Air Conditioning: A Love/Hate Story

Ah cool air. A luxury that many of us can't live without.

We get it.

It's 100 degrees out and you've got kids, or grandma in the car. Or you're dressed up and sweating through your clothes on the way to work. It's miserable. So we totally understand the desire to have working a/c, and not wanting to wait 2 weeks, in the middle of July, to get it fixed.

However, keeping air conditioning working in an aging vehicle can be a bit of a pain. So let me take a minute to summarize why air conditioning ranks very high among our least favorite things to service. Let's do this one in countdown list form. Everybody likes those.

3: The Hydra

Many components. Many ways to fail. 1 complaint.

This is a very simplified diagram of an a/c system.

If any one of these components, the o-rings between them, or the electronics that control them, fail, you're back to doubling up on the deodorant. If you consider that there are multiple ways for each component to fail, it's kind of impressive that the system works with any regularity.

2: There and Back Again

A diagnostic journey

If your lack of a/c is because the system is low on charge (90% of all cases) this means you have a leak somewhere. The latest version of automotive freon, while better for the ozone, is more prone to leaking. Now the trouble with finding a leaking gas on a car, as opposed to your house, is that the lines snake all over the place. We have tools that detect freon, but they can get you to an area, and often times the leaks are very slight. So, often times the most effective way to diagnose a leak is to charge the system back up to factory specs and add a fluorescent dye that will stain whatever is leaking. But rarely is the leak severe enough to be found that day. Typically the car needs to be driven for a while and the dye allowed to cycle through the system for a few weeks. This means an annoying multiple trip process, and no one likes being without their car.

1: Chasing the Dragon

How far do you go?

It's a bad feeling to spend money on something one year, only to have to turn around and do it again the next year. This is our absolute least favorite thing with air conditioning (And in many ways auto repair in general). It's what makes the dragon and the hydra cousins. It upsets so many people, even though we try to explain it so carefully. It's why we're making this post. It's a very unpleasant thing to tell someone they need the dash pulled out of their car so we can replace the evaporator core and it's going to cost $$$. It's even more unpleasant to tell them 10 months later that their compressor seal is leaking and it's $$. But the reality is, that as these systems age, not only do mechanical components break down, but it becomes increasingly difficult keep gas sealed in them. Anyway, if you read this far, just know that we don't like it either, and that you can buy a lot of Old Spice for less than a car payment a month.