Have you noticed your cars air conditioner is not performing as well as it originally did? If you have your dial on max and you’re getting nothing but hot air, we can probably help to cool things off again.

Car air conditioners, like any system involving gasses, pipes and moving parts, suffer from a few common failures. Fortunately, a fully Licensed Automotive Air Conditioner Specialist such as Complete Automotive Solutions is able to diagnose and repair these common faults.

Air conditioners work by compressing a gas, which removes heat. The cooled gas is then pumped through a series of pipes in front of a fan, where moisture condenses in the air and absorbs heat, allowing the cooled, dry air to blow out into the cabin while the heated, now expanded gas circulates through the system again.

The gas used in car air conditioners is known as R134a refrigerant, or tetrafluoroethane for the more chemically minded, is non-toxic to humans, but is recognised as a having a significant global warming potential. For this reason, before any work is performed on your cars air conditioning system, all gas is removed and stored for recycling. Once problems have been resolved, new gas is used to recharge the entire system.

Leaky Pipes

One of the most common reasons an air conditioning system fails is tiny leaks, usually in pipe joins or through worn rubber components. If after careful examination a leak is suspected, a brightly coloured dye is introduced into the system, which will clearly identify the source of the problem and parts that need to be replaced.

Compressor Failure

Another leading cause of a faulty air conditioner is a problem with the compressor itself. Like any device with moving parts, compressors wear out and become inefficient before finally failing completely. Complete Automotive Solutions have the tools required to detect compressor failure and repair or replace any faulty units.

Re-gas

In all cases, once the cause of the problem has been resolved, new gas is introduced and cold air should blow once again into the cabin. The gas is weighed as it is delivered into the system, so you will only be charged for the gas actually required to fill your particular model.