Auto Air Conditioning System  

Let me explain in layman's terms how the air conditioning (AC) system works Like your body, the air conditioning compressor is the heart of the AC system, and Freon is the blood. The compressor pumps Freon throughout the AC system, the new environmentally-friendly R 134A Freon. This Freon is a gas and liquid combination that is compressed and circulated throughout the air conditioning system. The compressed Freon is pushed through the system under pressure and is passed through different sized metal and rubber hoses and a special valve called an expansion valve that cause the gas to expand and contract. This expansion and contraction makes the Freon gas very cold. This cold gas makes its way via metal lines into the dash area of your vehicle to the evaporator core. This evaporator core is like a small radiator, except it has cold Freon circulating inside and not hot antifreeze.

A small fan (the AC blower fan which you control from the control panel on the dash) sits in front of the evaporator core and blows air across this cold evaporator and then through the vents inside your vehicle. The other objective of the air conditioning system is to remove the heat from inside the cab of the vehicle. This heat is removed by the Freon with the help of the AC condenser located at the front of the car (usually in front of the radiator). The Freon coming back from the evaporator carries the heat from the cab to the condenser via rubber and metal hoses. Just like your radiator, the condenser is lightweight aluminum with many internal winding coils. The Freon travels through these coils, and in between these coils are small slits or fins that the Freon is forced through. The condenser will have an electric cooling fan mounted in front or behind it to push or pull air through these fins to remove the heat from the Freon. Some vehicles still use the old fashioned fan blade driven by the engine to pull air across the radiator and the condenser. Note: An air conditioning system that is somewhat low on Freon can still feel comfortable at freeway speeds due to the added air flow across the condenser which can overcome the ill effects of slightly low Freon. Periodic air conditioning performance checks by our technicians are the best way to keep the system in great shape. Click here to setup an appointment.