On a hot summer afternoon, you have probably come to take the flow of cool air coming from the vents in your car for granted. However, automotive air conditioning was not always a standard addition for a car. In fact, it wasn t until the 1940 s that automotive air conditioning was invented and added to cars.
Since then, many improvements and features have been added to automotive air conditioning to make it function better. However, this means that repairing automotive air conditioning is more complicated, and you are less likely to be able to do this difficult task without the assistance of a professional. However, if you understand a little bit about how automotive air conditioning works and what parts it is made up of, then perhaps you might be able to attempt this daring feat yourself.
The Seven Standard Parts of Automotive Air Conditioning
There are seven basic parts that you might encounter in your automotive air conditioning system. These parts are: the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, the orifice tube, the thermal expansion valve, the receiver-drier, and the accumulator.
The compressor, or the heart of the system, is a pump that is attached to the engine. Its purpose is to compress and transfer refrigerant gas. The compressor has both an intake and a discharge side.
The condenser functions very much like the radiator and will often times have a similar appearance. The purpose of the condenser is to radiate heat, which means that anytime the automotive air conditioning is being operated, the condenser must have good air flow.
The evaporator is the part of the automotive air conditioning system that absorbs heat. Besides getting rid of heat from inside your vehicle, it is also responsible for dehumidifying the car. In order to regulate the temperature of the evaporator, pressure regulating devices have been introduced.
One of these pressure regulating devices is the orifice tube. The orifice tube is the most commonly used pressure regulating device. An alternative pressure regulating device is the thermal expansion valve.
The receiver-drier is used in automotive air conditioning systems that use thermal expansion valves to ensure that this specific pressure regulating device receives the liquid refrigerant that it needs in order to function. In order to do so, it must separate gas and liquid.
The accumulator is used only on automotive air conditioning systems that have the orifice tube as the pressure regulating device, and its primary function is to store extra liquid refrigerant. In doing so, it prevents any liquid from entering the compressor, which could do serious damage to the system.
Like A Pro
Despite the many advancements that have been made in the automotive field since the introduction of automotive air conditioning, you can still maintain your own system. All you need to do is learn a little about it first!