Category: Blog

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10 Tips in Maintaining Your Car’s Air Conditioning System
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10 Tips in Maintaining Your Car’s Air Conditioning System

Summer in Australia can get exponentially hot. Temperatures can reach up to 30 °C, so it pays to prepare for the blazing days ahead. Usually, people would remind themselves to stay hydrated and wear lighter pieces of clothing. However, one of the most important yet often overlooked tasks that should be done during this season is maintaining a car’s air conditioning system.

You use your car’s A/C almost every day, and it practically becomes a necessity once summer hits. Unfortunately, this can lead to overworked car air conditioners, which have a higher chance of malfunctioning when you least expect it. Because of this, it’s smart to keep these following tips in mind to help keep your car’s air conditioning system in good shape:

1. Have it Cleaned by the Pros

Letting a car aircon cleaning service Welshpool drivers trust clean your vehicle’s A/C will ensure that the air will stay fresh and cool. The professionals, after all, have the proper equipment and experience to thoroughly clean the air conditioning system.

2. Regular Professional Maintenance Is a Must

It’s crucial to take your car to a reliable car air conditioning service regularly. When you allow car experts to take a look what’s under the hood, they can easily spot A/C-related problems and fix them before they can do more harm to the entire system.

3. Don’t Always Rely on DIY Jobs

Even if you say you have experience fixing your car’s air conditioner, it’s still in your best interest to let a mechanic take care of the repairs. The professionals have the experience, skill, and tools to fix any air conditioning issue without compromising your car’s health.

4. Have the Problems Addressed Quickly

The moment you notice your car’s A/C is acting up, you need to bring it to a nearby car air conditioning service Welshpool has to offer ASAP. It’s unwise to ignore the early warning signs of a damaged air conditioning system because it can affect the other components of your vehicle like the wiring.

5. Let the A/C Run for About 10 Minutes Every Week

Letting the air conditioning run for 10 minutes a week will help keep its gas pressure at an optimum level. It’ll also ensure that the compressor will work properly during summer. To do this properly, however, you need to turn on the system to its coolest setting and highest fan speed.

6. Let the A/C’s Defrost Mode Run for About 5 to 10 Minutes

Another thing you need to leave running for about 10 minutes is the air conditioner’s defrost function. Doing so will eliminate excess moisture in the system, preventing mildew buildup and musty odours as a result.

7. Remember to Recirculate the Air From Within

Switching to the A/C’s recirculation mode will keep the vehicle’s interior cool even when it’s hot outside. This mode is the best way to maximise an air conditioner’s operating power since it’ll only pull air that’s within the cabin.

8. Keep the Car’s Interior Clean

Dust, dirt, and other particles can hinder the air conditioner from working efficiently. For this reason, your car’s carpets, mats, and seats must be vacuumed regularly.

9. Don’t Pre-Cool Your Car

Although sliding into a pre-cooled car is comfortable, it can affect the air conditioner’s performance. The car’s air conditioning system can cool things more effectively when there’s airflow. Thus, instead of waiting until the car’s interior is cold, switch on the A/C once the vehicle starts cruising through the roads.

10. Park Under the Shade

When you leave your car under the sun for too long, its interior can get considerably hot. As a result, the car’s A/C will have to work twice as hard just to get the temperature down. That’s why it’s smart to park under a shade or install sun shades to avoid causing this problem.

Staying cool during Australia’s summer months will be easier if you keep your car’s air conditioning system in good shape. Plus, if you make it a habit of following these A/C maintenance tips regularly, your vehicle’s air conditioner will remain efficient all year round. 

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7 Signs Your Heater Core Needs to Be Replaced
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7 Signs Your Heater Core Needs to Be Replaced

Heater core issues are a particularly serious problem, not just for your car, but for your health and well-being as well. Your cars heater works by directing hot coolant from the engine into the cabin space through some pipes and into the heater core. A fan then blows over the core to circulate the warm air throughout your car’s cabin.

While this is an efficient and highly effective setup, what this means is that the heater core has the potential to leak coolant inside your cabin. In most cases, the coolants used are ethylene glycol which can be hazardous to your health. This makes it critical to be able to tell when your heater core might need replacement. If you see coolant inside the vehicle, be sure to immediately take your car to a car air conditioning service provider for inspection.

1.) Your heater core isn’t producing any heat

This can be due to any number of reasons, but it is most often due to a lack of coolant flow to the heater core or an air lock. This can also be dangerous for your car, as it may be a sign of coolant system failure, which can lead to overheating.

2.) You see coolant leaking on to the floor

If you see a coolant leak in the cabin, it may be a sign that the heater core needs to be replaced. Be sure to take your car to a qualified air conditioning specialist to help diagnose the problem.

3.) You’re smelling or tasting a fruity, sweet scent in the cabin

Technically, ethylene glycol is an odourless compound. However, in large enough quantities, you might start being able to taste the gas, which can be construed as a smell. In any case, this means there is a very serious accumulation of coolant gas in the cabin. Roll down your windows when driving to the aircon service centre to avoid inhaling more ethylene glycol than is necessary.

4.) Your windows have a sticky mist on them

This can sometimes mean that the ethylene glycol has condensed onto your window. This film might be very difficult to remove, and contact with skin is not recommended. Your aircon service centre may be able to clean it or offer you advice on how to remove it.

5.) Your engine is constantly running hot

This can be a sign of a failure somewhere in your coolant system which in turn, may have something to do with your heater core. While a heater core failure is not typically common, it does happen so be sure to have a qualified mechanic take a look.

6.) You see a coloured leak in your garage or parking space floor

Ethylene glycol is often tinted green orange or red or blue. While this may be difficult to see, they do look distinct from something like an oil leak, for example. If you see puddles of these, there might very well be a leak in the coolant system. If there are traces of rust in the fluid, it may also mean that the coolant system may need to be repaired, possibly including the heater core.

7.) Not all the hoses going into the core are warm

If not all the hoses going into in the heater core are warm, it may be a sign of some kind of blockage somewhere in the coolant system. If there is a blockage inside the heater core itself, it may need to be replaced if it could no longer be flushed

Auto Owls is a 24-Hour Welshpool Auto-Service that offers a wide range of mechanical and auto electrical maintenance and repair services. We can repair or maintain your car’s air conditioner and heater core whenever you may need our service.