Is Your Car A/C Condenser Leaking?
It’s actually a very common issue for a car air conditioning condenser to be leaking. This can happen from mere wear and tear, and is not usually a cause for alarm especially if it is a small leak. However, the condenser is vulnerable to lots of damage especially if you like to drive in rough terrain, so the more you enjoy taking road trips in the mountains, the more you should be checking on your car A/C condenser.
Reasons For Your Car A/C Condenser To Leak
The A/C condenser is typically mounted right in the front of your car, in front of the radiator, fans, and everything else. In order to achieve maximum air flow, many vehicles even have open spaces in the grill or bumper which puts the condenser in an even more vulnerable position. As such, it is pretty much unprotected from the dangers of the elements, such as rocks or debris from the road flying in through the grill and open spaces.
How The A/C Condenser Is Important In The A/C System
Although placing the A/C condenser right at the front of your car’s A/C system exposes it to the most amount of damage possible, unfortunately this is something that cannot be helped. The reason why the A/C condenser needs to be there is so that it can receive the maximum air flow needed to ensure your air conditioning system works properly. The A/C condenser is vital in ensuring the refrigerant is properly cooled before it travels to the rest of the system. The refrigerant needs to be cooled to ambient temperature first before it travels to the expansion valve, where it becomes depressurized and creates cool air for your air conditioning comfort. If the refrigerant is not properly cooled in the condenser to begin with, it would not be cool in the expansion valve, and you would know this when you experience hot air blasting out from your air vents into the car.
How To Fix Your A/C Leak
Usually it is not too difficult to fix an A/C leak. First, check to see how bad the extent of the damage is. For a small leak, you can consider using a stop leak liquid as a temporary measure. If it is a large leak, the best solution would be to replace the entire condenser, rather than spend the effort trying to patch it up which might end up not lasting long anyway. The condenser is easy to remove as it is right in front of the car. Do take note that you should have your system evacuated first to remove all the old refrigerant, so that it does not get exposed to the atmosphere or get onto your skin or eyes. Once the system is at a vacuum, the refrigerant lines connecting to the condenser can be removed, and then the condenser mounting bolts can be removed for you to pull the old condenser out. You can replace it with a new condenser that’s easily purchased online. All the spare parts sold at R & Y Compressors comes under warranty so you can shop with ease. Visit our online store for your spare parts needs!