AC stopped working

I don't think this is necessarily an emergency, because we're in NYC and it's 21 degrees outside and the heater in the bedroom (where the chins are) is off. The AC has been off since around 3 pm and it has stayed a pretty constant 59 degrees. However, I guess I'm concerned if the heat in the apt building (we have no control over the heat other than turning of the radiator in this room) gets so hot that the heat from the other rooms starts making its way through the walls/door to this room.

We have a window unit that we've been running at 62 degrees pretty much 24/7 for the last 2 and a half months. Last night it snowed, there is some snow piled on top of the part of the AC that is sticking out of the window. Around 2 pm or 3 pm I noticed the AC making a motor type clanging noise. I turned it off. It has been a while since we cleaned the filter, so I cleaned it (it was very dirty) and replaced it. I turned it back on, and it came on but was still making the noise, so I turned it off and figured I'd just give the AC a break since we have it running so often (we've only turned it off once before, for a couple days when it was so cooled it was unnecessary). Around 6:45 pm I tried to turn the AC back on. The lights come on, and it makes a kind of hum indicating it has power, and I can change the settings-- but the actual fan will not come on.

Has this happened to anyone else? I understand we used the AC heavily, but we just bought it this past summer. We did not have it running 24/7 until we got the chins, Dusty and Spike, about 2 1/2 months ago. Right now I'm just gonna wait and try again later I guess, and keep an eye on the temp. My roommate has a window unit, and I'm sure I could borrow it if it suddenly gets hot in here, but I would like to salvage this AC if possible. Anyone have any advice or experience with this? Thank you in advance.

It sounds like the fan motor may have overheated and burned out. The part outside is where the ac vents, plug the vent (in this case with snow), and the unit overheats. If the ac fan doesn't come back working after fully cooling, the motor is probably dead, so you will either need a new ac or get this one repaired. Another possibility is that with it being that cold out, something froze and snapped in the ac unit, once again needing repair. They are designed to work when it's hot outside, not below freezing. An ac unit works by pulling moisture out of the air, and most window units just dump the water from the air into the vented area outside where it would normally evaporate, in the winter it's more likely to freeze.

Why not just take the ac out and just have window open when it gets hot? So long as the temp in the room stays below 75 the chins should be fine.

Thanks, yeah it seems like what you describe probably happened.

My only concern with an open window would be a draft effecting their respiratory systems. The cage is in the corner of the room, on the wall opposite from the windows. One of the windows is lined up with it (ie the cage is in the "path" of any breeze that would come from that window), but a few feet away. The other window is a bit further away and at more of an angle, so maybe I could open that one some without a draft hitting the cage. Maybe I'm overestimating the power of these drafts...I might be over cautious.

It's 21 degrees and there was snow on top. Might also wait for it to warm up to 40+ degrees. Probably 45 if you want to give ice a chance to melt. Then try again before completely giving up hope. I'm pretty sure window A/C units are meant to be run when it's that cold outside.

I had the opposite problem with a NYC window left cracked open to balance temperatures. snow and ice formed inside on the window sill and would stay there until I cleaned it off. Apparently, that's how cold that window ledge was.