The summer months here in the midwest are HOT! I am asked about air conditioning a lot in these sweltering months. I would like to share some information about automotive air conditioning with you so that you can better understand how it works.
Basically, your automotive air conditioner is a refrigerator that is powered by the turning of the engine. A belt drives a pump, which in turn pumps refrigerant through a series of pipes and hoses, making a stop to cool down, then to evaporate in to cold air. Sounds simple, right? Not so much...
Refrigerant, or Freon, starts it's journey on the low pressure side of the compressor. When you turn the switch on for the air conditioning, the switch sends a signal to the system that it is going to power up, so it must make several checks to ensure that the system is going to work correctly before engaging and pumping. A pressure switch in the low side indicates whether or not the system has enough pressure to operate-usually 20-30psi. If this check is passed, then the circuit completes to engage the compressor clutch. The compressor clutch is basically an electromagnet that draws a pulley together so the belt is no longer freewheeling, but turning the compressor.
Next stop is the evaporator core. The evaporator core is the business end of an air conditioning system. It is what evaporates the Freon to make cold air. It is usually located deep within the dashboard of your vehicle, inside the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit. A fan blows air through the evaporator core, cooling the air to an optimal -10 degrees F.
After that, the refrigerant becomes very warm and must be renewed. With the increased heat of evaporation, the pressure increases. Next stop is the condenser.
The condenser is in the front of the vehicle and looks like a small radiator. It sits in front of the actual radiator and can easily be mistaken for part of your car's cooling system. Here, a cooling fan removes heat from the refrigerant and it becomes cooler. The pressure in this side can reach in upwards of 400psi! This is why this is called the high pressure side of the compressor.
In all basics, the compressor compresses the refrigerant to transform it from a gas to a liquid. The liquid changing back to a gas is what causes a loss of heat, thus making cold air in the evaporator, and the condenser is what cools the hot gas so it can be efficiently compressed to a liquid again and start the journey all over.
The refrigerant system is totally sealed. If there is a leak at all, the system will not work for very long, if at all.
Feel free to email diyfixyourcar@gmail.com for all of your air conditioning questions!
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