Air Conditioning

When servicing automotive air-conditioning systems, vehicle owners have several options to recharge a/c systems with refrigerant. One option is to top-off your car's system with refrigerant, and another is to evacuate and recharge the system.

Both of these options will provide cool air in the passenger compartment for some period of time. Neither service, however, involves permanently fixing the a/c system leaks that allowed refrigerant to escape resulting in a lack of cool air. You might therefore also choose to have any leaking components in your a/c system repaired or replaced.

By stopping the leak, you will prevent refrigerant from leaking into the atmosphere. The refrigerant in older vehicles is CFC-12 (also known as Freon, a brand name), which is no longer manufactured in the United States because it depletes the ozone layer. As nationwide supplies dwindle, it is becoming increasingly expensive to purchase CFC-12, so that fixing a leak may be more economical in the long run than continuing to purchase CFC-12.

A top-off involves simply charging refrigerant into your vehicle. An evacuation and recharge service includes removing whatever remaining refrigerant is in your vehicle, removing impurities from that refrigerant using recycling equipment, recharging it into the vehicle, and adding new refrigerant to replace whatever has leaked out. The cost of both the top-off and the evacuation and recharge will usually include a performance check, and may include a test to discover the source of your leak.

Air Conditioning System

This system shares air ducts, controls and a blower with the heater, but has its own refrigerant system. The air conditioning system is comprised of the following components:

Compressor
This is a pump that pressurizes and circulates the refrigerant through the system.

Condensor
As the refrigerant flows through the condensor, it gives off heat and converts from gas to liquid.

Receiver/Dryer or Accumulator
This is where clean, dry refrigerant is stored as it circulates through the system.

Orifice Tube or Expansion Valve
This is a metering device that controls the flow of refrigerant throughout the system.

Evaporator Core
Refrigerant enters the evaporator core as a liquid. Heat from the air converts the liquid refrigerant back into a gas, which cools the air before it enters your car.