How air conditioning fails
Air conditioning is a sealed system, and the most common failure is simply that it stops being sealed. Refrigerant escapes slowly through a perished seal, a corroded line or a tired compressor shaft, the system loses pressure, and cooling performance falls away over a season or two.
The usual symptoms:
- Air that is cool rather than cold, or cold only at speed.
- Cooling that works for a while and then fades.
- A compressor that cycles on and off rapidly.
- Noise from the compressor when the system engages.
- A musty smell from the vents, which is a different problem and usually the cabin filter.
What service involves
A Purcell store looks for the cause rather than simply refilling the system. Refrigerant does not get used up: if a system is low, it leaked, and putting more in without finding the leak means doing it again next year.
Typical work:
- Checking system pressures to see how it is actually performing.
- Leak detection, since a slow leak is invisible without looking for it.
- Inspecting the compressor, condenser, lines and seals.
- Evacuating and recharging the system to the correct specification.
- Checking the cabin air filter, which is cheap and frequently the real reason for poor airflow.
Why it is worth doing before summer
Two reasons, one practical and one technical.
The practical one: everybody books A/C work in the first hot week. Service in spring and you are not waiting behind everyone else.
The technical one: the compressor relies on oil circulating with the refrigerant. Running a system that is low on charge runs the compressor without adequate lubrication, which is how a leak that would have been a modest repair becomes a compressor replacement.
Who this is for
Drivers in Arizona, Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah and the other states where Purcell runs consumer service, which is to say anyone whose summer makes the question obvious.
Also work vehicles. A technician or a driver sitting in a cab for eight hours in a southern summer is a safety and retention issue, and A/C belongs in scheduled maintenance for a fleet rather than being treated as a comfort extra.