Air Conditioning in the Winter

[96s281]

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted on here and it's good to see the site still going strong...

Anyhow, I got a question regarding my A/C. Just for kicks I attempted to put the air on today to make sure everything is still working b/c the car's up for sale and I found that the A/C is nowhere near as cold as it was in the summer. Is this natural for the wintertime or does it sound like there's a problem?

I let it run for a good 10 minutes at varying speeds (Lo to Hi) and the air got a bit chilly but definitely not cold the way it was this past summer. The chiliest point was obviously when the knob was all the way to the left in the blue, but if I were to turn the knob 2-3 clicks away from that spot, I would get intense heat again. Again, is this normal for the wintertime?

Thanks for any help!!

 

[ponysarepretty]

if your selling the car and its winter... who cares?

 

[fellamansteve]

Keep in mind your body gets used to the colder weather. You'd have to get your car really toasty before you turn on the AC to get the right feeling. The temp difference between outside and the AC in the winter isn't going to feel like much when you have the difference between difference between the summer outside temps and your AC on your mind.

 

[03 Black GT]

i think it's just because its cold outside, also if you sell it in the winter they probably wont be checking how cold the a/c gets... if your lucky

 

[96s281]

if your selling the car and its winter... who cares?

Yeah, sounds pretty stupid, huh? My concern is that it'll make it to the springtime and then this will become an issue. We'll see I guess.

I'm hoping it's mind over matter like Steve and Black GT said.

 

[TrueBlueNJ]

My dad is an hvac specialist and says the ac should be jsut as cold if not colder.

 

[Dragstr05]

R134 systems need to be recharged quite often. Could be as simple as its just low on refrigerant. If you run the A/C, does it sound like your compressor is cyling on/off alot? Thats a good sign your system is low.

 

[98blackmagic]

R134 systems need to be recharged quite often. Could be as simple as its just low on refrigerant. If you run the A/C, does it sound like your compressor is cyling on/off alot? Thats a good sign your system is low.

No, No, NO, the a/c is a closed system, there is no need to recharge the system unless it has a leak. Check on your lines from the compressor and see if they are wet (condensation) that will tell you if the system is charged. Or you could get a gauge from autoparts store if you want to know that bad.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Ok, would you guys like to know the real reason you’re A/C doesn’t work in the winter?

First I’ll cut and paste basics of an Automotive Air conditioning system (since quite honestly I’m too tired and too lazy to string together the explanation myself).

We will begin at the compressor. The compressor is the heart of the system. It compresses the Freon. While it compresses it also pumps the Freon around and around the system like your heart. The compressor has 2 tubes connected to it. One tube is the outlet from the compressor. This tube is the smaller of the two. This smaller tube connects to the inlet of the condenser.
"Condenser" is the outside coil (unit) that has a fan on it. The condenser receives the Freon in a gas state from the compressor. The pressure is high and so is the Freon temperature. As the compressor keeps pumping, the Freon is forced to go thru the coil. As the hot Freon moves thru the coil it must be cooled down so the gas will turn into "liquid". Here is where the fan comes in. The fan draws air thru the coils. This takes the heat out of the Freon to allow it to turn to a "liquid"
Liquid Freon (refrigerant) is the KEY to cooling. Now that the Freon has traveled thru the outside condensing unit and the Freon has cooled and turned from a gaseous state to a liquid state the Freon then leaves the condenser (hot coil).
The liquid line tube is the smaller diameter tubing of the 2 lines that are connected to the unit. Also you can tell the liquid line from the gaseous line by the black insulation. The smaller tubing has no black insulation covering it.
The liquid line runs from the condenser outlet up to the air handler (inside unit). Inside the air handler is where the expansion valve or capillary tubes are. The "evaporator" cold coil is inside the air handler. The liquid line is connected to either the Xvalve or capillary tube whichever you have. These valves are like a restriction. This is the point where the low side and high side are separated.
*High Side* The tubing from the compressor thru the condenser and up to the Xvalve (restriction) in the air handler is the high side.
Now we are at the point where the cooling takes place. ***As I stated above*** the liquid is the KEY to cooling. When the liquid Freon goes thru the Xvalve it enters the "evaporator" (cold coil. The evaporator is at a lower pressure (low side).
"Low Side" The copper tubing from the Xvalve thru the evaporator and back to the compressors inlet is the low side. The compressor pulls the Freon in. This suction by the compressor along with the Xvalve (restriction) is how the lower pressure is created. If there was not any restriction in the system the Freon would just go around and around without any cooling. With the Xvalve in the system there will be a high and low side.
Back to the *evaporator* cold coil. As the high pressure liquid in the small tubing enters the evaporator the Freon will "boil" because the evaporators pressure is much lower. Its like putting alcohol on your skin, the alcohol feels cold because it is evaporating. Thats what the Freon does inside the evap.
Since the compressor is sucking in all the time it keeps the Freon changing from the liquid to a gas. As Freon changes its state back to a gas the Freon absorbs heat. So that’s where the fan comes in. While the Freon is absorbing heat the fan draws the air thru the cold coil to have the heat taken out of the air that circulates in the house. The evaporator does not cool the air; the Freon takes the heat out of the air.
Now that the Freon has passed thru the evaporator (cold coil) and absorbed the heat, the heat needs to be removed from the Freon. This is done by the compressors suction where the Freon with the heat is sucked in to the compressor from the large tubing with the black insulation. The compressor compresses the gas and starts all over again.
As stated above the compressor compresses the hot gas and sends it to the condenser (hot coil) to have the outside fan take the heat out of the Freon and turn it back into a liquid to start the whole process over again.

So…now you’ve got a basic understanding of how an A/C system works. Now, the reason that it doesn’t work during the winter months is simple. When the outside temperature falls below zero, the temperature isn’t high enough to fully turn the refrigerant from a liquid to a gaseous state. The colder the outside temperature gets, the more of the refrigerant remains liquid. Since the refrigerant remains in it’s mostly liquid state, the system will not build enough pressure on the high (hot) side to trip the expansion valve which would normally lower the pressure of the liquid refrigerant exiting the condenser before it enters the low (cold) side, where it would again be turned into a gas before entering the compressor. Since you cannot compress a liquid, this is a safety precaution, because sending the refrigerant in its liquid state into the compressor will cause catastrophic failure. The compressor will not compress liquid, only gas.


Clear as mud, huh?

 

[96s281]

Ok, would you guys like to know the real reason you’re A/C doesn’t work in the winter?

First I’ll cut and paste basics of an Automotive Air conditioning system (since quite honestly I’m too tired and too lazy to string together the explanation myself).

So…now you’ve got a basic understanding of how an A/C system works. Now, the reason that it doesn’t work during the winter months is simple. When the outside temperature falls below zero, the temperature isn’t high enough to fully turn the refrigerant from a liquid to a gaseous state. The colder the outside temperature gets, the more of the refrigerant remains liquid. Since the refrigerant remains in it’s mostly liquid state, the system will not build enough pressure on the high (hot) side to trip the expansion valve which would normally lower the pressure of the liquid refrigerant exiting the condenser before it enters the low (cold) side, where it would again be turned into a gas before entering the compressor. Since you cannot compress a liquid, this is a safety precaution, because sending the refrigerant in its liquid state into the compressor will cause catastrophic failure. The compressor will not compress liquid, only gas.


Clear as mud, huh?

Maybe I'm an idiot , but I need to ask the question: Is the paragraph above saying it's normal not to have the same charge in the winter than in the summer?

 

[Nater]

I have noticed the same in all the cars I've driven (mine or others) and feel that it is normal. I have heard that it is good to use the A/C every few weeks during the winter to keep the refridgerant circulating. And yes I know that when you put the Defrost, it cycles the A/C.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Maybe I'm an idiot , but I need to ask the question: Is the paragraph above saying it's normal not to have the same charge in the winter than in the summer?

You still have the same charge, it's just not under the same amount of pressure it would be during the summer months.