How to Keep Car AC Working: Maintenance Guide

On a bright sunny day, when the temperature is high enough to make you sweat, you cannot drive long without turning on your car ac.

The air condition is a daily necessity item in your everyday life, so you should maintain the ac properly to get maximum cooling from your car ac. If you properly maintain it will save your money because the repair or replace air conditioning is costly.

To maintain your car’s air conditioning properly, you should follow some simple steps to keep the ac working during the hottest month. Here are some tips:

How to Make Car AC Colder

Although air condition gives you cold air, you can get colder air if you properly maintain some things. They can boost cooling power, and your car cabin will turn cold quickly.

Park in a Shade

Excessive sun heating can make your car cabin hot even when your air conditioning is on. Even the best ac system with a proper ac compressor unit and other accessories needs some help from the users to last long enough.

So it is best to park the car under the shade as it keeps the car engine and exterior part cool, helping the air system work properly.

Direct sunlight makes the engine heated, which is another reason to damage the engine parts. Parking the car under a shade helps to cool the car’s cabin quickly. Although it is difficult to find a parking place under a shadow when driving on the road, park your car under a tree or beside a big truck.

If there is no option, keep the car windows open so that hot air can pass out. When the car is heated by sunlight, do not start the engine until the car gets cool. Avoiding sunlight can also prevent paint and tire damage.

Use Light Color for Interiors

Using bright colors for interior decoration will decrease absorption heat from direct sunlight. So when choosing seat covers for cars and jeeps, try to choose lighter colors like bright yellow, grey, white, etc. For other units of the interior cars, try to follow the same tips.

Ventilate the Car

If you did not find any shady area to park your car, ventilate your vehicle correctly so that direct sunlight cannot store heat in your car. It is because hot air will increase in your car cabin when you leave the car under sunlight for long.

This hot air should be eliminated; otherwise, the car ac system gets pressure to cool down the cabin, which is not good.

Leave the car windows open so that fresh air can circulate enough.

How to Cool a Hot Car Quickly

If you are in a hurry and need to cool your car cabin quickly, follow some steps such as blow out the hot air from the cabin and then start the air conditioning.

Turning the ac to maximum volume won’t make your car cool quickly if the cabin is already hot. Some fastest ways are,

Blow Out Hot Air

When you parked your car in an open place in summer, your car cabin will turn hot more than outside if there is no ventilation system. Keep your car windows open and if your car has a sunroof, keep it open too. The hot air will pass out, and fresh air will flow. You can drive slowly so the hot air will escape quickly.

Turn the AC

When the cabin temperature is higher, turn on the air conditioning to a minimum level. Do not turn at the maximum level as it will affect the ac system. Let the inside air cool first, then slowly increase the volume. After turn on the ac, set the recirculation mode so that the air conditioning can quickly cool the inside air. In this option, ac won’t use outside air, so cooling the inside air will be fast.

Shut Down Properly

Before turn off the engine, turn off the air conditioner when you are in your destination. after switching off the AC, the fan will run for sometimes which helps to evaporate the cabin properly. It will also help your car not to build up a hot bad smell in your cabin.

Common Car AC Problems

Here are some common issues on car AC

• Leaking of liquids or refrigerant
• Blocked/clogged in the area condenser
• Broken parts or areas of condenser
• Recharge battery problems 
• Electrical wiring issues
• Issues in the warm air exhausting system
• Mechanical problems
• Setting problems of the car program
• Broken or faulty cooling fans
• Bad compressor

Keep a Good Maintenance

Regular maintenance of your car ac will increase the durability and working system of the car ac. There are many reasons that your ac can not blow cold air. Proper care can prevent those reasons.

Use Your Car Condition Everyday

If you use your car AC every day, all the functions will work properly, the conditioning system and its vents will remain intact. So it would help if you run your ac at least 15 minutes a day, whatever the weather is. This is a way to make your ac serve long.

Clean the Filter Regularly

Every ac system has a filter that gets dirty over time. A dirty filter can cause the ac blown out. When the cold air comes from the vents, it automatically cleans the cabin filter. So the cabin filter also gets clogged over time. Check the filter regularly and clean it.

If there is too much dirt or the filter poorly clogged, replace it. Change the air filter at least once a year.

It is better to change the air filter when your car crossed at least 12,000 miles. The air filter gets clogged during the winter, so it is better to change it before hot weather comes.

Check Refrigerant Level

Refrigerant is the core component of a car. The low coolant level will damage your ac, and it will not blow cold air. So checking the refrigerant level regularly is a must job to do.

There are many refrigerant devices you will get in the market or online. Keep them with you. Do not wait to refill the coolant when needed. A proper level of refrigerant makes the ac works better.

Protect the Outside

Although you are managed to cool your car’s inside, you should also protect the outside in the offseason. When you are not using your vehicle, and the outer part is not protected, this is also bad for the AC system. Parking the car in a garage and cover it up will protect your vehicle because heat from outside can ac system damage.

Try to set a sunshade in your parking area if you do not have a garage. Also, wash the exterior regularly. It will keep the interior cool.

Service Your Car AC Regularly

Regular servicing makes the car AC better to work. Service your car ac before summer so that the ac can works without any problem in the entire summer.

In winter you will get a discount when you take your car for servicing because in hot weather most of the people service their car ac so you may have to wait long and the servicing charge will be high.

Keep the Unpleasant Odor Out

It is normal to build an unpleasant odor in a car cabin when the ac is on. It can happen because of moisture growth. Always clean the interior and air vents, keep the air filter fresh, and use defrost mode when there is a high smell. Clean the mildew regularly.

Know the Sign of Bad AC Compressor

If you do not know the signs about a bad ac compressor, it will slow down the repair process as you won’t understand when you need to go to a repair shop. There is some necessary repair you can do yourself, so it is essential to know. Detecting ominous signs are very easy to learn.

If there is any leakage, you will hear a hissing sound, and the Freon will decrease. Also, check the erratic operation.