The days when air conditioning in the car will be necessary are getting closer, so today we remind ourselves what you should pay attention to if you have this device in your vehicle. First of all, we should know that car air conditioning requires regular maintenance throughout the year, just as it is the case with all other parts of the car.
As a rule, the air conditioner should last as long as the car, but in case of non-maintenance, there are considerable costs that can unpleasantly surprise the driver. That's why it is recommended to have the air conditioner checked by a specialized service before extremely high temperatures. The possible appearance of an unpleasant smell or buzzing is a sure sign that intervention is needed.
An unpleasant smell hides decomposition processes, the products of which the compressor injects directly into the cabin, which is harmful to the health of the passengers, while humming can indicate a failure of the pulley bearing, which directly causes damage to the most expensive part of the system - the compressor.
In order to prevent such a scenario from happening, we should check the operation of the system at least once a year. That check consists of checking the pressure in the system and the amount of freon, which requires special equipment, so we are not able to do it ourselves, so we have to go to the service center.
Each car has a prescribed amount of freon that should be in the air conditioner. A possible lack of freon indicates a potential leak point, but it can also evaporate from the system over a long period of time. If there is a lack of freon, the system is topped up with the appropriate amount.
Filling the air conditioner with gas is a job that should be entrusted to a specialist. Replenishment is often done with inappropriate oils, even freons, which have not been used for car air conditioners in recent years. Namely, it is wrong that only gas is refilled in some service stations. It is necessary to observe the prescribed oil/gas ratio, which is different for each air conditioner model.
Also, it is very difficult to determine the amount of gas and oil in the system. It is extremely important at which point the air conditioner stopped cooling. If this happened while the air conditioner was on, the coolant leaked out on the high pressure side and then there is no possibility to top it up. If the mixture is lost on the low pressure side, then it is possible to refill the system, but only according to strictly established parameters. The price of refilling freon is around 50 euros.
Due to the lack of cooling gas, the compressor is also exposed to danger, because with it, a precisely determined amount of oil circulates in the system, which has the function of lubricating the internal parts of the system.
The owner of the vehicle can carry out a preliminary assessment of the operation of the air conditioner. First, you need to get to the two pipes through which freon circulates, which are most often located next to each other in the area under the windshield. He should then touch them to assess the temperature. The wide (intake) pipe should be cold, and the thin (discharge) pipe should be lukewarm. If it is not like that, it is a sure sign that you should go to the service center.
Optimum air conditioning can only be achieved if all parts and assemblies of the air conditioner function together and in harmony. Expensive breakdowns can be avoided by regular use of the air conditioner. It needs to be turned on throughout the year once a week for five minutes, even in winter, when it can help with more efficient demisting of the windows.
The biggest problem is the fact that drivers do not perform a regular, and often not even a major (two-year) service, during which as many as 17 operations of the entire system are examined. It is by no means enough to do only a cleaning treatment. Pollen filter replacement is recommended every 10.000 kilometers. Therefore, air conditioning servicing requires regular and professional maintenance. As a rule, this cooling device should last as long as the car, but carelessness pays dearly.
Bearing hum is dangerous for the compressor
Most drivers do not use the air conditioner all year round, so it often happens that the compressor does not have enough oil and gas. Humming and changing sound in the operation of the air conditioner is a reliable sign that something is wrong with the device.
Humming of the bearing of the pulley that drives the compressor should be taken especially seriously, as it has very unpleasant consequences.
Improper operation of this bearing can over time completely destroy the so-called neck of the compressor, which will cost the owner over 200 euros, depending on the type of compressor. That is why it is very important that this bearing is checked and replaced as soon as the vehicle owner feels that the sound of the compressor is different.
The load on the compressor is also high when, due to external factors, the cooling of the freon in the air conditioning cooler, which is usually located right behind the front fascia, is obstructed. The most common cause of this is dirt and dead insects that get stuck between the cooler cells. For this reason, this radiator should be washed from time to time, but not with water under high pressure so as not to cover the cells, but with a normal stream from the hose.
Disinfection protects children's health
Another dilemma is related to the air conditioner. Many drivers believe that it is harmful to health. This common opinion is the result of lack of information and extremely free interpretation of the consequences that an insufficiently maintained air conditioner can cause.
The first thing that usually comes to mind is the temperature shock that occurs when you step out of a cooled car into the hot sun. More sensitive people experience this very hard, but the remedy for this phenomenon is actually very simple. It only takes a few minutes before leaving the vehicle to turn off the air conditioning and adjust it so that the temperature inside the vehicle is about seven to eight degrees lower than the outside temperature.
This avoids sudden temperature changes and gives the vaporizer enough time to dry. Namely, the wet vaporizer is the basis for the development of bacteria and fungi, which, when they multiply, start to smell unpleasant and are a source of respiratory infections.
The claims of many drivers that their children get sick as soon as they start using the air conditioner is mostly true. A child's organism is more delicate, it has a weaker immune system that succumbs to bacteria, viruses and fungi more easily than an adult's organism. There is definitely a solution to this problem, and it's not expensive either. It is only necessary once every six months, or at least once a year, to carry out the treatment of cleaning the evaporator and exhaust tunnels. This intervention costs 15 euros on average, and it is also recommended to replace the pollen filter. However, all this makes sense only if it is done in a professional service.
If one also takes into account how much the body loses less fluid and precious salts thanks to the climate, it can be concluded that the climate not only does not harm health in any way if it is regularly maintained, but, on the contrary, benefits it. On longer journeys, it significantly reduces driver fatigue and irritability, thus contributing to greater safety.
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