In short. Some “faults” take five minutes to fix: check the mode on the remote, wait for defrost to finish, wash the filters. If that does not help, you need diagnostics: 350 lei, 30–40 minutes. The technician names the repair price only after that, in a written quote. If an old unit is not worth fixing, we say so and work out the cost of a new one.
What to check yourself before calling a technician
| What happens | Possible cause | What to do yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Blows air but does not heat | The remote is set to cool, dry or auto | Switch to heating mode (sun icon), set 26–28 °C |
| Switched to heat, but the fan is silent | The unit is warming its heat exchanger so it does not blow cold air | Wait a few minutes |
| Was heating, stopped for a few minutes, steam outside | The outdoor unit is defrosting, which is normal | Wait; heating comes back by itself |
| Heats weakly | Clogged filters | Wash the filters in warm water and dry them |
| Will not turn on at all | Tripped breaker, flat remote batteries | Check the breaker and batteries |
| A code on the display or a blinking light | The unit has detected a fault | Write down the code and model, switch the breaker off for 5 minutes and back on |
If everything works after that, good. If the error comes back or the unit still will not heat, do not keep restarting it: that is how a small fault becomes an expensive one.
Why is the air conditioner not heating in winter?
If the mode is set correctly and the filters are clean, the usual causes are:
- It is colder outside than the model can handle. Standard units heat down to −7…−15 °C, heating series down to −25…−30 °C. The figure is in the spec sheet and on the model’s page on our site. Below it the unit may shut down, and that is not a fault.
- The outdoor unit has iced up. Defrost water does not drain through the base pan and freezes. The drain and pan heater need checking.
- Dirty outdoor heat exchanger. The unit struggles to take heat from outside air.
- Low refrigerant. That means a leak: refrigerant is not used up by itself. The leak is found and fixed first, then the unit is refilled.
- A faulty sensor, board, valve or fan. Only diagnostics will show it.
Why is water leaking from the indoor unit?
In summer the unit collects water from the air and sends it outside through a drain pipe. If water ends up in the room, the cause is usually one of these:
- Clogged drain. Dust and slime block the pan and pipe. Fixed by cleaning with a drain flush.
- Frozen pipe. If water is left in a pipe that runs outside, it turns into an ice plug in frost.
- A dirty evaporator ices up. When the unit cools with dirty filters, the evaporator gets covered in ice, which later melts and misses the pan.
- The unit hangs crooked or the pipe has no slope. Water cannot drain by gravity. It is an installation mistake, fixed by rehanging the unit or relaying the pipe.
If it leaks, switch the unit off and put a towel underneath. It will not “dry out” by itself: the cause stays.
What does the error on the display mean?
An error is a code the unit uses to say which part is misbehaving: a sensor, the fan, the link between units, pressure. There is no single table for all air conditioners: across brands and even series the same code means different things. That is why we do not publish “universal” code lists.
- Write down or photograph the code.
- Find the model: it is on the sticker on the side of the indoor unit or in the documents.
- Look up “Error codes” in the manual for your model.
- When booking diagnostics, give the code and model. The technician will know what to check, and a part can be ordered sooner.
How much does an air conditioner repair cost?
No one can honestly tell you in advance. “Not heating” can be a clogged filter or a failed board or compressor: hundreds of lei in the first case, thousands in the second. So this is our order:
- Diagnostics for 350 lei: the technician finds the cause.
- A written quote: what failed, what labour and parts cost.
- Repair only with your approval. If we do it, diagnostics is included in the repair price. Parts come from the distributor in 3–14 days.
| What | Price | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostics | 350 lei | It is unclear what failed. Included in the repair price if we do the repair |
| Repair | quoted after diagnostics | The cause is found; you see labour and parts and decide whether to repair |
| Cleaning | 1 000 lei | Leaking, smelling, weak heating or cooling because of dirt |
| Refrigerant refill | 350 lei labour + refrigerant by weight (R32 200 lei per 100 g) | Only after the leak is found and fixed |
Prices as of 24 September 2026, in lei, VAT included.
When is a repair not worth it, and what then?
Repair usually pays off if the unit is not old and the fault is minor: the drain, a sensor, a start capacitor, the fan, a leak at a joint.
Replacement usually makes more sense if the unit is old and runs on R22 refrigerant (it costs more than today’s R32: 300 lei per 100 g versus 200 lei), or if the compressor or board has failed. The repair can then cost a large part of a new unit, while the rest of the old one stays worn. Repair is not our main business: we mostly install and service air conditioners. So we will not push you to repair; we will show you both amounts side by side.
If you go for a new one:
- the catalogue shows prices with installation, and the one-minute finder suggests 3–4 options; models that heat in winter down to −25…−30 °C are in the “with heating” section;
- you can buy it in iute 0 % instalments: 4 or 6 payments with no interest, equipment only; labour is paid to the technician after installation;
- warranty: 2 years on the equipment and 2 years on installation, up to 5 years with annual cleaning by us;
- removal of the old unit goes into the same quote.
More on the air conditioner repair page.
Arctica Service: over 1,000 installations and more than 15 years on the Moldovan market. Book diagnostics — free slots are shown straight away.
