When should you Recharge your car Air Conditioning?

When should you Recharge your car Air Conditioning?

The air conditioning in your car works with a gas that must recharge regularly. The automotive car air conditioning repair will help you to recharge your air conditioning. Without regular recharging, the air conditioning can no longer produce cold air properly.

Summary:

• How does a car’s air conditioning work?
• Why do you need to recharge the air conditioning in a car?
• What are the signs that you need to recharge your air conditioning?

How does a car’s air conditioning work?

An air conditioning that is not working does not necessarily need to be recharged. However, to be sure, it is essential to understand how it works.

The refrigerant gas, or refrigerant present in your system, performs a cycle during which it is compressed, cooled, and expanded. Here’s a quick summary of how your car’s air conditioning works:

• Driven by the engine via a pulley connected to the accessory belt, the compressor increases the gas pressure;
• The air conditioning condenser then takes care of cooling and liquefying the gas with the ambient air brought in by the front of your car;
• The gas passes through a dehydrator equipped with a filter to get rid of water and impurities;
• Then the air conditioning evaporator creates an expansion (liquid to gas), resulting in a further drop in temperature;
• The cold air is then sent into the passenger compartment;
• For its part, the gas starts again for a turn!

Why do you need to recharge the air conditioning in a car?

The first reason to recharge your car air conditioning is naturally to cool your passenger compartment when it is too hot. You also need to recharge your air conditioning because you don’t use it if it’s empty.

However, an air conditioning system that never runs risks being damaged. You risk having air conditioning leaks that need to be repaired.

In addition, the majority of defrosters require air conditioning. A breakdown of the air conditioning or an empty refill can therefore leave you with fogged windows, which is, of course, dangerous when you are driving.

What are the signs that you need to recharge your air conditioning?

Many symptoms exist to tell you that it is time to recharge your car air conditioning:

• The absence of cold is the most evident manifestation you may encounter. If the gas level is too low, the pressure generated by the air conditioning system will be too low and will not create cold. Unfortunately, this problem will also lead to overconsumption of fuel: your engine will continue to deliver the energy necessary for your air conditioning system to reach the set temperature, which will never happen since you do not have enough gas.
• A loss of ventilation power can be another, less specific sign, as it can also indicate a compressor problem.
• The icing malfunctioning.

Good to know: the air conditioning recharging is tricky because the gas is at high pressure and cold. Mishandled and unprotected, it can cause severe frostbite or seriously damage your eyesight if it touches your eyes. If you do not have the necessary skills, do not take any risks and entrust this task to a mechanic.