Denny Norton
Denny is the owner of Performance Unlimited.
Halfway through summer – how is your car’s AC holding up?
Whew! You’ve made it this far. You’ve endured another summer with, of course, the help of the air conditioning in your car. So, how’s AC holding up?
It’s possible that the air conditioning that blew cool in May and June has lost a little of its oomph now that another Johnsburg July has set in. And we still have August to contend with. Even September can push the thermometer into the less-than-comfortable regions.
How could an air conditioning system that worked so well then struggle to keep up now? It’s even possible that the AC in your car collapsed under the load here at mid-summer. The heat this time of year tends to do that to an air-conditioning system. It tests the AC in all the vehicles around these parts and it finds the weak links that can’t quite pass the tests.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that your car’s air conditioning has failed completely. By all means, if all you get is hot air blowing out of the vents, you’ll want to have that system checked. But your car’s AC could simply have lost a step or two.
It’s possible that you need to have the system recharged. Where it had a full charge in May it may have less than a full charge now. And, if that is the case, it could indicate that you may have a leak.
When a qualified auto repair technician refills your air-conditioning system in your car, since they are qualified, you know they’ll also check to ensure that you don’t have any leaks.
Due to wear, parts of your air conditioning system can fail. The compressor can seize up. It could simply stop compressing. There could be problems with other electrical components that are critical to the operation of your vehicle’s AC, such as a compressor pressure switch.
The receiver drier may require replacement. The fan that pulls the air through the condensing coil – the fan that pulls the cool air into the cabin of your car – may have failed.
Of course, it’s possible that the temperatures in the early half of summer didn’t test your vehicle’s AC the way summer is doing now. Maybe the air conditioner needed some assistance to get up to its peak performance but was never called upon to do so until now.
Whatever the case, we still have the potential for some seriously hot weather before this Johnsburg summer fades into the past. Make sure your air conditioner is ready for whatever summer throws at it.
Need service? Call (815) 728-0343 to make an appointment.
