Why is the air conditioning in the car not cooling?
2 Answers
Here are the specific reasons and solutions for the car air conditioner not cooling: 1. Insufficient or low refrigerant: This may be caused by minor refrigerant leakage. You can observe it from the sight glass on the dryer tank. During normal operation of the air conditioner, if there are continuous and slow bubbles in the sight glass, it indicates insufficient refrigerant. If obvious bubble flipping occurs, it indicates severe refrigerant shortage. In this case, simply adding refrigerant will solve the problem. 2. Loose drive belt of the car air conditioning compressor: If the drive belt is loose, the compressor will slip during operation, leading to reduced transmission efficiency and decreased compressor speed. This results in reduced delivery of compressed refrigerant, causing the car air conditioner to not cool. If the compressor drive belt is too loose, it should be tightened. If it cannot be turned by hand, it means the drive belt is too tight and should be loosened slightly. If tightening is ineffective or the drive belt has cracks, aging, or other damage, a new drive belt should be replaced.
It's really frustrating when the air conditioning doesn't cool in hot weather, and I've analyzed many car owners' cases. The most common reason is insufficient refrigerant, commonly known as a Freon leak. Aging pipe seals or a condenser damaged by stones can cause leaks. Another issue is with the compressor; a loose belt or a faulty electromagnetic clutch can prevent the compressor from running. A dirty filter is also an easily overlooked problem. I've seen filters so clogged that only a small finger-sized vent remained, rendering even the best cooling system useless. Additionally, a stuck cooling fan or a condenser surface covered with insect remains and willow catkins can reduce cooling efficiency by half. I recommend checking the AC pipes yourself—when the AC is on, the high-pressure pipe should be scalding hot, and the low-pressure pipe should be icy cold with water droplets. If the temperatures are abnormal, head straight to a professional repair shop for diagnosis.
