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Hey Luke, my air conditioner isn’t blowing cold air anymore. What gives?

-Clara in Onalaska

When the temps start soaring and your car’s air conditioner is on the fritz, you dread driving anywhere. From the moment you open the door, it’s almost as if you can see the hot air rushing out of the car. Quite the invitation.

If your vehicle’s air conditioner has stopped blowing cold air, you probably don’t need a mechanic to tell you it’s time for us to have a look. The sweat beading down your face told you that loud and clear.

The lack of cold air could be caused by a number of reasons. So find yourself a cool, comfy place and read this list of possible reasons…

• ⦿ Freon leak caused by an o-ring, seal, hose or component gone bad
• ⦿ Failed blower motor or resistor
• ⦿ Vacuum leaks
• ⦿ Clogged refrigerant charging hose or expansion tube
• ⦿ Failed compressor
• ⦿ Damaged or failed condenser or evaporator
• ⦿ Failed fuse, switch, relay, control module, solenoid or blend door
•  

Now, you don’t need to go researching how each and every one of those functions play a role in your car blowing cold air. If you want to, go ahead, but we figure you have much more important things to do. That’s why we’re here! But for the sake of helping you learn something today, let’s jump into the three most common issues we see with A/C systems.

Low refrigerant is probably the most common issue. Your vehicle may start with blowing cold air but as you make your way down the road, the temp gets warmer as the crispness of cool air leaves your car’s cabin. If your A/C is also making noises while not doing what it should be doing, that too is a sign of low refrigerant.

A second is logged or a leaking condenser. Basically when your A/C doesn’t have enough refrigerant traveling through the system, you’re not going to get any cold air. When your system has a condenser leak or a clog, your A/C isn’t going to work as it should, reducing its effectiveness. When this happens, you may also experience noise when attempting to run your A/C.

A third issue we see is a damaged compressor. This is the part which absorbs heat and cools the air. It does exactly as the name suggests, compresses the refrigerant in your system, compressing it flat before going on to the next step of giving you cool air. When it becomes damaged or fails, there’s not going to any cold air, or you’ll get air that’s not as cold as it should be.

After reading all this, you probably just want your air conditioning blowing cold air again. We don’t blame you. Easiest way to make your car cool again is to schedule an appointment with us at Luke’s Auto Repair in Onalaska. It may be as simple as recharging your car’s A/C system. No matter the issue, we’ll make it right so you can stay cool on the hottest of days.

Car questions? Ask Luke!