We all rely on our car’s air conditioner to keep us cool on hot summer days. There’s no worse feeling than not having cool air coming from your vents when it’s so hot inside the car.
If you turn on your air conditioner and only warm air comes out of the vents, then something must obviously be wrong with your air conditioning system. However, this doesn’t mean the entire system is malfunctioning.
There could be just one component in the entire system that is faulty. All it takes is one bad component for the air conditioning system to fail. The hardest part is determining which component caused this malfunction.
Common Causes of Car Air Conditioner Not Cooling
There are many possible causes for your air conditioner to stop producing cool air for your car. Rather than guessing what it might be, you should understand what the most common causes are.
Here are five of the most common causes you should consider if your car’s air conditioner isn’t cold.
1. Contaminated System
If you drive your vehicle in places with a lot of debris and moisture, it’s possible your air conditioning system is contaminated. In other words, this could block the airflow that normally enters your air conditioning system to produce cool air.
If air cannot enter the system, you won’t be able to condition the air at all. And if your air conditioning condenser is clogged with debris, the refrigerant will overheat because it cannot reach the condenser and cool down.
2. Bad Air Conditioning Compressor
The A/C compressor is responsible for compressing the refrigerant so it becomes highly pressurized. This is what happens before the refrigerant is pumped into the air conditioning condenser where it cools down.
If your air conditioning compressor isn’t working, it won’t be able to compress the refrigerant. This will ultimately lead to the complete failure of the air cooling process.
3. Refrigerant Leak
Refrigerant is like the blood of the air conditioning system. When the hot refrigerant liquid is condensed by the A/C condenser, it produces a cold gas that becomes the cool air coming from the vents.
If you don’t have enough refrigerant circulating in your air conditioning system, you won’t have cool air. Refrigerant leaks are a common reason for low refrigerant levels in your tank.
The location of the leak can be difficult to find. Carefully check the system’s hose connections for any cracks or leaks.
4. Bad Air Conditioning Condenser
As mentioned earlier, the A/C condenser is responsible for cooling the overheated pressurized refrigerant that comes from the A/C compressor. But if you have a faulty or defective air conditioning condenser, the refrigerant will remain overheated.
Then all you’ll get is a bunch of warm air coming from your vents.
5. Electrical Problems
Remember that your air conditioning system is powered by electricity. There are many wires connecting your air conditioner to your car’s battery and dashboard controls. If any of these wires are worn or damaged, it could interfere with the electrical power your air conditioner needs to function properly and produce cool air.
It can be difficult to diagnose this problem yourself, as you might assume your entire electrical system is compromised. But if all your other electrical components are working, you’ll need to perform a visual inspection of the wiring to see where the problem lies.
If you’re not confident in this task, it may be best to hire a professional mechanic to do it for you.