About halfway through Johnsburg summer – how is your car’s AC holding up?

Whew! You’ve made it this far. You’ve endured another Johnsburg summer with, of course, the help of the air conditioning in your car. So, how’s AC holding up?

It’s possible that the air conditioning that blew cool in May and June has lost a little of its oomph now that another Johnsburg July has set in. And we still have August to contend with. Even September can push the thermometer into the less-than-comfortable regions.

How could an air conditioning system that worked so well then struggle to keep up now? It’s even possible that the AC in your car collapsed under the load here at mid-summer. The heat this time of year tends to do that to an air-conditioning system. It tests the AC in all the vehicles around these parts and it finds the weak links that can’t quite pass the tests.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that your car’s air conditioning has failed completely. By all means, if all you get is hot air blowing out of the vents, you’ll want to have that system checked. But your car’s AC could simply have lost a step or two.

It’s possible that you need to have the system recharged. Where it had a full charge in May it may have less than a full charge now. And, if that is the case, it could indicate that you may have a leak.

When a qualified auto repair technician refills your air-conditioning system in your car, since they are qualified, you know they’ll also check to ensure that you don’t have any leaks.

Due to wear, parts of your air conditioning system can fail. The compressor can seize up. It could simply stop compressing. There could be problems with other electrical components that are critical to the operation of your vehicle’s AC, such as a compressor pressure switch.

The receiver drier may require replacement. The fan that pulls the air through the condensing coil – the fan that pulls the cool air into the cabin of your car – may have failed.

Of course, it’s possible that the temperatures in the early half of summer didn’t test your vehicle’s AC the way summer is doing now. Maybe the air conditioner needed some assistance to get up to its peak performance but was never called upon to do so until now.

Whatever the case, we still have the potential for some seriously hot weather before this Johnsburg summer fades into the past. Make sure your air conditioner is ready for whatever summer throws at it.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Timely maintenance is even more important with your Johnsburg Electric Vehicle

Even if you have an electric vehicle in your Johnsburg driveway, maintenance is still critical. You pull out of your Johnsburg driveway and you watch the gas stations go by as you smile from behind the wheel of your EV – Electric Vehicle. Of course, at some point, you will have to stop and charge the battery but you still take some comfort that you’re not standing next to your car as the fuel pumps into your tank. One of the true comforts you take with your EV is that the mechanics of your vehicle are simplified. You don’t have to worry about the engine breaking down anymore, and we all know how costly that can be. But there’s more to your EV vehicle than you may have considered when you first parked it in your Johnsburg driveway. Many of the parts found on gasoline-driven vehicles are also present on your EV. These require the same maintenance as your gasoline-powered vehicle. For instance, you EV still has: Tires and Wheels Brakes Steering and Suspension Windshield Wipers and So...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog