Without a working air conditioner, the interior of your car could reach extremely unpleasant temperatures. While your car's air conditioning system can be essential for your comfort, these systems can be prone to suffering serious malfunctions and other performance related issues. Developing your understanding of the types of issues that an air conditioner can experience will go a long way towards helping you to respond to these issues so that your discomfort is kept to a minimum.

Is It Normal To Need To Add More Refrigerant To The Air Conditioning System?

Some car owners assume that it is normal for them to need to add more refrigerant to their automotive air conditioning system regularly. While this may seem like it would make sense, it should be noted that a car's air conditioning system is designed to be a closed system. As a result, there should not be a refrigerant leak to cause this fluid to get low. If you find that you are needing to add more refrigerant to this system regularly, you may want to have it tested for a leak. These leaks can be found by pressurizing the air conditioning system as this will cause any refrigerant leaks to become more visible by causing a stream of refrigerant to spray out of the leak.

Is Low Refrigerant The Only Reason The Air Conditioner Would Be Unable To Cool Your Car?

While low refrigerant can be one of the main reasons for a car's air conditioning system to struggle to cool the cabin, there are many other issues that could also lead to this problem. For example, if you notice that the air conditioner is failing to provide any air at all, this could indicate that the primary blower has suffered a major failure. If the system is blowing warm air, this could also indicate that the condenser coils are coated with too much dirt and dust, which is inhibiting their ability to release the heat that was absorbed by the refrigerant.

What Is Causing A Grinding Sound To Come From The Air Conditioning System?

A grinding sound coming from the air conditioning system can be a major warning sign of problems developing. Unfortunately, some people will fail to take these sounds seriously as the system may seemingly continue to work despite making these noises. Often, a grinding sound will indicate the primary fan has debris in the moving parts or is running low on lubricant. If this sound persists or returns on a regular basis, you may want to have the system inspected as low lubricant or debris jamming the moving components could contribute to the system suffering serious damage or wear and tear.

For more information, contact a company like Modern Auto Air.