Mechanic Shows The Quickest Way To Check To See If Your A/C Is About To Go Out. It’s Easier Than You Think

One of the worst things that can happen to your car during the summer is your air conditioning failing.

Even if all other aspects of your car are working just fine, trying to drive on a 95-degree day without A/C can be so miserable that you might avoid driving altogether.

Unlike some other fixes, which can be identified with a quick internet search, air conditioner issues seem a bit more complicated

 However, as one TikTok user recently showed, that isn’t always the case. In fact, some air conditioner issues can be diagnosed and fixed in a matter of minutes.

How Can You Check Your Car’s A/C?

In a recent post, TikTok creator Joe (@joesyourmobile_mechanic) explains some simple things one can do if their air conditioning is not working.

“First is, you wanna check your fuses,” he says. He points to the fuse box in the engine bay. There he identifies two different parts of the box: one as the fuse, and one as the relay.

“You wanna verify they both work. How would you do that? Bam. Fluke meter,” he shares, holding up a digital multimeter. “You wanna make sure there's power going there. You test the relay, check the ohms on it—you wanna come check to make sure that the plug is actually on.”

From there, he goes on to the hose carrying the refrigerant through the A/C unit. He states that, in his case, he was able to figure out that the hose was the source of the problem thanks to some UV dye. To demonstrate, he starts the car, showing that refrigerant is spurting out of pinholes in the hose.

“Now we're gonna have to replace that hose,” he states.

While noting that this was not a full inspection, Joe says that if someone is having problems with their car’s A/C, these are some basic diagnostic steps they can take to identify the problem—and potentially fix it themselves.

How Can You Tell If Your A/C Is Failing?

Air conditioning systems don’t always fail all at once. Instead, some drivers tend to notice little changes over time.

For example, if your air takes longer to get cold, becomes warmer when your car is idling, or switches between cold and lukewarm while cooling, there could be a problem with your air conditioning unit.

Listening to the A/C can also offer a clue about whether something is amiss. If you hear a squealing sound while your A/C is on, you could have an issue with the belt or tensioner that helps drive the compressor. If there’s a rattling or grinding sound, there would be a failing pulley, bearing, or compressor.

While you may worry that these problems could lead to a pricey repair, this isn't always the case. There are numerous reasons why an A/C unit could be behaving poorly, many of which have easy and cheap fixes. Insufficient airflow across the condenser, dirty condenser fins, and incorrect refrigerant levels can all cause these issues, and repairing these problems rarely involves spending a lot of money.

Does Low Refrigerant Mean I Just Need A Recharge?

If you’ve looked at your car’s broken A/C system and realized that you’re low on refrigerant, it can be tempting to simply add new refrigerant and call the problem fixed.

While this may work in the short-term, it is only a temporary solution. In short, as with many fluid systems, a car is designed to keep refrigerant contained. If enough refrigerant has escaped to affect the car’s performance, that means there’s a problem somewhere in the system. Usually it’s a leak in the hose, seal, condenser, evaporator, or another part of the system.

Consequently, while adding refrigerant to the ideal level will help get your A/C back in working order, this move should also be paired with an inspection of your A/C system in order to determine how the refrigerant got out in the first place. 

After you have identified all leaks and fixed them, you can refill refrigerant back to its normal levels. However, if you simply add refrigerant, you should be ready to repeat this process several times, as the issue has not been resolved.

Motor1 reached out to Joe via TikTok direct message and comment. This post will be updated if he responds.