Ever wondered how the air conditioning system of your car, van, truck or SUV
cools the interior of your vehicle? It does so by circulating a heat absorbing
fluid called refrigerant. As the refrigerant passes through the vents inside your
vehicle, it absorbs as much heat as it can get from the vehicle’s cabin. This
refrigerant is then compressed and delivered to the AC condenser for cooling.
After it is cooled, it is then delivered to the various other parts of the AC
system, then back to the evaporator inside the vehicle’s cabin, where the heat
absorption process would again begin.
Now, what makes the refrigerant flow through the various parts of your vehicle’s
air conditioning system? A mechanical pump. This mechanical pump is called the
AC compressor and is considered as the heart of the AC system. Just as the human
heart would pump blood, so would the AC compressor pump the refrigerant so that
it would flow in a closed loop around the air conditioning system. And just as
the circulatory system would function poorly during a heart failure, so would
the AC system perform poorly if the AC compressor incurs a lot of damage.
As a mechanical pump, some mechanical force must drive the AC compressor. That
mechanical force is provided by the engine, upon which the belt that drives the
compressor is attached into. As the engine starts moving, the AC compressor would
also start taking in refrigerant from the low pressure side of the AC system,
or in particular, from the evaporator or the accumulator. Inside the compressor,
the refrigerant would be compressed into a high pressure and high temperature
gas. This compressed refrigerant would then be delivered to the high pressure
side of the AC system, or in particular, to the condenser for cooling.
The automotive AC compressor is very important that without it, the air conditioning
system of your vehicle won’t simply function. In the same manner, any damage in
the auto AC compressor would largely degrade the performance of the air conditioning
system. That’s why it is important that you replace the AC compressor of your
vehicle as soon as a major damage in it is discovered. In doing so, however, remember
that only a certified air conditioning system mechanic can perform such AC compressor
replacements.
