Car Air Conditioner Compressor

If you have a vehicle and you live in a climate where you need an air conditioner as you go down the road, you will be counting on, in large part, the air conditioning compressor to do its job. The air conditioning compressor is often referred to as the heart of the air conditioning system in your vehicle and without out you are going to be hard pressed to get any cold air coming out of your vents on those steamy summer days. While many of us think of our air conditioning in our vehicles as just a series of switches and dials, it is so much more than this.

The problem with the air conditioner compressor, also known as the heart of the air conditioning system, is that they either work perfectly or they don't and there isn't much area in between. What this means is that your air conditioning system either works or it doesn't. You may be thinking about a large part that operates on its own when you think of the air conditioning compressor, but the fact of the matter is that the compressor is a belt driven pump that is actually attached to the engine of the vehicle. What the air conditioning compressor does is compress and transfer refrigerant gas.

The compressor is needed for a variety of reasons but one of the biggest reasons is that most air conditioning system are split into two different sides. In each air conditioning unit there is a high pressure side and a low pressure side, also known as suction and discharge. Because the compressor is a pump, it has to have an intake site as well as a discharge site. The intake or suction side of the air conditioner is responsible for drawing refrigerant gas from the outlet of the evaporator, which is often done via the accumulator depending on the air conditioning unit you are looking at.

Once the refrigerant gas is drawn into the suction side it is then compressed at the air conditioning compressor and sent to the condenser where it transfers the heat that is absorbed from the inside of the vehicle. While this may sound like a bunch of gibberish when you read it, it is obvious when you read through the way that the air conditioning works that if you don't have an air conditioning compressor that is working properly you are not going to get refrigerant gas where it needs to go and you are not going to be able to cool down the interior of your car.

Air conditioning systems have changed a lot over the years and today they are more complicated than every from a repair stand point. Because so much of the system today is computerized and more high tech to allow for specific cooling options most of the elements have to be replaced and cannot simply be repaired. The result is that when your air conditioning compressor does go out it will need to be replaced. This is not always something that you can do yourself if you are not a mechanic. In fact, a lot of people will find that they are not even able to get to the air conditioning compressor on their own, it has to be done by a mechanic that has the proper tools, lifts that will allow for work to be done.

If you are not sure if the air conditioning compressor has gone bad in your car you can often turn it on and hear a noise or you will find that the air just is not getting cool. These are generally good indications that you have an air conditioning compressor problem and you should bring your vehicle into be looked at by a professional.

There Are 2 Responses So Far. »

  1. I am wanting to put a vintage air conditioning system on my 1966 Mustang Coupe. How difficult would this be to do it yourself?

  2. does the car air-conditioner compressor when not in good order of operation affects the flow of diesel fuel into the injection pump. it happened one time when the air-con was turn on and that no more fuel was flowing to the injection pump or are there any other sources why the engine stop.As of this time whenever I turn on the air-con it seems there is an intermittent flow that cause the car to shake a little but if I turn off the air-con there is a smooth flow. Thank you very much