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Cars

It's easy to keep your car cool

Avoid expensive air-conditioning repairs by just running the car's A/C or defroster every few weeks. And keep air ducts clear of leaves.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published June 10, 2005

All across Florida, right around this time every year, shops that repair car air-conditioning systems have more business than they can handle. The temperature outside hits 80 degrees or so, drivers turn on their A/C for the first time since last fall, and warm air comes out.

It's off to the shop.

And this year, repairs are going to be more expensive than ever before. The price of 134-A, the refrigerant that most cars on the road use, is almost four times more expensive now than at this time last year. The price increase supposedly had something to do with the Asian tsunami, but even auto air experts aren't sure what the connection is.

Taking care of your car's air conditioning-system is a year-round business. But it's amazingly easy year-round business. It might take a total of 10 or 15 minutes a year. Since a new compressor could run you $900 or $1,000, it's a pretty decent tradeoff.

"Basically, you just want to make sure you run your system every few weeks," said Doug Gresian, a technician at Classic Auto Air, which specializes in air-conditioning systems for vintage cars. "That circulates the oil through your system and keeps it lubricated and keeps the seals from drying out."

That advice is much more important for owners of older cars, Gresian said, especially if they're show cars that sit in a garage and are seldom driven.

Newer systems don't need to run as often - two or three times during the cooler months ought to do it - and older cars are much more expensive to fix. The refrigerant is more expensive, repair work is more time-consuming and parts can be hard to find.

Actually, most drivers don't even have to worry about running their systems in the winter.

"Most people use their defrosters in the winter, and when you use your defroster, your air conditioner kicks in," said Ben Rearden, the owner of Air Conditioning by Ben in North Tampa. "It's been that way for a while. It's true of most cars on the road."

Rearden said a high percentage of the repair work he does can be traced to one factor that's almost ridiculously easy to avoid.

"People need to clean the leaves out from under their windshield wipers," he said.

Leaves and other detritus from trees collect under the hood and block air flow. That can eventually destroy the compressor. So it's a good idea to pop the hood and clean out all that stuff every so often, especially in the fall and especially if you park your car outdoors a lot.

That gunk under the wipers can lead to other problems as well.

One is mold. The organic material breaks down and promotes the growth of mold in the system, which ends up in the air you breathe. Rearden tells of one customer who called him to say that her chronic health problems evaporated as soon as he cleaned out her car's A/C system.

Leaves under the wipers can also lead to clogs that in turn cause water to drip on the floor of the passenger side. It's an easy problem to avoid, but it's also easy to fix.

There's a little drain pipe that sticks out from the firewall. In most cars it's readily visible; in others the car has to be jacked up.

If it gets clogged, Rearden said, all you need to do is stick something stiff but flexible into that pipe. When your hand gets wet, the clog is cleared.

"If you have an air compressor at home, the best thing is to shoot air up into there," he said. "If not, a pipe cleaner or a tie wrap is good. You don't want to use a coat hanger or a screwdriver."

Another common problem, on cars without electric engine fans, that leads to A/C maladies is a bad fan clutch. It's not something most people think about, but it's easy to check and relatively easy to fix.

Ask a friend to look under your hood while you crank up your car. Turn off the engine. If the fan stops right away, your fan clutch is okay. If it turns another couple of rotations, it needs replacing. A fan clutch usually lasts about 75,000 miles, so you should check them when your car is about five years old or so. If it's bad, it can cause reduced air flow and can damage your compressor.

It's also a good idea, especially in Florida, to run your A/C on "recirculate" or "max" whenever possible. The system then draws air from inside the car, which has been cooled already. The compressor can rest every now and then because it's cooling air that has already been cooled, rather than the summer air that is drawn over the engine.

For owners of vintage cars, there's one more essential bit of A/C advice that Gresian offers: Go to a repair technician who knows what he's doing.

Cars from the 1960s and 1970s have completely different A/C systems than new cars, Gresian said.

"With the newer systems, pretty much any decent technician is going to be able to work on them," he said. "But I see it all the time, where people take their classic cars to (mechanics) who don't know these older systems. They cut corners and they end up doing more damage. And costing more money."

[Last modified June 9, 2005, 10:29:11]