How To Fix Your Car’s Air Conditioner

Fixed Max A/C dial

Having working air conditioning in your vehicle can be the difference between “I love this car!” and “I can’t wait to get rid of this car…”  Air conditioning used to be a luxury only available on high end cars but it’s gotten so common that without it a car just doesn’t seem worth driving.  Whether you live in a warmer climate or really get to experience winter, those long drives on warm days just aren’t as comfortable when you can’t cool your car down. Knowing how important air conditioning is, it makes sense to know how to fix the air conditioner in your car.

The air conditioning systems in cars today all operate in a very similar manner.  The life blood of any air conditioning system is the refrigerant that is used to create the cooling effect.  Refrigerants have become highly controlled today as many of them can be environmental hazards if they are not controlled, recovered and distributed correctly.  Refrigerants are also controlled because a particular air conditioning system will be designed to operate within a very specific set of temperatures and pressures.  The refrigerant used in that system must also behave properly at those temperatures and pressures so manufacturers of those refrigerants need to design and create them very carefully.

The refrigerant used in vast majority of vehicles on the road today is R-134a.  It functions well in systems that are designed to work at ambient outdoor temperatures and has proved to be one of the most popular refrigerants for air conditioning systems.  Since this refrigerant is used in most automobiles, the air conditioning systems installed in those cars and trucks looks very similar.

The air conditioning systems in your vehicle gets it’s cooling effect by allowing ambient temperature, high pressure refrigerant to quickly expand to a lower pressure which quickly drops the temperature of the refrigerant as well.  Your car then uses this cold refrigerant to cool the air in the cabin of your vehicle.  In most vehicles, the high pressure refrigerant is well above 200 PSI and the low pressure refrigerant is still over 25 PSI.  These high operating pressures mean that your air conditioning system has to be well sealed to make sure none of the refrigerant escape.  Even a small refrigerant loss can affect the performance and cooling ability of your air condition system.

The air conditioning system in your car also has to function in a very harsh environment.  From road grime and dirt, to flying rocks, to the extreme temperature swings in your car’s engine bay, it can be very difficult for your air conditioning system to stay sealed and keep all of your refrigerant inside.  Over time, small leaks will form in your system due to the flexing of hoses and pipes to dents in your condenser.  These small leaks can decrease the amount of refrigerant in your air conditioning system leaving you sweating and frustrated.

Tracking down these small leaks can be equally as frustrating as they are often tiny and the refrigerant doesn’t leave any residue or discoloration where the leak is.  Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert at fixing your car’s air conditioner or spend hours with a UV light in your garage looking for where your air conditioning system might be leaking, or a tiny part or hose may need to be replaced.  Instead of searching for your leak, allow Red Angel A/C Stop Leak find it for you!  Red Angel A/C Stop Leak can be introduced into your system either using our easy to use aerosol can or as a liquid with an oil injector and will seek out all the leaks in your system.  Once Red Angel A/C Stop Leak is at the leak point it will form a bond sealing the leak and sealing your system so your refrigerant levels can remain constant.

If you’re ready to fix your car’s air conditioning, pick up Red Angel A/C Stop Leak today and get back to being comfortable!

Red Angel A/C Stop Leak is available at any of our partnering local auto parts stores like:

  • AutoZone
  • Advance Auto Parts
  • Bennett Auto Supply
  • CarQuest Auto parts
  • NAPA Auto Parts
  • O’Reilly Auto Parts
  • Pep Boys
  • Fast Track
  • Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts Specialists
  • S&E Quick Lube Distributer
  • DYK Automotive

 

Pictures Provided By:

air_conditioning – By Bizzo_n – Licensed by Thinkstock Photos – Original Link

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