How to Repair Auto Air Conditioners
Virtually everyone has AC in his or her automobile today. The problem is that if something goes wrong, it costs an arm and a leg to get repaired. There is something you can attempt that will most likely work and may save you money in the long run.
- Unplug the air conditioning clutch which is what makes your air conditioning unit come on to begin with. There will be an electrical plug in on top of the clutch and you simply unplug it.
- Purchase some of the same gauge wires that will reach into your vehicle and be able to mount on the dashboard.
- Mount a toggle switch to the dash with the wire attached. This will be your on/off switch for the air conditioner. What we are in effect doing here is disconnecting the computer from the air conditioner completely. The toggle switch will bypass the computer, which is nine times out of ten the problem.
- Connect the other end to a thermostat that you can purchase at any auto parts store for around thirty dollars. There will be an in and an out terminal on the thermostat and the wire from the dash goes into the “in” slot.
- Place the sensor device that comes out of the thermostat against the evaporator for the air conditioner. To do this you will need to drill a hole in the evaporator line so you can place this sensor (which measures the temperature) up against the evaporator. Be very careful not to drill into the evaporator.
- Take another line and put it in the out slot of the thermostat. This line will connect to your battery. It is an excellent idea to install at least a 10-amp fuse in that line to prevent anything from happening to the thermostat or clutch. This line will hook to the positive terminal of your battery.
- Tweak the up and down on temperature by the adjusting screws that are located on the thermostat. Now you will have fixed your air conditioning for less than $50 and that is a big savings over a new computer unit that may have cost over $700.