in narrow side yards, which shapes how we reach them for service. Leaks in line sets and coils are a common thread: a system that loses a little refrigerant each year cools a bit worse each summer until a hot week exposes it. We find and repair the leak rather than topping it off, and refrigerant recovery and charging stay with our own technicians, following EPA Section 608. When a furnace or old AC isn't worth fixing, we quote a heat pump in writing.
Shoreline cooling and heat pump symptoms
Each summer the house cools a little less
- Likely cause
- Slow refrigerant leak at a joint, valve or coil
- What we do
- Leak-search with gauges and an electronic detector, repair, then recharge by weight
Ice on the large copper line at the outdoor unit
- Likely cause
- Low charge or poor airflow over the indoor coil
- What we do
- Check the filter and blower first, then the refrigerant charge
Oily stain on a fitting or the coil
- Likely cause
- Refrigerant oil escaping with the leak
- What we do
- Confirm the leak at that spot and quote a repair or a new coil
Heat pump runs, but the house won't warm past 64°F
- Likely cause
- Low charge or a defrost control fault
- What we do
- Measure pressures and temperatures in heat mode and correct the cause
Outdoor unit dead after a windstorm outage
- Likely cause
- Failed contactor, capacitor or a blown fuse at the disconnect
- What we do
- Test the power path from breaker to compressor and replace the weak part
Short bursts of cooling, off, then on again
- Likely cause
- Oversized unit, poor thermostat location or low charge
- What we do
- Check run times and charge; recommend sizing or thermostat changes if needed
Electric furnaces, City Light and the 145th-to-county-line stretch
More than half of Shoreline homes heat with electricity, and in the post-war houses that often means an electric furnace pushing air through the original ducts. Those houses are good candidates for a ducted heat pump: we remove the old furnace and install a heat pump with a matching air handler, reusing the ductwork where it is sound. Ducts in 1950s houses were sized for hot furnace air, and a heat pump moves cooler air at higher volume, so we check sizes and returns before quoting. An air handler usually fits where the old furnace stood, though we confirm clearances and the condensate drain path first. Because a heat pump moves heat instead of making it from resistance coils, these are the homes where the change shows most on a City Light bill.
Shoreline's electricity comes from Seattle City Light and its gas, where mains reach, from Puget Sound Energy. Gas doesn't reach every street, so some houses are really choosing between electric resistance and a heat pump. That puts Shoreline in a different program landscape from the Snohomish County cities just north. When we quote a heat pump, we check which City Light programs or rebates apply, and whether any City of Shoreline program is open at the time, and we tell you what each requires without promising amounts.
Shoreline sits in the convergence zone and has seen surprise snow; one band dropped 3.5 inches on the city on April 18, 2008. Heat pumps keep running in that weather, but outdoor units on low pads can get buried, so we mount new ones on stands or wall brackets where drifts or runoff collect. From our shop, Shoreline is eight to eleven minutes south via I-5 or Aurora; Richmond Beach, in the far northwest corner, takes a few minutes more. A stand also keeps the coil clear of the leaves and needles that collect along fences and hedges.
Where Shoreline prices start
Shoreline cooling and heat pump repair starts at $285. A run capacitor is the most common summer failure; tracking down a refrigerant leak and recharging the system takes longer and lands higher. For an electric- or gas-furnace conversion that keeps your ducts, a heat pump with an air handler starts at $7,000. Those figures are where pricing begins in this area, not a quote; after the diagnostic you'll get a written estimate with the exact cost, and we wait for your approval. Each install price covers equipment and installation alike, and the in-home visit and written install quote come at no charge. A tune-up, from $149, is worth booking on any system that has needed refrigerant before.
- 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.
Two machines, one decision
Shoreline's repair-or-replace calls tend to involve two machines at once: an aging air conditioner and the furnace it sits on. If the AC is less than about ten years old and the leak is at a reachable fitting or valve, repair it. If it's an older R-22 unit losing refrigerant from its coil, recharging with reclaimed R-22 is money spent on borrowed time. If the furnace is electric, the case for converting is strong, because a heat pump with an air handler needs far less electricity for the same heat, adds cooling and uses the ducts you already have. On a gas furnace under fifteen years old, keeping it and adding a heat pump outdoor unit is often the cheaper move. If the existing ducts turn out too small for a heat pump's airflow, we show you what enlarging them would involve before you commit. Houses heated by baseboards, with no ducts at all, usually do better with ductless equipment. We price each option and hand you the numbers in writing.
Common questions
Can you replace my electric furnace with a heat pump?
Yes, and it is one of the more common jobs we plan in Shoreline. We remove the old furnace and set a heat pump with a matching air handler on the existing ducts, after checking that they're large enough for the extra airflow. You gain cooling as well. The measuring visit and the written quote cost nothing, and the quoted price covers equipment and installation.
Which utility programs apply in Shoreline?
Shoreline is served by Seattle City Light for electricity and by Puget Sound Energy for gas. Incentives for heat pumps come and go, and the City of Shoreline has run its own programs at times. During the install visit we check which programs or rebates apply to your house and equipment and tell you what they require; we don't promise amounts.
Why not just add refrigerant every summer?
Because refrigerant doesn't get used up; if it's low, it's leaking. Topping up hides the problem, costs more each year, and lets the compressor run hot and short of oil. A proper repair finds the leak, fixes it, pulls a deep vacuum and weighs in the right charge, so the system holds it for years.
How long does it take you to reach Shoreline?
Eight to eleven minutes from our Mountlake Terrace shop when traffic is light, via I-5 or Aurora Avenue. Call in the morning, Monday through Saturday, and a technician can usually come the same day. Many repairs are finished on that visit because the common parts are already on the van.
Will a heat pump keep my house warm during a cold snap?
Modern heat pumps keep producing heat well below freezing, and Shoreline winters rarely stay that cold for long. A ducted system also has electric backup strips in the air handler for the coldest hours. For homes that already have a gas furnace, pairing it with a heat pump lets the furnace cover those few days.
Talk to Adam & Sam
Phone (425) 570-9520, or pick a time online. Once you approve a repair, the $85 diagnostic is counted toward it, and an online booking takes up to $18 off the repair cost. For a furnace-to-heat-pump conversion, the visit to measure and quote costs nothing.
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.