Have A Mechanic Fix Your Cars AC To Stay Cool |
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Shane Hester
August 8, 2013
When your car air-conditioning system packs up, it could make driving highly uncomfortable especially in hot weather conditions. In highly polluted cities and industrial areas, the AC helps keep out smoke and air-borne pollutants. If you're sitting in a long line of backed up traffic and your AC stops working, you car's not the only thing that gets heated up! A faulty or non-working AC can leave you sweaty, stressed and may even pose a health hazard. You will need to get a technician to have a look at it immediately and do some diagnostics to identify the cause of the problem, give you an estimate of the time it will take to get things working again and also a quote on the repair charges.
The important thing to remember about vehicle AC's is that they're not listed parts of the standard service manual that you get along with your car. Hence AC work rarely gets done as part of your regular vehicle service and months or even years can go by without your attending to your car AC. A good garage however, will take note of your car AC maintenance and may include it in your service list. This includes checking the drive-belt, clearing blocked airflows, checking for tell-tale signs of refrigerant leakage on other parts of the engine, missing port caps, worn out brackets etc. and the mechanics will alert you about these issues. However, this may only be a cursory visual inspection and they may not do any specific AC maintenance or repair.
An experienced mechanic will give you the proper tips on AC maintenance: these include regular use of the AC even during non-summer periods to ensure smooth working, using the AC as a de-humidifier in winter to de-fog your car, use the "flow-through" instead of "recirculate" option when driving long distance to avoid headaches and drowsiness caused by CO2 emissions, etc.
Maintenance of your car AC should also include regular cleaning and control of harmful and disease causing bacteria, fungus and allergens which can exist in this rich breeding ground. The tell-tale musty odor that sometimes occurs in some cars is caused by these micro-organisms and your technician should be able to help you sanitize your vehicle properly.
Picking the right car AC mechanic requires some patience and effort. Ensure that they have the requisite qualifications, training and licenses. In some countries a Refrigerant Handling license is mandatory. Since refrigerants are extremely harmful to the environment, ensure that your AC mechanic is familiar with the disposal and use of these toxic materials. Check whether they are trained to handle different models, makes and features of AC's. A thorough diagnostic procedure should be carried out before recommending repairs and replacements.
Play it cool and find the right mechanic to fix your car's AC!