Auto A/C Condenser Repair
Can an air conditioner condenser be repaired?
AC condensers must be replaced if any refrigerant tubes are kinked, cracked, or leaking. Frost on any of the condenser tubing indicates a refrigerant passage restriction. Condenser mounts and insulators should be checked for proper alignment and deformation, which could cause abrasion and fatigue damage.
The ac condenser should be checked for proper airflow at regular intervals. During normal ac system inspection, any bent condenser fins should be straightened and any debris should be cleaned from the condenser. Debris in the condenser air passages causes excessive high-side and low-side pressures and reduced cooling.
The individual ports on some Serpentine tube condenser (STC) and Parallel flow condenser (PFC) designs are as small as 0.4mm.This small size makes it easy for any type of debris to become trapped. If the amount of debris is great enough, refrigerant flow through the condenser can be compromised. Flushing the condenser is not an effective way to remove the debris. Since flushing is not an effective way to clean a STC or PFC condenser, it will need to be replaced.
How much does it cost to replace a car ac condenser?
The price of an ac condenser removal and installation will be different depending on the make, model and year of the vehicle. The price range for labor only is from about $ 300.00 to $600.00.Many other variables should be taken into consideration when calculating the price for an ac condenser repair; some of them are:
- OEM or aftermarket ac condenser.
- Type of ac condenser.
- ?With/without Receiver-drier integrated.
What are the signs of a bad AC condenser?
The signs of a bad ac condenser are:
- Excessive high-side and low-side pressures.
- Reduced cooling due to head pressures too high.
- High pressure relief valve may open and vent refrigerant due excessively high head pressures.
Why is my AC condenser leaking?
The condenser is normally mounted just in front of the vehicle?s radiator. It receives the full flow of ram air from the movement of the vehicle or airflow from the radiator fan when the vehicle is standing still. The ac condenser is poorly protected from the road debris. Road debris hitting the ac condenser coil is one of the main causes of condenser leaks.
What is condenser in AC?
The condenser is one of automobile heat exchangers and operates much like the radiator. Condenser designs have changed over the years, but there have been 3 main types. They are:
-Tube and fin condenser
-Serpentine tube condenser
-Parallel flow condenser
How does a condenser work on a car?
The condenser rejects both sensible and latent heat from the a/c system. This heat can come from what the evaporator has absorbed any heat of compression or mechanical friction generated in the compression stroke, ac compressor clutch friction, and any heat absorbed by superheating the refrigerant in the suction line before it enters the compressor.
The condenser receives the hot gas after it leaves the compressor through the discharge line. The hot gas is forced into the top of the condenser coil by the compressor. The discharge gas from the compressor is a high-pressure, high-temperature, superheated vapor. The temperature of the hot gas from the compressor can be in the 200 F range and will change depending on the surrounding temperatures.
The gas leaving the compressor, flowing through the discharge line, and entering the condenser is so hot compared with the surrounding air that a heat exchange between the hot gas and the surrounding air begins to occur immediately. The air being passed over the condenser is 95 F, compared to the near 200 F gas entering the condenser. As the gas move through the condenser, it begins to give up sensible heat to the surrounding air, which causes a drop in gas temperature. The gas keeps cooling off, or desuperheating, until it reaches the condensing temperature and the change of state begins to occur. The change of state begins slowly at first with small amounts of vapor changing to liquid and gets faster as the vapor-liquid mixture moves through the condenser. This is a latent heat process, meaning that even though heat in Btu is being rejected from the refrigerant, the temperature is staying constant.
When the condensing refrigerant gets about 90% of the way through the condenser, the refrigerant in the pipe becomes pure saturated liquid. If any more heat is removed from the 100% saturated liquid, it will go through a sensible heat rejection process because no more vapor is left to condense. This causes the liquid to drop below the condensing saturation temperature. Liquid cooler than the condensing saturation temperature is called subcooled liquid.
What is the difference between evaporator and condenser?
The evaporator coil and the condenser coil, both are heat exchangers. The difference between them is that the evaporator coil absorbs heat from the surrounding area we need to cool down and the condenser coil rejects all the heat absorbed at the evaporator and compression action of the ac compressor. Another difference and the easiest way to identify them is according to their location; the condenser is located behind the front bumper right before the radiator(another heat exchanger)and the evaporator core is usually located deep underneath the dashboard. The condenser operates at higher pressures temperatures than the evaporator. The same principles apply to heat exchange in the condenser as in the evaporator.
Which condenser coil is better in AC?
The Parallel flow condenser (PFC) is the most efficient style of condenser for heat transfer because the fins stay in contact with tubes and refrigerant can flow through multiple tubes at the same time .This design provides the best possibility for the refrigerant to release heat .The PFC design uses multiple port tubes and corrugated metal fins with louvers.
WHERE CAN I PROPERLY SERVICE MY CAR OR TRUCK AC SYSTEM?
Auto A/C Repair LLC. offers a world-class comprehensive and very convenient ac repair mobile service. We come to your home or office and you can go on with your normal day. All we need is a driveway or parking space where our technicians can work.