Air Conditioning Troubleshooting

A Little About How Your AC System Works

It is a very little known fact that a fully functional air conditioning unit does NOT run out of gas of freon. I will spare you the boring details about how exactly an auto AC works. Suffice to say that a special gas is moved around the air conditioning system. Heat is taken away and cold is produced. This process is repeated, using the same gas over and over. Nothing comes in and nothing comes out. The water that you see leaking from the car on a hot day when you have been pumping the AC is due to condensation on the cold bits and does not come from within the unit. Just like water droplets gathering on the outside of a cold glass of juice.

To put it another way, the gas is not used up or put through any chemical change, so it continues to do what it does, as long as it stays inside your car’s air conditioning system. The fridge in your kitchen works on the same principle as your auto AC and how many times have you heard of someone refilling their fridge with Freon?

Air Conditioning Ripoffs

What then, begs the question, do those fellows do, who promise air con refilling at a fraction of the cost? In my opinion, they take your money and claim to be doing air conditioning troubleshooting. In exchange, they do put more gas in your car and then they hope that the leak in your AC is small enough that you won’t bother them again for a good while. When it eventually runs out, like a good customer, you go back and give them more money. If, on the other hand, the leak is significant, then they will send you away. They will say that you need to go to your mechanic or AC specialist because the issue is not the gas. It never was. The loss of gas was just the symptom. The kicker is, that once the problem is repaired, you will have to pay to have the system regassed, a second time. They probably don't even know how to do air conditioning troubleshooting.

Only on rare occasions, is the cause for loss of the freon a temporary one, in which case, I would be wrong about a quick refill sorting the problem but I am willing to bet that my gloomy prediction is almost always right.

Take it to a Mechanic or Try to DIY?

A leak is not the only possible problem with auto air conditioning. Before I move on to other possibilities let me be clear: go to your mechanic. You are not going to fix the leak yourself. Air conditioning troubleshooting is not a DIY job.

I would not start squirting dye I bought at the corner store into the air conditioning system to find a leak. The dye used by the professionals is proven not to damage anything. Some use special goggles and other clever kit to make the escaping gas appear green.

You almost certainly don’t have the equipment do this safely and it is not worth buying the equipment unless you are planning to open an air conditioning troubleshooting shop.

Kits are available but chances are pretty good that even if you were to find the leak, fixing it is hardly ever straight forward. Every time you get it wrong, you are going to pay to refill the gas and then try again. I doubt very much that you will source the parts for less than an auto repair shop, who buy parts in bulk.

You get my point.

So What Could the Problem Be?

Air Conditioner Leaks. Leaks are, as I mentioned, not the only possible culprit. Simplistically put, you may require air conditioning repair when the mechanical or electrical bits break. The bits include things called evaporator coils, compressors, electric motors, condensers, belts and pulleys. Like all electrical and mechanical things, they can wear down and break.

Air Conditioning Evaporator. Evaporator coils are generally not worth repairing. The cost of reconditioning one of these tends to exceed the cost of replacing one with a new part. A new part will last longer in any case.

AC Compressor Compressors can be repaired, depending what the problem is. The same applies to electric motors. You know the drill though, specialized labor is becoming more and more expensive and parts are designed to be replaced rather than repaired. These bits are not cheap. Including labor, you are probably in for anywhere from $100 to $1000.

AC Belts and AC Pulleys You may know what a belt or a pulley is. Your engine probably uses several of them. As the engine works, it drives not only the wheels, but other components such as your alternator and power steering. Ever noticed how the wheels are impossible to turn when the car is off? Your engine is connected to these other things by a pulley system. A pulley is a wheel which has either has teeth or grooves on it. The engine turns a pulley. A belt, which is a very strong rubbery thing, fits into the grooves of the engine pulley and in turn drives the air con’s pulley.

Fairly simple. If you don’t get it, it doesn’t really matter. What you need to know is that belts and pulley’s wear out and need to be replaced. Replacing them seems easier than it is. In order for them to work properly, they need to be under the correct tension. Something mystically called a tensioner, does just that. Your mechanic can replace the AC pulley quickly.

I am all for the enthusiast tinkering about or those with tight purse strings doing some DIY to save a few dollars. Auto air conditioning troubleshooting is not worth the effort or the money to risk doing yourself. The only exception to this is if you are diagnosing an electrical problem in your AC system. As long as you are not messing with the freon you can probably do some of the diagnostics yourself

How to Make Your AC System Last

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