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Nothing is more aggravating than turning on the air conditioning in your sun baked car and feeling warm air coming out of the vents, and when it comes to transporting precious cargo like your children or pets an air conditioning failure can be downright dangerous. 

Your air conditioning system is a complex network of parts and should only be worked on by a professional like the folks at Van's Tire & Service.  There are several possible causes for A/C failure the technician will look for:

 

·         Loss of Freon - Properly working air conditioning is a sealed system filled with a special gas called Freon that get's super cold when compressed and decompressed.  Over time, seals and hoses can become gas permeable, meaning the Freon can leak from the system.  Without Freon you have no cold air.  Home service kits sold by auto parts stores can help temporarily, but if you are low on Freon you have a leak. Adding more won't fix the leak and over the counter solutions can actually damage your system. 

·         Compressor Failure - Freon has to be compressed to high pressure and then released into the low pressure side of your system to make it cold.  A properly working compressor is essential to the process.  A failed compressor can be replaced with simple tools, but once the system is opened up, it needs to have all of the air removed, which is accomplished by a special evacuation pump, before new Freon is installed.  Skipping evacuation will severely limit the effectiveness of the system and damage expensive parts.

·         Dryer Failure - A canister shaped component called a dryer traps efficiency killing condensation.  If the dryer fails your air conditioning will still work, but the air coming out of your vents will not be cold enough to cool off the passenger compartment.  

·         Belt Failure - The compressor is driven via a rubber drive belt.  If the belt breaks or is thrown off of the compressor pulley your A/C will not work.  On modern cars, this belt will also run other key components like your water pump, alternator and power steering.  If your belt fails have your car towed to Van's Tire & Service for repair and replacement.

·         Line blockage - The passages in your air conditioning system are very tiny.  A small amount of debris can block the free flow of Freon, which will then cause the system to fail.  A qualified service center can find the blockage and replace parts as necessary.

 

There are a number of ways your sophisticated air conditioning system can fail.  Let the ASE certified folks at Van's Tire & Service find the problem and fix it right for cool, comfortable driving.