My cars air-conditioning doesn’t seem to be cooling the car as quick- can your garage fix this?

Introduction

During our British summers the weather sure can get pretty hot, so the thought of even having to do even a short trip in a roasting hot car, well it can put anyone off wanting to travel.

No one wants to reach there destination rather hot, bothered and in a less than in a great mood because the car simply was so unpleasant in terms of being too hot. Factor in some road works, a delay in traffic and other motorists that are in less than in a pleasant mood also, well this is not ideal!

So, whether it’s a trip to the local shops for a loaf of bread, or a 300-mile drive to a remote holiday in the Scottish Highlands, we want to be able to control the temperature of our cars, and for everything to work as it should. This includes the cars air conditioning system.

This is why many motorists are booking their cars in with us at our garage, that’s from executive saloons to sports cars, through to sports utility vehicles, all can share a common problem- that is air-con problems, which are often caused by refrigerant loss.

There are many problems which can occur to a cars air-conditioning system, such as the air-con compressor not working, a perished rubber pipe causing a leak, a belt coming loose from a pulley or even an electrical fault. Yet, do not worry, as at our garage we have invested in very modern diagnostic equipment, so whether you drive a 1.0 city car, or a rather expensive SUV, we have a diagnostic machine, which can read what are often referred to as “fault codes”- so simply put, our mechanics can often diagnose and read a fault with most cars.

Refrigerant loss

What can occur is that sometimes a car will suffer from “refrigerant loss”- this could be because the system has simply lost its air-con gas overtime, yet it could be also because of a burst pipe or a faulty clamp for example which has caused the system to depressurise, and for all of the aircon gas to leak at once out of the cars system. This can occur to any make or model car.

To improve the cars air’s con performance, when the car can is brought to us, we will look at how much pressure is left within the system, we can also look for air con leaks. We will note which refrigerant the car needs, and we can replenish the system.

So, if you have a summer holiday trip planned, you do have to ask yourself, do you really want to be stuck on the motorway with no air-con? This is why often, when a car is getting a service with us, so for example, the air-filter, engine oil is changed, sometimes the car owner at the same time, will ask us to check the cars air-con and to re-gas the system if required.

Can faults occur with the cars air-conditioning compressor?

The air conditioning system is made up of many components, in matter of fact under the bonnet will be an array of items, such as compressors, pipe work, electric systems that are all working to regulate the system. The cars air con is therefore relatively intricate, and powering the system is the air-con pump, which can incur a fault sometimes.

Electrical fault with the air-con

Most modern cars these days are absolutely full of electrics, the electrical systems on some cars are used for a massive range of reasons, from assisting with some cars power steering, through to informing us whether we’ve driven off from the local petrol station and forgotten to fold back the filler cap!

Our cars air-conditioning system is no exception, for example, to regulate the temperature, to have controls on the dashboard that are as accurate as helping to set the cars temperature to half a degree have to have rather complex electrical system powering them.

This is why, sometimes when a cars air conditioning system does go wrong, well, its sometimes not as simple as just needing a re-gas, sometimes the cars system will have the right gas, the air-con system will be pressurised, yet sometimes the system may not work because of an electrical fault.

At our garage, which is based in Cardiff, South Wales, we can read the fault codes on any make or model car, we therefore have auto-electricians who can find the fault and fix it for you.

Do you need your air-conditioning re-gassed?

For a lot of cars here in Cardiff, our winters and autumns can be quite long, and during these much colder seasons, well it can mean that the cars air con will be switched off for a long period of time.

This means that on some cars, the air-con system can depressurise, even leaks in the piping can occur.

This is why on cars where the air-conditioning doesn’t work, the system will need to be checked for any leaks, and also if there’s no leaks, the system may need what mechanics refer to as “re-gassing the cars air-conditioning system”. 

Make sure the correct refrigerant is used

Your garage must use the correct air-con refrigerant, sometimes, on a lot of different brands of cars, under the bonnet of the car will be a sticker above the front bumper, the sticker sometimes gives mechanics the information they need, such as which refrigerant the cars air-con uses.

Is your car too hot? Why not book it in with us?

At the time of writing, we are currently experiencing a heat wave, which goes to show how here in Britain how fast the weather can change. This is why a lot of customers will want to have their cars air con in good working order, for this to occur, why not call our mechanics today?