When you hop in your car in the summer, there is nothing you want more than for the cold air to start blowing. It would be tragic if your AC gave out on you. Sometimes driving with your windows rolled down just does not cut it and you need that ice-cold AC blowing in your face. I worked for years as a landscaper in Nevada. During the summers, I would be completely drenched in sweat when it was time to get off work. Hopping into my truck and cranking the AC felt amazing.
Sadly, your AC is just like anything else on your car and it can fail on you. Sometimes you get lucky and this happens to you in the winter. Then you can put off getting it fixed for a little bit. If it quits on you when it’s hot though, odds are that you will want it fixed as soon as possible. AC systems are very difficult to work on at home. The main reason for this being that your AC system is full of a refrigerant that is illegal to release to the atmosphere. It must be sucked out of the system using a machine that can store the coolant in a tank. AC systems can also be daunting to work on as many people do not understand how they work.
Your AC has a few major components that are crucial to the way that it operates. We found a great video to explain how this works. Check this out to get a basic idea.
Here is a list of the major components and their basic functions:
Condenser- Transfers heat from inside of the vehicle to the outside.
Compressor- Pumps the refrigerant throughout the system
Evaporator- What makes the air cold
Dryer- Removes moisture from AC System
Even with a basic understanding of how your AC system works, it is still difficult to work on it yourself. The main reason being the lack of proper equipment needed. It is usually recommended that you take your vehicle in to a trained professional to have them perform the necessary work on it.
If your AC is not working like it once did, an AC recharge is an option. This means to put extra refrigerant back into the AC system. Be aware, that this is not a fix to your problem. If your vehicle is low on refrigerant, that means that there is a leak somewhere. Your AC system is completely airtight and should not loose refrigerant. This leak could be very slow and by doing an occasional recharge, you can maintain a cold-blowing AC for a long time before repairs are needed.
AC recharges can be done both at home and at a shop. Many different stores sell bottles with the fittings needed, with gauges installed, so that anyone can recharge their own AC. These will come with instructions that are simple to follow. To do so you only need to connect the hoses to the low side of your AC system. Turn your AC on and you will be able to monitor on the gauge the pressure inside of your AC system. You can add refrigerant by pulling the trigger. Continue to do this until you are close to 40psi but be careful not to overcharge the system. After doing so, you should have noticeably colder AC.
Many shops will also do this for you. They have much larger machines for doing so. Generally, they will remove all of the refrigerant from your system and then pump it back in to the appropriate level. Whether you decide to do it yourself or have a mechanic do it for you, is totally up to you.
Oftentimes, your AC system will need more than just a recharge. Different components can fail or start to leak. When things like this happen, it is generally better to leave this to a trained professional who has the proper equipment. If your AC compressor fails, this is really not a hard component to remove and replace. The difficult part of this is draining the AC system so that the refrigerant isn’t released into the air. It is also important that the right amount of oil is placed back into the system afterwards.
So, unless you have the proper equipment or know someone who does, it is best to leave AC repairs to the professionals. Find a nearby mechanic who you can trust and take your AC problems to him.
The AC systems in our cars have evolved a lot over the years. With improvements in technology to increase the performance and comfort of our AC’s and also with improvements to make them more environmentally friendly, your AC system is a lot more advanced than most people realize. One thing that has changed majorly over time is the refrigerant used in cars.
Originally, a refrigerant known as R-12 Freon was used. This worked the same as our modern-day refrigerant but with one major difference. The R-12 refrigerant was terrible for the environment and actually depleted the ozone layer. In 1994 it was officially outlawed. Today, R-134a Freon is used in cars. This performs the same function but is much safer. Many shops will convert your older cars R-12 AC system into an R-134a system.
I hope you got something out of reading this article. If you are driving around this summer and your AC isn’t working like you want, you hopefully will have an idea what’s wrong now. Your car might only need a simple recharge to get it blowing ice-cold again. You might be in need of some new parts as well. Whatever your car is in need of, I hope you now know what to do when this happens.
When it comes to AC systems, it is almost always best to take it in to a trained professional who knows how to properly deal with the refrigerant. They can keep your AC blowing cold and our planet’s atmosphere clean.
Please see our article entitled “Engine Tune-up”.