why does my ac start and stop intermettently

Why Does My A/C Start And Stop Intermittently?

Getting through a hot day without a working air conditioner in a car is a huge inconvenience. Worse still, having an air conditioner that starts and stops intermittently is more frustrating. Imagine having an A/C in your car that works well one day, only to completely fail or perform below par the next day?  There are common A/C problems that many people face during the summer. If your car’s A/C has been starting and stopping intermittently, there could be a number of reasons why this could be happening. Let’s take a look at common A/C problems and what causes them.

Little To No Air Coming Out

The major problem that most car owners experience with their car’s A/C is experiencing little air coming out and at times no air coming out at all. An air conditioning system consists of several blowers /fans, a series of tubes, expansion valve, evaporator, condenser, and compressor. If any of these components malfunctions, the entire system is affected and may even result in system failure. If your car’s A/C seems to be blowing cool air normally one day and then blows little to no air the next day, that is an indication of a system malfunction.

Most modern cars are equipped with safety mechanisms that prevent an A/C from engaging if there is an oil or refrigerant leak. Leaks can result from a number of reasons which include corrosion, physical damage from road debris, loose connections and undone welds. If you notice that your A/C is not blowing enough cold air, you need to have a technician perform serious diagnosis to get to the root problem to avoid further damage to the A/C system.

Warm Air Coming Out Instead Of Cold

It is normal to start a car’s air conditioning system and for the first few minutes have it blow some warm air until the system cycles through to cool the air. However, it is unusual for your car to continue blowing warm air after several minutes of being on and you have not turned on heat. If you have been experiencing this problem with your A/C lately, you could be having a problem with your condenser. A condenser is designed with a fan and coils to push warm air through the coils and cool the warm refrigerant that was used to cool the air in the evaporator. If the fan fails or the coils get clogged or dirty, the refrigerant does not cool completely and that is when one experience warm air instead of cool air. This problem needs a professional to troubleshoot.

Cold Air Blows Intermittently

Imagine taking a long trip and after minutes of driving, your air conditioner suddenly switches to blowing warm air or stops working altogether. After a short while, the A/C starts working again like nothing happened. Many drivers have complained of this problem and some unfortunately, have not been able to identify the root cause of their problem. When your vehicle’s A/C system components freeze up, that mainly causes intermittent cooling. You may find that your evaporator is covered in ice, and after the ice melts, the evaporator goes back to cooling the air. To prevent icing in your system, you need to check that your cabin air filter is not blocked or dirty.