Eugene, Oregon Air Conditioning Service and Repair

What we usually describe as “air conditioning” is more technically air drying and cooling. The process of drying and cooling the cabin air in a vehicle is accomplished primarily through the work of an engine accessory called an air conditioning compressor. This compressor circulates a refrigerant throughout your car. In simple terms, this refrigerant picks up heat in the cabin and drops it off in the engine bay.

During this process, moisture is also removed from the air. You may have noticed a pool under your car after running the AC on a hot day. That is the condensed moisture from inside your cabin which has collected during the drive. Common air conditioning system problems include leaks in the coolant lines, problems with the fans inside the dash which circulate the air, and problems with the condenser itself.

An automotive air-heating system operates on essentially the same principle as an air conditioning system, except instead of moving heat out into the engine bay it moves heat into the cabin from the engine. In order to operate properly, automotive engines have a specified operating temperature which is maintained by the thermostat, fan, radiator, and coolant. The coolant also runs into the heater core to power your car’s air-heating system.

Think of a heater core as a radiator on the inside of your car and you’ve pretty much got the idea. Heater cores can fail due to physical damage as well as damage caused by overheating. The coolant lines running from your radiator can also fail either inside the engine bay or within the vehicle cab itself. When this happens, a very obvious leak will be visible coming from the dash. Any leak in the air heating system is also a leak in the engine temperature maintenance system and should be treated very seriously.