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Car Air-Conditioning

Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

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Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

Check Your Car's Air Conditioning
Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

Firstly, I know that we have all seen and heard these  false weather warning ! So, in the past, nothing ever came of them. Especially from the “Daily Express” newspaper group. This warning from the “Daily Mirror” is of a heat wave that may last up to two weeks; nice if it happens.

I did think that it was about time I did an article about your air conditioning system. In my opinion, it is always a good thing to remind our customers. It is important to have your air conditioning system checked out and serviced.

Car air conditioners in winter, Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

Many drivers make the mistake of turning their car air conditioning off in winter. I appreciate that having it on the car uses slightly more fuel. But the truth is that when it is switched off,. Then the parts of the car air conditioning system are not being used and will eventually deteriorate. Up to the present time, most of the parts and hoses are often made of rubber and plastic. Because it is a sealed system. You are likely to feel a loss of pressure.

Of course, due to leakage, this leads to the system failing. In due time, the car’s air conditioning system will not work, probably leading to a more expensive repair. Some of our customers think that the heating system will not work. Hence, with the air conditioning switched on,. But this is not so; the car will be hot or cold with the air conditioning in winter and summer.

How does your air conditioner work? Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

Basically, all car air con systems work in a similar fashion. It operates by taking a gas known as R134a refrigerant and pressurising it in a sealed system using a compressor. As the system is pressurised, it heats up by absorbing the air around it. The hot gas is then passed through a series of tubes, similar to a car radiator which dissipates the heat.

The gas loses its heat and gets really cold by turning into a liquid. Consequently, this is the stage when the cold air blows into the cars cabin! Cooling you down.

Some of your cars air conditioning component parts. Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

At the very heart of your air conditioning system is the compressor. The compressor is the part that takes the R134a refrigerant gas and pressurises it  to cool the air. An engine belt drives the compressor. But it also has an electric clutch system that controls the demand for colder air. In other words, the compressor will turn on and off as you demand colder air in the cars cabin.

Importantly, the next part to explain about is the Condenser. The condenser is mounted at the front of the car, next to the main car radiator. For this reason, it is usually smaller in size. This is the part that converts the gas into a liquid as it becomes cooler. Just like the radiator cools the water that comes from the engine, a similar principal.

The next part is like a small radiator and is called the Evaporator. The evaporator does exactly opposite of the condenser and super-cools the liquid as it passes through the tubes. At this stage, air is forced through and into the cars cab. Thus, super cooling the cars interior to the delight of the occupants on a hot, sunny day. As the gas cools down again, it is turned back into a liquid, and the cycle starts over again.

Another important part of your car’s air conditioning is called the thermal expansion valve.

The expansion valve controls the flow of the super-cooled refrigerant to the evaporator; Without delay, this equipment helps to regulate the cold air that ends up in your cabin. The next part of the car air con system to mention is the accumulator, also known as the “drier”. The drier protects the compressor from damage that may be caused by any liquid that makes its way back and could damage the compressor. It does this by a chemical process that absorbs any moisture to the system; it also acts as a filter, catching any small pieces of rubbish that may have made its way into the system.

That just about covers the general idea of how your car air con system works without trying to get too complicated. Cars have all got different variants and are fitted with sensors to pick up temperature and differences in pressure, but most Old Cars work off a similar system. Toyota Cars have a different system than BMW cars.

We at Pellon Auto centre here in use a Duel gas air conditioning machine

to service the cars, and what it does is recirculate the gas, add more if required and then repressurize the system. Many cars loose pressure because they have not had their air con switched on in winter and the system has lost pressure, but most servicing machines can find a fault and we use a special spray to find any possible leaks in the cars system.  

I hope this air conditioning advice was useful to you. Check Your Car’s Air Conditioning

 Pellon Tyre and Auto centre offer car and van servicing and repairs to all makes of vehicles. We are not now members of Unipart Car Care centres and give a nationwide guarantee for all our work and parts. We also sell tyres online from our website, www.pellontyres.co.uk

 Important Notice

Because of air pollution, we now have to use a new type of gas on new car models. Importantly, we will notify our customers as to which type they have on there vehicles. So, new-style gases cost twice as much as old-type gases. We are sorry about this and will charge as fairly as possible ?