Trane Thermostat Not Cooling: How to Fix

Are you looking for tips to troubleshoot cooling issues with your Trane thermostat? You’re on the right page.

In the following paragraphs, we explain why your Trane thermostat isn’t turning on your cooling system and how to fix the problem. Let’s get started.

Here are some common reasons your Trane thermostat isn’t cooling:

You haven’t set your thermostat to cooling mode.
Your AC filters are clogged.
Your thermostat circuit breaker tripped.
Your indoor and outdoor air handlers are clogged.

Keep reading to see how to troubleshoot these issues.

Table of Contents

Trane Thermostat Not Cooling: Try These Troubleshooting Tips

1. Set Your Trane Thermostat to Cooling Mode

Your Trane thermostat won’t turn on your cooling system if it is set to Heat mode. When the thermostat is on Heat mode, your HVAC will only release warm air into the home.

If you suspect that your Trane thermostat isn’t turning on your cooling system, chances are the thermostat isn’t set to cool mode. So, check and ensure the thermostat is set to cooling mode.

Here’s how to activate cooling mode on your Trane thermostat:

Click on System Mode at the bottom of your thermostat screen.
A list of options will appear (Auto, Heating, and Cooling).
Choose Cooling. Then tap the Apply tab below the System Mode options.
You have set your Trane thermostat to cooling mode.

2. Clean Your AC Filters

Your Trane thermostat may already be on Cooling mode, yet you may not feel any cool air in your room. If this happens, the filters in your AC might be clogged.

Once the thermostat is set to cool, it will communicate with the AC to release air into the room. But before the air from the AC is let out into the room, it passes through the filters in the AC. If these filters are clogged, the air may not move through them.

If your room isn’t cooling when you turn on your thermostat, you might need to check if the air filters in your air conditioner are dirty. If they are, clean them.

Follow these steps to clean the air filters in your AC:

Turn off your air conditioner.
Find the air conditioner filters. Your filters are at the bottom of the air conditioner.
Open the AC’s front panel to access the filters. Depending on the type of AC you are using, you may need a screwdriver to open the panel.
Read the instructions about cleaning your AC in the manual. If the manual says that the device is waterproof, you can use a vacuum to clean it. If the AC isn’t waterproof, use a cleaning brush to dust off the dirt.
Have you vacuumed the filter area? Then wait for the filter to dry.
Once the filter is dry, replace the front panel in its position and switch on the AC.

You should feel your room temperature cooling down now. If not, continue to the next step.

3. Switch on Your Trane Thermostat’s Circuit Breaker

Your thermostat might have lost power because the circuit breaker tripped, which is why it isn’t turning on your cooling system (your circuit breaker might flip off because of a power surge/outage).

So, if your Trane thermostat is still not cooling after applying other fixes above, check whether the circuit breaker has tripped and then flip it back on.

This should restore power to your Trane thermostat, and your room temperature should also start cooling, provided the thermostat is set to cooling mode.

4. Clean Your Indoor Air Handler

Your indoor air handler is the part of your air conditioner that is mounted on the wall. If the indoor air handler gets clogged with dirt, it may prevent your air conditioner from releasing air.

If your room isn’t getting cooled after you’ve switched on your Trane thermostat, you should clean your indoor air handler.

Take the following steps to remove dirt from your indoor air handler:

Turn off the air conditioner by flipping the circuit breaker off.
Open your indoor AC unit by pulling out the front panel. If your front panel is attached to the unit with screws, you’ll need a screwdriver to take them out.
Use a soft cleaning brush to take off the dust in the evaporator coils.
Then spray the coils with a no-rinse coil cleaner. This way, you won’t have to rinse it off.
Your AC will remove any foam that the coil cleaner leaves when you turn it on.
Mix equal portions of bleach and water in a cup to make a cleaning solution.
Pour the cleaning solution through your drain pan into the drain. Your AC drain pan is located just below the evaporator coils.
After you’ve washed the AC drain pan, replace the front panel and use foil tape to seal the panel’s edges. If your front panel was attached to the indoor unit with screws, install all the screws to close the panel.
Now, turn on the AC.
Your room temperature should start cooling down.

5. Remove Dust from the Outdoor Air handler

If your Trane thermostat still doesn’t cool your room, the problem might be with your outdoor air handler. In that case, you need to clean the outdoor air handler.

Your AC outdoor air unit draws air from the atmosphere and sends it to the indoor air handler. If your outdoor air handler is clogged, your AC indoor unit won’t have any air to work with.

Clean your outdoor air handler if you think it is clogged with dirt.

Follow these steps to clean your clogged AC outdoor unit:

Ensure that your air conditioner is turned off.
Unbolt the screws at the top of the outdoor air unit to detach the fan cage.
Use a dry vacuum to take out the dirt on the fan and at the bottom of the air handler.
Pour a coil cleaning solution into your pump sprayer. Then, spray the solution over the AC condenser coils.
Now, fix the fan cage over the exposed air handler and bolt the screws back into place.

Wrapping Up

The fixes above should help you resolve the cooling issues you’re having with your Trane thermostat.

However, if your Trane thermostat still fails to turn on your Cooling System, get an HVAC expert to check and fix it or contact Trane thermostat support for help.

You may also like to see how to troubleshoot blank screen issues in a Trane thermostat and how to fix cooling/heating issues in a Honeywell thermostat.