The evaporator looks like the condenser’s cousin, with coils of its own, but its purpose is the exact opposite: to absorb heat and humidity from the passenger compartment and blow cold air through the vents onto the driver and passengers. They are also the source of the most common problem facing the air conditioning system-leaks.Įvaporator: After passing through the purification process in the dryer, the hoses carry cold liquid refrigerant to the evaporator, the workhorse of the air conditioning system. Moisture-eating granules in the dryer, called desiccants, purify the refrigerant and keep it flowing through the system.Ī/C hoses: The hoses through which the refrigerant flows are like veins in the human body, carrying crucial liquid and gas from one component to another. Water is fatal to an air conditioning system because it freezes. Receiver-Dryer: After leaving the condenser, the liquid refrigerant flows to the receiver-dryer, whose purpose is to remove any moisture that might have infiltrated the system.
The condenser is usually located under the hood in front of the radiator, giving the appearance of a second radiator in the car. The refrigerant passes through the folded coils of the condenser and it relinquishes its heat to the air and cools to a liquid. The compressor then pumps the refrigerant gas through hoses and into the condenser.Ĭondenser: The car A/C condenser receives refrigerant gas under high pressure from the compressor and exposes it to significantly lower outside temperatures, much the same way a radiator exposes engine coolant to atmospheric temperature. The compressor is powered by the mechanical motion of the crankshaft to put refrigerant under immense pressure, raising its temperature in the process. This is because the refrigerant will be subject to extreme cold and must be able to flow through the system.Ĭompressor: The compressor is the only mechanical component in the air conditioning system. In other words, it cannot turn into a solid, like water does, at temperatures near 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It must absorb and release heat easily and have a very low freezing point. Refrigerant must have certain qualities to work in an air conditioning system. Today most vehicles use its replacement, R134a refrigerant. Upon discovering freon emissions were contributing to the destruction of the Earth’s ozone layer, which protects its inhabitants from the sun’s most harmful UV rays, the federal government banned use of R12 refrigerant in new cars. Until 1995, this was the inert gas freon, sometimes known as R12 refrigerant. Refrigerant: The substance that flows through an air conditioning system to absorb and release heat is called refrigerant. These are the main components of a car or truck air conditioning system: Unlike other systems, its function is to remove heat and humidity from the passenger compartment and blow cooler air into it.
Like most automobile systems, the air conditioning system is a complex series of motors, belts, hoses and fluid generating pressure and heat to serve its function in the automobile. It is difficult to purchase a new car or truck today without it.
Ask the drivers and passengers about the A/C and they are likely to consider it indispensable. Vehicles were not widely equipped with it until about 70 years after internal combustion vehicles were introduced. Car Air Conditioning ComponentsĪir conditioning was a later addition to cars and trucks.
The functionality of the driver and passengers, however, is dramatically enhanced by air conditioning’s cooling effect, which is why it’s important to know how to fix an A/C leak. Indeed, an A/C compressor draws power from the engine, slightly reducing the efficiency of the vehicle. The air conditioning system of a car, on the other hand, could be removed without any loss of function.