Vehicle air conditioner maintenance. Get the car ready for summer.

A fully operational air conditioner makes a ride comfortable. However, a lot of car owners forget to prepare their air conditioners for the season. Big mistake! A timely checked and serviced system is fully operational, which means there is always cool and fresh air in a passenger compartment.

Checking of the air conditioner and performing of the necessary preventive measures don’t require much time. You just need an experienced hand and special equipment.   

Necessary preventive measures: 

• Bacterial treatment;
• Performance check;
• Routine maintenance. 

Bacterial treatment

High temperature and humidity in the AC system ducts is a favorable environment for bacterial growth. That is why the system should be sanitized every year.

A car owner can carry out a bacterial treatment of the air conditioner all by himself. Still, a car service station is a better choice as there is special equipment there that delivers the antiseptic agent to the very tight areas of the system. No one can do it with the antiseptic spray alone. 

The cabin air filter must be replaced after treatment.  

Performance check

The compressor is the most expensive part of the vehicle AC system. Loud noise (produced either by this unit itself or by the drive belt) is the most distinctive sign of failure. The compressor is noisy when there is a refrigerant leak. There can be several causes: fissures of the compressor body or pipeline, wear of gaskets, drive belts, or seals. To understand what is wrong with the compressor, it should be dismantled and checked for defects. 

The next important unit is a condenser (condenser radiator). It is located in front of the engine cooler and is often clogged with dirt, dust, fuzz, and leaves flying from under the wheels. A clogged condenser cannot function and cool the air properly. As a result, the pressure in the system rises and after some time, the air conditioner spontaneously turns off.  

Evaporator and dryer are other two important units.

If there is water that appeared out of nowhere in a passenger compartment, the cooling is poor, and there is a bad smell, it signals the evaporator fault. 

It is the dryer that should be checked if the unit spontaneously turns off and the hoses are iced.

When the air conditioner is faultless, it efficiently cools the air (up to t <10°С), there is no smell coming from the air vent, and the system is running until you turn it off.  

AC system maintenance

AC maintenance is a package of measures that should be performed every season. They help to maintain the system in operational order and eliminate faults.

What should be done during the routine maintenance procedure?

• System air-tightness check. There should be no fissures or other damages in AC ducts and pipe joints. If there is a leak, it should be rectified.
• Condenser cleaning. It has been already mentioned above that the condenser must be clean. Cleaning of the condenser is a necessary procedure of the AC maintenance.
• Drainpipe check and cleaning. When the air conditioner is in operation, moisture accumulated in the evaporator is drained through the drainpipe. If the pipe is clogged, the water stagnates in the evaporator sump which may cause unpleasant smell and mold in the car interior.  
• Refrigerant quality and quantity check. Refilling. On average, 10-15% of the refrigerant evaporates from any vehicle AC per year. When a larger quantity of the refrigerant is still not enough, the system should be checked for air-tightness. The quality of Freon also affects cooling – the refrigerant should be free from other gas impurities. Cars under 8 years old are refilled every 2-3 years, older cars – every 1-2 years.

It is better to entrust maintenance of vehicle air conditioners to specialists. Professional servicing is carried out with the use of special diagnostic test benches and testers by MSG Equipment.

This line of products includes: Test Bench for compressors MS111, Flushing stand for compressors MS101P, filling stations for different refrigerant types, devices and tools for leak detection, mixture analyzers, etc. Our specialists perform all the procedures with the use of special equipment, which make them quick, efficient, and safe. This equipment allows us to guarantee the quality of repair.