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 RepairWoodinville · valley, hills and wine country
Heat pump and AC repair in Woodinville wine country
Most Woodinville homes were built after 1980, and many larger ones heat and cool with heat pumps. We repair them, including the reversing valves and defrost systems that fail in cold, wet weather, and install new inverter units when an old one wears out.
- Drive time
- Eighteen to twenty-three minutes via I-405 and SR 522.
- Housing age
- About 81% of homes built since 1980.
- Utility
- Puget Sound Energy for both 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.
Woodinville is known for its roughly 130 wineries and tasting rooms, but the people who live here mostly live in houses and apartments that are fairly new: about 44% of homes were built since 2000 and 37% between 1980 and 1999. A quarter of housing units are in large apartment buildings downtown, and most of the rest are single-family houses spread around the Sammamish River valley and the neighborhoods above it. Heating is 51% electric and 47% gas, all supplied by Puget Sound Energy. In a housing stock this young, a heat pump is often the original equipment, and the oldest of those original units are now well into their second decade.
With that much newer, larger housing, heat pumps are a big part of what we repair here. Larger homes sometimes have two systems, one for each floor, which doubles the parts that can fail and the filters that need changing. One repair that tends to surprise owners is a reversing valve: the heat pump cools fine in summer but stays stuck in one mode once the weather turns, or switches with a loud whoosh and then won't heat. That job means recovering the refrigerant, brazing in a new valve under nitrogen, pulling a deep vacuum and weighing in a fresh charge, and we do that work ourselves, following EPA Section 608 refrigerant rules.
Heat pump faults Woodinville owners call about
Heat pump heats fine but won't cool, or cools but won't heat
- Likely cause
- Reversing valve stuck or its solenoid coil failed
- What we do
- Test the solenoid coil first, then the valve, and replace whichever has failed
Outdoor unit half buried in snow and running poorly
- Likely cause
- Coil blocked by snow, so defrost can't keep up
- What we do
- Clear the unit, check defrost and charge, and suggest a stand if it keeps getting buried
Loud whoosh, then the house stops warming
- Likely cause
- Valve stuck partway through a shift
- What we do
- Measure temperatures and pressures across the valve and quote the repair in writing
Upstairs system dead while the downstairs one runs
- Likely cause
- Separate failure on the second unit, often a capacitor or contactor
- What we do
- Diagnose each system on the same visit and price them separately
Heat pump runs constantly and the bill doubles
- Likely cause
- Charge, defrost or airflow problem forcing backup heat
- What we do
- Find the cause, fix it, and confirm the backup strips cycle properly
Ice on the outdoor coil that never clears
- Likely cause
- Failed defrost sensor or defrost control board
- What we do
- Force a defrost cycle, compare the sensor reading against the coil, then replace the failed control
Snow in 2008, new buildings, and the drive up SR 522
Woodinville can get more snow than its neighbors. On April 18, 2008, a convergence-zone band dropped 6.5 inches on Woodinville, nearly twice what Shoreline got the same day. Snow piled around an outdoor unit blocks airflow, and a heat pump trying to heat through it frosts faster than its defrost cycle can clear. On new installs we set outdoor units on stands high enough to stay above typical snow and to let melt water drain away, and on repair calls we check whether a unit sitting low on its pad is part of the problem. Snow on top of the cabinet matters less than snow drifted against its sides, where the coil draws air. Homes on wooded lots also collect needles and leaves against the coil, which a cleaning during a tune-up, from $149, takes care of.
Downtown, about a quarter of Woodinville's housing is in buildings with fifty or more units, most of them recent. Buildings like these often use an individual heat pump for each apartment, and we repair those for owners and managers where the equipment is accessible. Washington's 2021 energy code, in force since March 2024, pushes new construction further toward heat pumps, so more of the housing being added here will run on them. Townhomes near the river and in the newer subdivisions bring compact outdoor units on tight side yards, where we plan service access and clearances before any work starts.
Puget Sound Energy supplies both electricity and gas in Woodinville, and its heat pump programs depend on what you heat with today and on the equipment chosen. We confirm which PSE offers fit your home when we quote, and we don't promise amounts. The drive from our shop is eighteen to twenty-three minutes by I-405 and SR 522, with no added charge for distance, and morning calls Monday through Saturday can usually get a same-day visit.
Woodinville starting prices
Woodinville AC and heat pump repair starts at $285, and a reversing valve, with the refrigerant recovered and the system recharged, is one of the heavier jobs within it. For replacements, an inverter variable-speed heat pump starts at $6,000, and a heat pump with a new air handler starts at $7,000. These are the lowest starting points for the region, not a quote; you see the exact cost in a written estimate after the diagnostic, and nothing proceeds without your approval. Install prices include the equipment and installation, and we don't charge for the site visit or the written quote. For a two-system house, each system gets its own line, so you can decide on them one at a time. Raising a unit onto a stand during a repair is quoted as its own item.
- 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.
Young systems, big houses and the second unit
Most Woodinville heat pumps are young enough that repair is the default. A reversing valve on a seven-year-old heat pump is worth replacing. On a system approaching twenty years, it is a closer call: the job involves brazing and a full recharge, and the compressor and indoor coil have the same miles on them. In large homes with two systems, replacing the older one first and keeping the newer one running is a reasonable way to spread the cost. When you do replace, an inverter heat pump suits Woodinville well; it runs slowly through mild, damp weather, speeds up for cold snaps, and handles the summer heat that made the June 2021 heat dome so hard on houses without cooling. We put repair and replacement prices in front of you, explain where the two differ, and leave the choice to you. On the oldest original units, also weigh that parts for discontinued models get harder to find.
Common questions
What does a reversing valve do?
It switches a heat pump between heating and cooling by changing the direction the refrigerant flows. When it sticks, the system may heat but not cool, cool but not heat, or stall partway. Sometimes only the electrical coil on the valve has failed, which is a much smaller repair, so we test that first.
Should I raise my outdoor unit off the ground?
If snow or standing water reaches the coil, yes. A heat pump needs to breathe and to drain melt water during defrost. Woodinville got 6.5 inches in one 2008 convergence-zone storm, and an outdoor unit sitting on a low pad can be buried by much less. We can install a stand when we repair or replace a unit.
Do you service homes with two heat pumps?
Yes. Larger Woodinville homes often have separate systems for each floor, sometimes of different ages and brands. We can check both on the same visit, and the written estimate covers each system separately so you can decide on them one at a time.
Who offers heat pump rebates in Woodinville?
Puget Sound Energy is Woodinville's utility for both electricity and natural gas, so its programs are the ones to check. Eligibility depends on your current heat source and the equipment installed. We check which apply when we write the install quote and explain the requirements; we don't promise amounts.
How far is Woodinville from your shop?
Eighteen to twenty-three minutes off peak, by I-405 and SR 522. Morning calls Monday through Saturday can usually get a same-day visit, and the distance adds nothing to the bill. Common parts like capacitors, contactors and defrost boards are on the van, so many repairs are done in one trip.
Talk to Adam & Sam
Ring (425) 570-9520 or make an online booking, from the valley floor or the hills above it. With an approved repair, the $85 diagnostic is part of the price, and booking online lowers the repair by up to $18. Install visits and written quotes come at no cost.
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.