9 Automotive Air Conditioning Parts You Should Know About
You may wonder sometimes how your car’s air-conditioner works and might have thought that it produces cool air. However, the fact is that it cools the already existing air by removing heat and moisture from it.
Knowing about the various parts of the system and how they work will help you understand what the problem is if something goes wrong and you can get the correct part from one of the professional automotive air conditioning parts suppliers.
1. Refrigerant
The air-conditioning system of your car is filled with refrigerant. In most vehicles of today a gas named Freon or R134A is used as a refrigerant. Before 1994, R12 was used as refrigerant which was banned being highly polluting. The AC system works due to the refrigerant’s ability to change its physical characteristics when compressed, cooled and metered.
2. Compressor
The job of compressor is to compress the refrigerant. Refrigerant gas Freon becomes very hot when compressed and then it’s sent though a condenser.
3. Condenser
The condenser is made of a series of coils over which the outside air passes to take out the heat from the compressed gas. This cools down the gas and condenses it to a cold liquid.
4. Receiver-Drier
This is a canister that has desiccant inside it for moisture absorption. Sometimes it even has a sight-glass on its top to check flow (although the sight glass is of no use in retrofitted systems as the oil used is not transparent).
5. AC Inline Filter
The AC inline filter removes the debris that cannot be flushed out even from your AC lines.
6. Expansion Valve
The job of the expansion valve is to offer a restriction in the refrigerant’s flow so as convert it from a high-pressure liquid refrigerant to low-pressure liquid mist before entering the evaporator.
7. Orifice Tube
This part has a fixed conical orifice which offers restriction in the refrigerant’s flow. It works the same way as the expansion valve. Auto air-conditioning systems either use an expansion valve/receiver-drier or orifice tube/accumulator. In vehicles with a rear AC system, a combination of the two can be used with an extra evaporator.
8. Evaporator
When the low-pressure refrigerant liquid mist flows through the evaporator, air is pushed by a blower motor across the cold tubes of the evaporator to provide cooled down air inside the vehicle.
9. Accumulator
The function of the accumulator is to remove moisture from the mist. It’s a holding tank for the refrigerant that exits the evaporator. The accumulator desiccant bag removes moisture while the refrigerant is flowing inside.
Knowing these various parts will make it easy for you in case of repairs or replacement. Keep your car AC in good shape and enjoy cool air!
