Examining The Air Conditioning System

The air conditioning system within an auto or piece of equipment is one of the most complicated accessories available. Yes it still is an accessory although most of us have grown up with air conditioning as a standard feature on our cars and work equipment.

The closed loop system of air conditioning equipment creates a ripple effect when a single component fails; resulting a first project of analysis and second of repairing the problem area.

Technicians challenged by the complexity of the air conditioning system often opt to change the failed part instead of performing a complete diagnosis to uncover the root cause. Diagnosis is a longer process and the results are often hard to sell due to customer’s skepticism in replacing a working component.

Apart from the interdependence of the components, service-related challenges also make diagnosis tricky. For instance, compressor oil selection, recognition and handling of refrigerant blends, and air conditioning sealers that glue up equipment when the system is opened for inspection can impair a technicians’ decision-making process.

Common Issues

Vehicles that run in the dust and dirt can severely impact the cabin cooling system by clogging up the air filter that removes particles before outside air reaches your cab. We often check this area first and will want to replace this filter once we have access to it.

The AC compressor that cools the air is often driven by a belt off of the main motor. We check for belt wear and slippage, along with bearing wear that can occur due to age and vibration. This is usually one of the easier repairs we can make for you.
Another aspect we will check to determine where the problem lies in a faulty air conditioning system is the refrigerant. If the vehicle is older, then the refrigerant may just be used up, however if the vehicle has had light use and you’re low on refrigerant then it’s a good chance that you have a leak in your cooling liquid system. Now we have a challenge. Where is the leak? Very often, if we cannot spot it immediately we can run a die into the refrigerant recharge. This die will spray out of the leaking area and show up much more visibly than the refrigerant and give us an idea of what part needs to be replaced.

If after checking the areas above we still can’t find the problem then you may need a new compressor. This can be a more extensive and expensive repairs. If your equipment requires a compressor there are many steps required to make the repair. Very often we will need to replace many of the connecting pieces as well to ensure that everything fits correctly and there are no leaks once everything is replaced.

Trust S&S

S&S has access to all of the parts and supplies required to make any of the adjustments or repairs as explained above. If we do not have the correct part on hand we can usually get it within 48 hours, depending on your equipment. Older equipment, old autos or rare imported equipment may need more effort to get the right replacement parts but we will work as efficiently as possible to get you up and running as quickly as possible.