begins to welcome more EV vehicle options, the A/C system is becoming an all-year requirement, particularly as we head towards the warmer weather, meaning replacement of even the simplest product, or ignoring its replacement, can have a major effect on a customer’s pocket, and health. He continued: “Let’s start with the simplest of components: the cabin filter, which can often be bypassed. MAHLE cabin air filters reliably supply the driver and passengers with clean air to breathe, which safeguards their health and well-being. They also reduce the load on the blower, protect heating and air conditioning from contamination, improve air circulation and prevent dangerous fogging of the windows.” Moving onto evaporators, he observed: “MAHLE‘s flat tube evaporators deliver high performance in spite of their compact and lightweight design.” On compressors, he said: “Today’s fuel-efficient engines do not always deliver sufficient waste heat to enable rapid heating of the vehicle cabin, particularly for cold starts and in certain driving conditions. To keep the windows clear and ensure optimum thermal comfort in these situations, additional heating is provided by electric PTC auxiliary heaters that run on energy from the vehicle electronics. The heaters are available with or without an integrated controller.” Then there are blowers: “Thermal and acoustic comfort is crucial in vehicle air conditioning. However, the blower is one of the main sources of noise in the vehicle cabin. MAHLE‘s current blower design concepts meet three separate requirements: they save valuable package space despite increased air flow performance, they are highly efficient, and they form the basis for excellent HVAC system acoustics.” On condensers, he added: “MAHLE produces brazed, flat tube condensers that deliver high performance despite their compact and lightweight design. They ensure rapid cooling of the passenger compartment thanks to optimum matching of heat transfer and pressure drop on both the coolant and the air side.” Basic checks As Bob Wiffen, Workshop Solutions Director at LKQ Euro Car Parts observed, it can be easy to misdiagnose a fault in the air con system: “Before starting any servicing, technicians should be carrying out basic checks and diagnostics across the entire vehicle to speed up getting to the root of the problem. The most common mistake that technicians make is forgetting to check the battery. It’s often assumed that the air conditioning system is damaged if it isn’t working 50 AFTERMARKET MAY 2023 AIR CONDITIONING www.aftermarketonline.net correctly, but in reality, it could be a fault with the battery or electrical systems. Electrical diagnostics should be carried out first, before moving on to the air conditioning system.” He continued: “Air conditioning isn’t just about regulating the air temperature in the cabin, it plays a key role in the overall air quality. There is a natural and gradual dispersal of gas from every air conditioning unit, and over the course of a year it can lose about 5% of its capacity. This means that over time, the unit is unable to filter air effectively and moisture could begin to build up in the filters. Moisture in the filters can attract pollen, spores and even bacteria.” Bob added: “We would always recommend conducting air conditioning checks as standard whenever a customer brings in their vehicle for a service. If you explain to customers why having a check is a good idea – covering cabin comfort, vehicle health and air quality – the chances are they’ll go for it. And even minor tweaks to the system will deliver noticeable improvements in comfort, as well as enhancing the long-term health and performance of the vehicle, ensuring customers leave happy.” Air conditioning and climate control systems have been standard on many vehicles for some years now, but as DENSO A/C Product Specialist Richard Groot observed, many garages still find this area challenging: “Although technicians generally have a sound knowledge of how most vehicle systems actually function, the majority don’t have the same level of understanding of the A/C system, which is the fundamental problem. This lack of knowledge of the basic operating theory means that, in a typical independent workshop anywhere in Europe, A/C service is not carried out to the quality that it should be, and why specialist A/C businesses have thrived. This is a crazy situation for motorists, but also means that most workshops are losing out on much needed revenue. “Irrespective of whether it’s a traditional or heat pump system, this widespread lack of understanding of how the A/C system works means that mistakes in diagnosis and repair are often made, and sadly, the typical workshop’s response to A/C service is to just re-gas the system, which, without understanding the basics, can often cause more problems than it solves and certainly cannot be described as A/C service.” Richard added: “A/C system repair can sometimes become a case of trial and error, instead of real fault finding. As technicians struggle to understand the refrigerant cycle, in many cases their diagnosis is only based on checking the system’s pressure, but as many vehicles now use electronic controlled, variable Left: A/C servicing with DENSO
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