Sunny days, blue skies, warm weather and icy cold air conditioning. It’s the perfect start to Perth’s hot summers, except if your car air conditioner is not giving you the icy cold temperature that you crave after jumping into a hot car that’s been sitting outside and simmering in the summer sunshine.
Here at Pace, we assist our customers with a variety of different air conditioning issues. From something as simple as a scheduled car air conditioning service, to the diagnosis and replacement of parts and the reclaiming of air conditioning gas, our highly experienced technicians are ready to help you.
*** WARNING – SCIENCE STUFF ***
Simply put, auto air conditioning works by circulating a refrigerant gas through the air con system. The gas enters the compressor where it is compressed to a higher pressure which causes a rise in temperature. The gas is then passed through a condenser the refrigerant gas is cooled by air flowing across the condenser coils and condenses into a liquid and heat is carried away by the air.
The condensed and pressured liquid refrigerant passes next through an expansion valve where it is exposed to a rapid reduction in pressure. At this point, the liquid refrigerant experiences what is described as a flash evaporation, which further lowers its temperature.
From here, the cold refrigerant flows through the evaporator. The air to be cooled is blown across the evaporator, which causes the remaining liquid part of the cold refrigerant mixture to evaporate as well, lowering the temperature even further. This cools the warm air, which is then cycled to the vehicle’s cabin. The refrigerant gas then flows back into the compressor, before cycling through the same process again and giving us that deliciously cold air we so desperately crave during those endless hot summer days and nights of Perth’s long summer.
*** SCIENCE STUFF FINISHED!!! ***
Probably the most common question we are asked when it comes to car air conditioning is “do I need to regas my air con?”. The answer is no. An conditioning system is designed to be a what is called a closed system. This means that there should be no need to replace the refrigerant as the system is designed to continuously cycle the refrigerant through without using it up.
That then leads to the question “why isn’t my air conditioning cold anymore?” The most common and obvious explanation is that there must be a leak somewhere in the air conditioning system. To diagnose this, our technicians must insert some fluorescent dye in the air conditioning system, as well as gas if the levels have dropped substantially, and run it. Using ultra violet light, they can then identify if there are any leaks and take steps to repair these for you.
Another common explanation for why your air conditioning isn’t operating is due to the compressor failing internally. When this happens, fine metallic fragments make their way through the whole air conditioning system. These debris, in turn, destroy the condenser, valve and receiver drier, all of which now require replacement.
The whole air conditioning system then requires a thorough flush to ensure these fine metal particles are removed from the system. Once the system is cleaned to our satisfaction, we then reassemble the air conditioning system, using the new components.
Here at Pace, we insist on replacing all of these components. In our experience, air conditioning systems where only the compressor is replaced, usually fail again within the next 12 months or so, resulting in unnecessary expense for you, our customer.
Once assembled, we re-gas the system and add the fluoro dye. After the dye is added, the air conditioning is run and our technicians check for any leaks, thoroughly retest the system and check the temperature at the dash.
So, what do you do if you realise that your air conditioning is not operating at the level that you expect? Your first step is to contact us and we’ll arrange for you to drop your vehicle into us so we can diagnose the problem. Once diagnosed, we’ll discuss your options with you and proceed once we receive your approval.
Refrigerant gas requires expert handling to ensure that all environmental regulations are adhered to and must be managed only by a licensed technician. Auto air conditioning technicians receive specialist training to enable them to diagnose and offer car air conditioning service and repair to your systems.
You can rest assured that all of our technicians who work on air conditioning systems are fully qualified and trained to work with refrigerant coolant and we comply with all regulatory guidelines.
Regardless of whether you drive a Porsche, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen or Mini, the team at Pace is ready to help you as car air conditioning specialists.