Check Your Car Air Conditioner
With summer just around the corner, we’re all getting ready for extremely hot temperatures and great weather. You may be ready for summer, having waited for it all year long, but is your car ready? There’s nothing worse than driving without air conditioning in the middle of a hot summer’s day. It’s not just inconvenient and unpleasant, but borderline unbearable and dangerous as well. The threat of heat exertion is real, and having a fully functioning A/C is a must. There are a couple of ways you can make sure your car air conditioner keeps blowing cold air throughout the entire summer, and we’re going to show what steps you should take to ensure it stays that way.
Checking the System
Obviously, the best way of determining whether your Car Air Conditioner works or not is to turn the knob to cold and blast it on full. If it works as intended, it will start cooling the entire cabin within a matter of seconds. If it takes minutes for it to start cooling the car, or if it doesn’t blow cold air at all, you have a faulty air conditioning system on your hands. Don’t worry though, chances are fixing it is easier and less expensive than you might think.
Topping on Refrigerant
You see, the air condition system uses a special refrigerant known as Freon to cool the car. With time and usage, it will deplete and you will need to top it off. However, that’s not something you can do at home. It’s not a DIY job, so you will have to take it to an expert or a mechanic/service shop. Using special equipment they will check the refrigerant level and suggest topping it off if it’s necessary. A good car air conditioner service shop will perform the procedure at an affordable cost, getting you back on the road with a fully-working A/C unit in no time.
Maintenance
If refilling up on refrigerant didn’t help, there are several other things you should look at. For starters, you’ll want to have the condenser cleaner. Residue and dirt can accumulate, obstructing airflow and sometimes completely blocking it. Next, you can check and clean the filter. Just like the condenser it can get clogged up as well, so performing regular maintenance is crucial. If it’s too clogged up, you will need to replace it with a brand new one. Last but not least, you want to check the system for leaks if all else fails. Even the tiniest of leaks can cause the entire A/C system to malfunction. If there is a leak, you’ll need to take it to a specialist and have it fixed. The great thing is that air condition repair is relatively simple and cheap in most cases, especially compared to your regular maintenance procedures.