ac systems
How it works
Your vehicle’s compressor, powered by the serpentine belt, compresses the refrigerant into a liquid, putting it into a high-pressure state. This pressure forces the liquid out of the compressor through the hoses in your AC hose assembly, which carry refrigerant through the system. The compressed refrigerant travels from the compressor to the condenser on the high-pressure side of the system to cool off before reaching the AC evaporator core on the low-pressure side.
The condenser is like a small radiator where the AC hoses come in contact with the outside air, which absorbs heat from the liquid inside before the liquid reaches the AC in-line filter, which removes debris that could contaminate the system. The now cooled refrigerant moves to the low-pressure side of the system through either the expansion valve or the orifice tube, depending on which system you have. There it goes through the evaporator core in a gaseous state, allowing the refrigerant to absorb heat from the air that passes through the evaporator fins. This leaves the cabin with cool air while the warm refrigerant makes its way back to the compressor.
Finding a Leak in Your AC System
Your vehicles cooling system runs on a closed loop system where fluid or refrigerant are contained in a piping system and are not exposed to the outside environment. This means if system is running low on refrigerant it is because the system has incurred a leak. To find these leaks our technicians use a dye test. It's a method in which a small amount of fluorescent dye is injected into and circulated through the operating system. The dye/refrigerant mixture will escape and accumulate at all leak sites. By then scanning the system with a leak detection lamp, all leaks will glow fluoresce green or yellow, making them easy to spot.
Don't put up with the heat any longer. call to schedule your AC appoinment today!