It’s almost summer, and that means you’ll probably be using your car’s air conditioning more than you have recently. If you haven’t had a day when you had to crank the A/C to stay cool in the car, you should probably check that it’s working. If not, come to Road Runner Auto Repair for reliable car repair in Lowell!
To ensure that you have a cool and comfortable summer of driving, we’re going to explain how your car’s A/C works. These are four of its key components.
Refrigerant
Refrigerant is what cools the air down that the A/C circulates throughout your car. Most cars use R134A, the refrigerant gas commonly known as Freon. Cars used to use R12 refrigerant gas. R12 is banned in the U.S. because it is a high pollutant. To pass inspection, all cars that use R12 have to be retrofitted to use R134A instead.
Compressor
The compressor draws in the refrigerant gas and compresses it, which is the first step in cooling down your car. It’s also the first part of your A/C system that can break. The serpentine belt runs through many parts of your engine, including the compressor. If your serpentine belt snaps, more than your A/C will stop working.
Condenser
The cooling actually happens in the condenser. Compressing the refrigerant gas actually heats it up, so the condenser removes the heat from the compressed gas to run it into a cool liquid. Outside air passes over a series of coils to make the cooling process happen. Cars have either a serpentine or parallel condenser. If a serpentine condenser fails, flushing it usually resolves the issue. If a parallel condenser fails, however, you have to replace it.
Receiver-Drier
The receiver-drier removes water from the refrigerant before it passes into the evaporator, which is what blows cold air into your car. If there is water in the refrigerant before it reaches the evaporator, it can form ice crystals which will damage your A/C system. The receiver-drier prevents that from happening.
A/C Maintenance and Car Repair in Lowell
There are more parts to your car’s A/C system than we’ve mentioned here, but these are the high-pressure components that can cause major problems if they break. You don’t want that to happen, but if it does, you have Road Runner Auto Repair when you need car repair in Lowell!