If your car aircon is not cold enough, or if it’s blowing hot air, there are a few things you can try to do to find the cause of the issue. Unfortunately, you’ll almost certainly have to call a professional to get this fixed. But if you can identify the source of the problem, at least you’ll have a better idea of the sort of help you need!
How Does Car Aircon Work?
Have you ever wondered just how your car aircon works? It runs on a compressed gas called a refrigerant. This refrigerant absorbs the heat from inside your car while radiating the heat outside. In this way, it makes your car’s interior cooler than the outside temperature.
Car Aircon Not Working: Possible Issues
If you are a first time driver or if it is the height of summer, it can be very frustrating if your car aircon isn’t working. It could be a number of issues, including: low or leaking refrigerant, component issues or wiring problems. We’ll explore each of these individually below.
Low or Leaking Aircon Refrigerant
One reason your aircon may not be working is if there is an issue with your refrigerant. You might be running low, or there might be a leak somewhere in the system. Garages offer “regassing” services where they’ll replace your aircon refrigerant. And if there’s a leak in your system, they can work to find the source and fix it.
Car Aircon Component Issues
Aircon Condenser
The aircon’s condenser radiates or dissipates heat from the refrigerant in the system. This allows the refrigerant to shift from a gas to a liquid and back again, so it can circulate through the system. Your condenser might be blocked or clogged, or there might be an issue with the system’s plumbing.
Aircon Compressor
Alternatively, there might be an issue with your aircon system’s compressor. This is the core of your aircon unit, as it works to move the refrigerant through the system. They can fail as a result of general wear and tear after years of use. But they can also struggle to work if you go too long without using your aircon.
Running your aircon on full for about 10 minutes every couple of weeks, regardless of the temperature, may help keep things running smoothly, so your compressor will be less likely to fail through inactivity.
Aircon Cooling Fans
Finally, there could be a problem with the cooling fans. These work with the compressor and the condenser to get rid of the heat from your system. If they’re faulty, then the refrigerant in your system will never get cool enough to work like it should.
Aircon Wiring Issues
Like everything else in your car, your aircon system relies on electrical power to run. Most car electrical system’s feature certain fail-safes that’ll shut off power to certain components if they detect an issue. In this way they prevent any serious problems from developing – such as faulty components suddenly catching fire.
So if your aircon’s blowing hot air, it could be due to an electrical fault. It might be something as simple as a blown fuse. Or it might be something more complicated, like a frayed wire or melted wire.
Running a diagnostic check on your car’s electrical system is a complex and time consuming job that requires specialist testing equipment. So once more, if you suspect there may be an issue with your aircon, it’s best to head to a garage as soon as you can!
Keep Your Cool On the Road
A problem with your aircon is more of an inconvenience than a serious, life-threatening issue. Yet it’s still something you’ll want to address as soon as possible, and not just because it can be unpleasant and uncomfortable to drive in hot weather.
As we’ve seen, most issues with your aircon happen as a result of wear and tear. So if something has gone wrong with your aircon, who knows what other issues are hiding in your car’s system?
This is why it’s vital to get regular servicing for your car. Let trained mechanics run routine diagnostic checks on your car and they can fix many issues long before they become serious problems.
And for total peace of mind, get comprehensive car insurance with added breakdown cover. That way, if there’s ever a serious problem with your car that results in a breakdown, you can rest assured that help will be on the way soon.
