Never Do This to Your Car’s AC System

today we're looking at your car's air conditioning system we'll see how it works see a brief history and evolution of the air conditioning system in automobiles and bust some common myths we'll also identify some signs of a failing ac and learn how to best maintain it so hop in and let's get going once a luxury air conditioning is now a standard feature on most modern vehicles we rely on the ac to stay cool and comfortable especially during the hot summers did you know that your car's air conditioning system doesn't generate cold air actually it draws moisture and heat from the air in your car the ac system works by circulating refrigerant converting it from gas to liquid and then back again by the end of the cycle it sits in a cold gaseous state inside the evaporator when the outside air gets blown through it it gets cooled and then sent to your car cabin the standard components that make up a car's air conditioning system include the compressor condenser receiver dryer evaporator and the expansion valve or orifice tube if you have an american vehicle each of these components serve a different purpose all these components are used with the refrigerant the success of the system is based on the refrigerant's ability to change its physical properties during compression cooling and metering so let's follow the path and see how it works first we start with the compressor which sucks in low pressure low temperature refrigerant which is in gas form it compresses it into a high pressure high temperature gas then this flows through the hoses and enters the condenser which is very similar to a small radiator the condenser's job is to capture the heat of the hot refrigerant air flows around the condenser which cools the refrigerant down causing it to condense and turn back into a high pressure but lower temperature liquid in addition when the refrigerant starts to cool slightly condensation forms in the refrigerant next the high pressure liquid refrigerant enters the receiver dryer the receiver dryer is a canister that contains a desiccant and a filtering system maybe you're wondering what's a desiccant well a desk skin is simply a substance that absorbs water it's the same packet substance you can find in some shoes or medications to keep them fresh and dry now the filters of the receiver dryer remove debris like dust dirt and metal particles that can harm the ac systems it's dryer removes moisture so why is it important to remove moisture if you don't remove the moisture when the refrigerant reaches the outlet expansion valve it may be cold enough to freeze this in turn can clog the expansion valve and lead to a malfunctioning of the air conditioning system so once the refrigerant is cooled down sufficiently it gets directed to the thermal expansion valve an expansion valve is essentially a regulator it regulates how much refrigerant can pass through the air conditioning system put another way imagine you're holding a water hose when you apply pressure to the nozzle it expands and sprays the water like a mist well that's similar to how the expansion valve works the process not just lowers the pressure but also quickly cools the refrigerant so at this point it comes out in the form of a mist from the expansion belt into the air conditioning pipeline the refrigerant is now at a low pressure and low temperature it's now nearly ready to cool the interior of your car and now needs to pass through the evaporator the evaporator works like a radiator or condenser but it doesn't dissipate heat instead it absorbs heat that's because previously when the refrigerant passed through the evaporator it lowered the temperature to about 32 degrees fahrenheit interestingly unlike water which freezes at 32 degrees fahrenheit the refrigerant boils this causes the refrigerant to convert back to a gas which allows it to absorb heat from the air passing through the evaporator at this point the gas flows back into the compressor and continues the cycle so when does the cool air enter your car's interior when the refrigerant is in the evaporator a fan pushes the outside air through the cold evaporator tubes which causes the air to cool when you push the ac button that's when the air enters your car cabin as cool refreshing air conditioned air nowadays it's hard to imagine a car without air conditioning but this wasn't always the case in the early days of the automobile people simply didn't have the luxury of air conditioning it wasn't until 1939 that the first vehicle with factory air conditioning was actually produced but the idea for an air-conditioned automobile took route much earlier throughout the 1930s car manufacturers saw a need for a cooling system and they started experimenting for example in 1930 a texas resident custom made a kelvinator system for his car general motors chief researcher charles kettering loaded ice blocks in the back of his cadillac town car to measure the energy needed to cool the vehicle other companies experimented too but theirs tended to be heavy noisy and inefficient researchers had a lot of issues to resolve for starters they needed a system that was small enough to fit in a car and they also needed to find a non-toxic and non-flammable refrigerant so you wouldn't go down in flames if you got in a wreck ultimately gm developed a freon based cooling system that worked well but it was packard that first produced the first air conditioned cars in 1939 and that was with their 1940 senior 160 and 1 8 initially the car maker integrated its air conditioning system not into the dashboard as we're used to today but in the trunk of the car cadillac and chrysler followed its lead with similar system but air conditioning in vehicles didn't become mainstream at that time because it was quite expensive yet still primitive after world war ii car manufacturers began to offer air conditioning in some of their cars most systems were installed in the rear of the vehicle just like with the first packard models by the 1970s over 70 percent of new cars had ac systems but now let's look at some common myths what's more economical for your car using the ac or rolling down the windows well it seems like a simple question really but it isn't that simple an answer especially since you need to consider several different factors to begin with the outside temperature plays a big role other factors are your driving speed engine size make and model of your car as well as the condition of the air conditioner according to the u.s environmental protection agency epa cranking up the air conditioner when outside temperatures are high can increase your gas consumption by up to 25 percent also interesting to note notice in the same scenario fuel consumption was found to be even higher in hybrid vehicles than in conventional combustion engine vehicles all that said according to the same epa study using the ac may be more efficient than leaving your windows open when you're driving on the highway the main reason is that open windows increase aerodynamic drag and forces the engine to work harder and burn more fuel so here's the rule of thumb if you're concerned about gas consumption in general if you're driving at speeds over 40 miles an hour it's better to close the windows and set the air conditioner at a low level but when you're driving slower than 40 it's better to turn off the air conditioner rolling out of your windows unless you live in houston texas in the summer and you get so hot you'd melt at the speed wind drag isn't a significant factor so the engine won't be pushed to overcome air resistance here's another myth is it possible to start the engine when the air conditioner is turned on when you turn off your car you're turning off the power and all connected systems are automatically turned off as well including the ac some people believe if you turn on the engine without shutting the a seed off the ac's compressor will face a massive power load on startup and that repeatedly starting the car with all the systems down will ultimately shorten the life well that was true with older cars with carburetor decades ago but nowadays with modern cars that's no longer the case because modern cars have air conditioning units that are designed to shut off automatically when the starter is engaged so for this reason we can say that is a myth what about turning on the ac system when you're on a steep hill that's another common myth by those who say using an air conditioner while going uphill makes the engine work harder and makes the car more prone to overheating the reality is that the air conditioning systems of today's car are designed to work with all but the absolute extremists of conditions so the systems will automatically divert power to the engine as needed you can enjoy riding up the rolling hills of the cool breeze of your air conditioner in any modern car nothing could be more frustrating than a broken ac on a blazing hot summer day so how can you tell if your ac is failing here's a few things to look out for if the cold air is weak or the cold air doesn't blow at all that may indicate that the air conditioning evaporator is leaking that would affect the efficiency of the ac system the larger the leak the lower the cooling capacity another sign is a strange smell when you use the ac this too can be due to a leak from the ac evaporator a small amount of refrigerant can be the culprit usually the refrigerant has a sweet smell which intensifies when the air conditioning gets turned up what if your ac compressor doesn't turn on that can be yet another sign there's a leak in the system which causes the pressure to drop causing the computer to shut the compressor off using the pressure switch another sign your ac unit is failing as if the temperature of the cool air is inconsistent this too can be due to faulty or damaged evaporator if you hear high pitched noise coming from your ac that may be a sign that the pressure switch or sensor is failing the switch can rattle against various parts of the engine compartment so it's best to check this before any parts get damaged so how much does it cost to repair a faulty ac system a complete replacement of the ac system including removable condenser installing a new one can run anywhere from 600 to 5000 in some mercedes and that's just for the parts keep in mind though you have an additional 300 or so for the labor cost unless you're talking mercedes in which case it would be thousands to take a dash apart that's why regular maintenance can go a long way in extending the life of your car's air conditioner so here are a few helpful tips on how to extend the life of your ac for starters turn on the air conditioner in the winter it wicks humidity away from the interior of your vehicle but don't worry most cars you don't have to do that when you put the defrost on it automatically turns the air conditioner on in most modern cars when the heats up and defrost are turned on this will also help to reduce windshield fog for better visibility defrost or 10 minutes from time to time to prevent mildew and moisture buildup turn on the air conditioner at least once a week for five to ten minutes set it to maximum power to coldest level this will help ensure your compressor continues to operate at regular gas pressure levels and spreads the oil internally of the system so it's lubricated correctly but now you tell me do you have any funny or horror stories related to your car's ac system please comment below and share if you like this video please subscribe to my channel thanks for your support where do we go

Channel: Scotty Kilmer

Views: 337,525

Rating: 4.924706 out of 5

Keywords: auto, auto repair, car, car diy, car repair, cars, diy, how to, mechanic, repair, scotty kilmer, car review, ac system, ac system repair, air conditioning, car ac, car ac system, car advice, fix ac, how to fix car, how to fix car ac, how to make ac colder in car, how to repair car, life hack, life hacks, car ac not working, ac not working, car ac not on, car ac not coming on, myths, car myths, car myth, myth, mythbuster, mythbusters, myth busted, stupid people, stupid, ac myths

Id: UhR6Stsw7FM

Length: 11min 11sec (671 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 16 2021