My carrier air conditioning unit does not cool below 72 degrees. I was continually running to the point the outside unit connection to the house was frosted. I turned the unit off and let sit for a few hours. Turned it back on and the Thermostat seems to be working; however the unit can not cool the house below 72 when it had in the past. Am I looking at a leak or re-charge???

You have a heat pump.
Once the outdoor temperature falls below 36 degrees, heat pumps will sharply lose their ability to heat.
If you are getting a 72 degree indoor temperature when the outdoor temperature is 28-30 degrees, the heat pump is performing up to spec.
On heat pumps, the air coming out of the nearest air vent to the unit should be heated approximately 40 degrees warmer than the air entering the unit.
If you have a 70 degree indoor air temperature, the heat pump should be supplying 110 degree air at the closest air vent to the indoor unit.
Gas heat is a much better heating source where outside temperatures are commonly below 36 degrees.
Even electric furnaces perform better than heat pumps under these conditions.

With a two story house you have to be aware that cold air flows downwards so any cold air coming from an ac unit will flow downstairs( normally down the stairway) so unless you can close off the down stairs then the up stairs unit will be cooling downstairs as well. Ac units have a thermostat located in the air intake and it cools until the cold air has risen to that point. In effect the space above the ac unit will be hotter than the floor. Knowing how they work ,you can see that the upstairs unit will never reach the set temperature because the cold air is continually heating from the house and will never get to the top thermostat.
So your solutions are
1-- fit controls that restrict the cold air from leaving the upper floor (Doors)
2--don't run the upper ac unit unless you are living up there (waste of money
)3 place an ac in each upper room and keep the room door closed

how hot is it outside??? 20 degree split is usually the norm ,,,,,outside 95 then inside will be 75,,,,,where is the line sweating ,,, it should sweat near outdoor unit

Hello, it is possible that the unit may be undersized for you home and not being able to keep up with the indoor heat load. The only way to determine thia have a hvac contractor do a cooling load calculation on your home. I have seen many units undersized that cause this problem.

Hi,
It sounds like you got shafted and the guy installed a smaller air handler unit with a smaller motor to try to make more of a profit...
The problem is getting an unbiased opinion from someone who knows their stuff...sad to say but stuff like this happens all the time...
Here are a couple of tips that I wrote that may help you...

What Size Air Conditioner Do You Need?
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3636709-size_air_conditioner_need

Heating and Air Conditioning Scams
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3623166-heating_air_conditioning_scams

heatman101

It's 98 outside ... that says a lot. The gurgling is an indication that you are getting a lot of water out of the air (dehumidifying). If the unit is sized just right, or just a little too small, it may be working perfectly well.

You don't say where you are, geographically, but much to the US has an air conditioning design temperature of 95 degrees F. That means at 95 degrees, the unit will run continuously. With a 50% outside air relative humidity, it should keep the occupied space at about 75 degrees F. The more humid the air, the more the unit works on dehumidifying and less on cooling.

Give it some time, wait unti the weather breaks and see if it doesn't run just like it used to. If you chose to call a technician, have him/her take temperature readings of the condenser entering and leaving air, the suction line temperature, the liquid line temperature, the inside supply and return air temperature (dry bulb and wet bulb) as well as high and low side refrigerant pressures. Before they make ANY changes to the system (refrigerant charge) have them explain what they found wrong and make sure you understand what they are talking about. Adjusting the charge under these conditions, will mess up your operation under normal conditions.

Have you checked the freon level in this unit? If you are low or there is a leak it could be the problem. Hope this helps.

Sounds like you need to recharge it .. To tell while the unit is running go outsiode and feel the large insulated copper line going to the unit it should be cold to point od sweating like a can of coke you take out of the refrigerator and sit on the counter. also feel the air coming out of the unit outside it should be warmer than the outside air if not your freon is low

the problem sounds like a defective capacitor its located on the condensing unit outside, also a contactor that is used can be defective also.

- Calibrate your electronic thermostat if it is accurate. If not then replacement is needed.
- Check the location of your electronic thermostat, it may be installed in the room where its too cold.