For Malaysians, a malfunctioning car air conditioner is every driver and passenger’s nightmare. The Malaysian Department of Information reports that on average, temperatures in Malaysia can reach up to 32°C! Without our life-saving air conditioners, the blistering heat inside our vehicle can cause serious heat stroke to the occupants. In worse cases, fatalities have been reported in the past where children died of heat stroke after being left in a hot car for too long. If you found your car’s air conditioner not working properly, the following may be the culprits that are causing a malfunction.
Read More: Car Maintenance Checklist for Your Road Trip
Car Air Conditioner Refrigerant running low or leaking
A car’s air conditioning system always leaks gas now and then from wear and tear. In hotter climates like Malaysia, rubber hoses, batteries, fans, and condensers have to work under heat stress. Combined with a running engine under hot weather, this further accelerates the wear and tear effects on our car air conditioner. Commonly, worn parts from the air conditioner involve O rings and rubber seals as they work by keeping high-pressure air from the condenser straight into your cabin.
Otherwise, do send your car to a workshop if your car is running low on refrigerant. In most modern cars, R134a is the industry standard since 1994 for ongoing vehicles on the road due to its low flammability and being more eco-friendly.
Clogged Filter in the Car’s Air Conditioner
Dust is always omnipresent no matter how often we clean something. Dust occurs from the drying and flaking of particles from various sources like objects, organisms, and soil to smoke. Picture your car filter as the lungs of your vehicle. Without an air filter, the car will suck in all sorts of dirt and debris which can lead to serious breakdowns of your car engine! If an air conditioner has no filter, you’ll be breathing in cancerous, polluted air.
Over time, our air filters can get clogged from particles accumulating in the microscopic netting inside the filters. A clogged air filter will make your entire car air conditioning system to put on strain hindering its efficiency in working properly. Depending on your vehicle, some cars come with paper filters for easier replacement and some are made with cloth or carbon to make washing easier.
Read More: The Importance of Cabin Air Filters
Faulty Cooling Fan/Radiator
Image source: ClearMechanic.com
Did you know that your engine’s cooling system and air conditioning system are tied together? To reduce the number of unnecessary components and save space in the engine bay, certain components are connected to more than one system. This comes at a cost of complexity – if one component fails, one or more features of the engine may fail together. In this case, our car air conditioning system is usually located sitting right behind our vehicle’s radiator.
To locate the radiator, all you need to do is find a big, thick silver panel that sits between the front bumper and the engine block of your car. These fans pull in the cold air as the car is being driven on the road to aid in cooling the engine and in turn, cool the air conditioning radiator, compressor, and other vital components. Hence, check on your car’s radiator at the nearest mechanic if you do find your car’s air conditioner not working.
Condenser Malfunction
In lieu of a faulty radiator, a malfunctioning condenser can cause our car air conditioner to blow hot wind at our faces. The condenser is a heat exchanger. It cools the refrigerant that is heated by the compressor and evaporates the moisture into the cold air that flows through the cabin’s vents.
If there is a malfunction in the condenser, all your refrigerants will be put to waste as the radiator will turn them into liquid. A first tell-tale sign of a malfunctioning condenser is small puddles of water found on the ground where your car is parked; underneath the engine bay.
Read More: Things to Check When you Service your Car
Choose CARSOME Certified for Complete Peace of Mind
If you’re looking for a quality, pre-owned car with a tip-top and functioning air conditioner, look no further than CARSOME! All of our vehicles are put through a strict 175-point inspection and a professional refurbishment process to ensure they have safety, comfort, and refurbished aesthetics beyond standards.
Plus, each CARSOME Certified pledges to offer great value with the following promises.
- Fixed price: No hidden fees. What you see is what you’ll get. Everything displayed for you is the full price.
- Five-day money-back guarantee: Not happy with the car that you bought? We have a five-day money-back guarantee. Bring it back to our center and get a full refund!
- One-year warranty: All CARSOME Certified cars also have a one-year extended warranty for your peace of mind.
Check out CARSOME to find your dream ride today!
