How To Tell if Your Car Aircon Needs a Regas

How To You Tell if Your Car Aircon Needs a Regas

In the hot Brisbane summer, car air conditioning is a necessity. It’s almost unbearable to jump into a car that’s been parked in the scorching sun, so it can be incredibly frustrating when you turn on the air conditioner and get nothing but hot air blowing at you.

When your air conditioner stops working, you may be thinking something along the lines of “what’s wrong with my air conditioner and how much is it going to cost to fix it?”. Thankfully, it’s most likely that your air conditioner just needs a regas to bring it back to working order. Keep reading to find out more about Aircon Regassing and how you can get your air conditioning back to being icy cold!

What Is Aircon Regassing?

Your car’s air conditioning uses a gas refrigerant in the system to cool down the air that is sent into the cabin. Without this gas refrigerant, the air conditioning system wouldn’t be able to work at all. Over time, this refrigerant can become less efficient, can leak out of the system due to worn seals and broken components or even get mixed with water or particulates that make their way into the system, causing it to drop out of its gaseous state.

A car air conditioning regas involves using specialist equipment to safely remove the old refrigerant and add new gas. This is a relatively quick and inexpensive procedure, meaning you can get your car air conditioning back to blowing cold air without too much of a fuss.

How To Tell If Your Air Conditioning Needs A Regas

As discussed above, the reason you need to get your air conditioning regassed is because the refrigerant becomes less efficient over time. If there isn’t a catastrophic failure, this will usually happen slowly over the course of weeks or months. It’s likely that your car’s air conditioning just needs to be regassed if you’ve noticed it’s started blowing warmer air than it used to.

If you’ve turned on your car’s air conditioner and noticed that it either doesn’t work at all or suddenly stops blowing cold air, the problem is usually caused by a broken compressor. The air conditioner is a complex system with lots of different, specialised components. The most common reason your air conditioner isn’t working, other than needing a regas or a new compressor, includes:

• Blocked cooling vents
• A damaged component
• A leak in the system
• Bad refrigerant
• A multitude of other issues

If you’re not sure whether your car’s air conditioning needs a regas or a service, give the team at Australian Mechanical a call on 07 3356 1538. Our team is fully equipped to inspect, regas, repair or even replace your whole car air conditioning system. 

How Often Should You Regas Your Air Conditioning

Having your aircon regassed regularly ensures that your air conditioner keeps working at peak efficiency, but it also helps to keep your air conditioner lines & filters from getting clogged. Clogged filters & lines can lead to bad smells, lower airflow and even broken components. As air flow is reduced, your aircon system has to work much harder to keep everything cool – leading to shorter component lives (such as the compressor).

We recommend having your aircon regassed at least once every year to keep your aircon cold and the system in good shape. Even an aircon system in great shape will lose approximately 10% of its refrigerant every year.

How To Maintain Your Car Air Conditioner

Keeping your car’s air conditioning system maintained is an easy way to ensure that it’s going to continue to blow cold air for as long as possible. If you ignore problems, they can quickly turn into even bigger and more expensive problems. For example, ignoring issues with your air conditioning can cause your compressor to work overtime, burning it out and requiring a replacement.

To keep your car’s air conditioning in good working order, you can:

• Using the aircon at least once a week, even in winter. 
• Keep the windows up when the air conditioning is on. This stops the system from being overstressed.
• Ensuring you have your car and aircon regularly serviced. 
• Bringing your car in for an aircon service at the first sign of problems.

BookYour Brisbane Air Conditioning Regas

If you think your air conditioning needs a regas, or an inspection and service in Brisbane, give the team at Australian Mechanical a call on 07 3356 1538. Our team of expert mechanics are prepared for any Air conditioning issue you might have. From a quick regas to a full system replacement, we’re here to help.