How Does My Car Air Conditioning Work?

Over the years, AC systems in cars have advanced and become more sophisticated than ever. They’re quick and efficient, with some offering up to multiple zones of individual temperature control. However, the basics of auto air conditioning remain more or less the same.

Today, we will go over the air conditioning's most important components and how they all work together to supply you with cool air.

1. A compressor is powered by a pulley connected to the engine. Its main job is to compress low-pressure refrigerant gas or freon to a high enough pressure.
2. The pressurized freon flows into the condenser behind the grille in the front of your vehicle, where a system of tubes cools the refrigerant and turns it into liquid form.
3. The refrigerant moves through an accumulator or receiver-dryer , eliminating any water that may harm the system. 
4. The liquid freon passes through the expansion valve, where it expands and cools off so it can move to the evaporator core. At this stage, it is very cold. In the evaporator , the fluid is transformed back into a low-pressure gas.
5. A fan proceeds to blow air over the evaporator and sends out cool air out the vents in the passenger cabin.
6. After, the low-pressure refrigerant gas flows back into the compressor, where the process starts to repeat itself. 

If your A/C is no longer blowing cool air or no air at all, it means one of these parts above have stopped working. For all your auto A/C needs, you can count on the experts at Jeff’s Automotive, Inc. Please give us a call or schedule an appointment online with us today.