Car Air Conditioner Maintenance:
How to ensure extended, trouble-free operation of your car’s air conditioning system.
Maintaining your car air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to do the job properly.
Small leaks in the vehicle’s air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and as a result, the system can’t cool the air.
That is why Keepin’ Cool recommends that you regularly check your vehicles air conditioner system.
The apparent faults with an Auto Air Conditioning systems breaking down are;
- The drive belt tension
- Blocked air flow through the Condenser and Radiator
- Signs of Refrigerant oil stain at the compressor, hoses, pipes or fittings.
- Loose or faulty compressor mounting brackets
- Service port caps missing
Anything beyond this visual inspection then requires a full Auto Air Conditioning Service. Only a fully qualified auto air conditioning technician can carry out this service.
Keepin’ Cool is a certified auto air conditioning repairer and can carry out all necessary car air conditioning repairs to get your air vehicles conditioner working to its optimal performance Check out our license at Australian Refrigeration Council.
Tips For Car Air Conditioner Maintenance.
Running the vehicle air conditioner once a week for 10 minutes will maintain the gas pressure. So preventing hardening of the hoses and compressor seals failure. Turn the air conditioner to its coldest setting and highest fan speed. Run the ‘defrost’ mode for five to ten minutes to clean out accumulated moisture. It prevents mildew and that foul wet cloth odour in the system.
Remember, your air conditioning system cools not only your vehicle but also one of its primary functions is to remove the humidity from the cabin. So it is excellent practice to use your air conditioner in winter to keep your windscreen free of fog which impairs your visibility.
By allowing all car windows to remain closed, even on the hottest days, the aerodynamics of the car stay at optimum, keeping fuel consumption low and exterior noise to a minimum, increasing safety to the driver and passengers.
You may not know that over 10% of air-con gas permeates from the vehicle air-con system every year, so it may not work and it should. Car manufacturers recommend your Car Air-Con system recharged/re-gassed with refrigerant gas and lubricant every two years.
Car Air Conditioner Maintenance:
That is why it is excellent practice to get a full auto air conditioning service at least every two years. Try to do this before the hotter month’s start, as this will ensure that it does not catch you out by a sudden heat wave at the beginning of the season.
So it will enable you to keep ahead of any system faults or potential compressor failure. Therefore, car air conditioner maintenance should be a regular procedure.
A poorly maintained vehicle air conditioning system operating on a paltry amount of oil and gas can reduce your car air-con compressors capacity to run efficiently costing you extra in fuel.
Car Air Conditioner Maintenance for Healthy Air.
A car air-conditioning system can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and fungus. It is important for sufferers of asthma or allergies.
At, Keepin’ Cool we have the latest Ozone machine to carry out this service. We can treat the vehicle cooling evaporator also the cabin air filter and entire car interior, as a result killing all the bugs and leaving your car air conditioning smelling sweet.
Also, this treatment protects you and your passengers and also helps to remove the musty odour that can be clear in the air conditioner vents. For more information, click here.
What’s Included In A Car Air Con Service?
Keepin’ Cool Auto Air Conditioning specialist offer the most comprehensive Inspection available for your vehicles air-conditioning system.
For example, items that need checking to interpret operating functions and diagnosis before a car air conditioner service include:
- Static and operating pressure checks
- In-car delivery temperature measurement
- Visually inspection of the AC compressor drive belt for cracks and damage
- Check the operation of the air conditioning compressor and other air conditioning components like condenser, pipes and hoses
- Visually inspect accessible components for leaks and damage with an electronic leak detector
- Vacuum test the system
- Cleaning condenser fins
- Check for bad smells odour’s in vehicle
- Recover refrigerant from the system and (record gas amount and oil recovered)
Re-Gas Service Procedures.
- Replace air conditioning Schrader valves
- Replace receiver drier filter
- Add required amount of refrigerant compressor oil
- Add UV dye for leak detection
- Evacuate system 20mins to remove moisture
- Charge system with recommended refrigerant type and capacity
- Perform leak detection procedure (UV lamp and electronic refrigerant sniffer)
- Performance test of vehicle air-con system
- Record pressure readings and temperature readings
Protecting Of The Environment.
Refrigerant gas like R12 and R134a are incredibly damaging to the ozone layer. And any gas that irresponsibly released into the atmosphere by owner’s or backyard mechanics can harm the environment and contribute to global warming.
So for that reason, Keepin’ Cool offer’s a Mobile Recovery/Disposal Service. For those who are doing their own auto air conditioning repairs.
Car Refrigeration Recovery Service
So releasing Refrigerant gases into the Atmosphere is illegal. And also the penalty for these runs into several thousand dollars.
Also by law, refrigerant gas R12 and R134a reclaimed and sent to Refrigerant Reclaim Australia to be destruction by particular methods of saving our ozone.
Therefore, it is Law now that anyone that works on Automotive Air Conditioning systems throughout all States and Territories of Australia must have a Refrigerant Handling Licence.
So as a result, a Licenced Automotive Air Conditioning Workshop must display their Trading Authorisation, and Refrigerant Handling Licences at all times see Australian Refrigeration Council for more information.
Keepin’ Cool service the entire Brisbane Southside suburbs with mobile car air conditioning regas services for your vehicle.
We can come out to your place of employment or your home and do your vehicle air conditioning regas while you take care of other things.
Please call to discuss your specific requirement, or if you need free advice on your vehicle air conditioning problem, and we would be most pleased to discuss this with you. Alternatively, ask a question using the Contact Form below.