With the warmer summer months upon us, we’ve been getting phone calls from folks in London Ontario whose vehicle’s air conditioning has stopped working, making their daily commutes uncomfortable. Whether your A/C is still working – just not like it should be – or has quit all together, we can help you get back to a cool vehicle with car air-conditioning repair services.
How Your Car’s A/C Works
For those who are curious, the A/C system in your vehicle uses a compressed gas, in most cases referred to as R-134, to transfer heat from the inside of your vehicle to the outside of your vehicle.
It does this by being compressed by a belt driven compressor on your engine – the gas is then passed to the condenser located at the front of your vehicle where it cools and condenses into a liquid. From here, the high pressure liquid passes through a restriction right before entering the evaporator core.
This allows the high pressure liquid’s pressure to drop, where it evaporates and absorbs large amounts of heat (in plain English it gets real cold) – it is then passed through the evaporator core, usually located behind the dash board of your vehicle. The blower fan moves air over the evaporator where it is cooled and dehumidified, then sent out to cool the interior of the vehicle.
Common Issues
The most common issue we find is a leak in the system, allowing the gas to escape, either reducing the system’s ability to cool, or shutting if off all together. We find the leak by adding a fluorescent dye to the system which will escape from the leak and glow under black light. There are several reasons that leaks may occur including:
- Corrosion
- Cracks and breaks in the component from wear-and-tear
- Impact damage (like a stone thrown from another vehicle, hitting the condenser in front of your vehicle)
- Electrical issues or failure of a component
No matter what’s knocked out your air conditioner, our trained staff of professionals can get you back to a cool summer with car air conditioning repair services. Contact us today to book your appointment!