5 Alarming Reasons: Why Your Car Ac Is Blowing Hot Air|Refrigerant leak|Compressor failure|AC clutch failure|Blown AC fuse|AC filter is too dirty

An air conditioner is supposed to give cool air. But what if your car AC is blowing hot air. You’d be roasted inside the car considering our country’s high temperatures and sunny days. This is a very common thing to happen. A car AC blowing hot air can be due to many reasons related to refrigerants, compressors, filters etc….So if you have a similar problem, don’t worry, we have you covered up.

Why is my car air conditioner blowing hot air? Your Answer is Here!

An AC is supposed to cool you right? But sometimes due to lack of maintenance or unsuitable conditions, the AC doesn’t function properly and a need for diagnosis of the issue arises. Read the article below to find out the reasons.

1:Refrigerant leak:

Refrigerant leak

Refrigerant leaks are a consequence of a broken seal, cracked gasket or a cracked hose. In either of the cases, the final result is the same – a leaking refrigerant that is harmful to the compressor. Read on to find out more about this.

What is a Refrigerant?

To understand why refrigerant leaks, we must know what it is and how it works.

To keep an AC functioning effectively a refrigerant is used. The commonly used name for refrigerant is Freon. Freon starts as a gas and later is compressed by a compressor, which in turn raises the pressure and makes it very hot. After this process, the gas moves and passes through different coils which again cools it down to liquid form.

At this stage, the chilled Freon soaks heat from the external environment and pushes out cold air via the AC vents, which gives everybody sitting in the car a big wave of cold air.

Why does Refrigerant {freon} leak to begin with?

The most common reason for an Air conditioning system to not function properly is Freon leaks. A broken seal or a cracked hose are some of the reasons that cause a refrigerant leak.

If there are moist conditions, a broken seal wouldn’t help things at all as the excessive water vapour in the air could mix with the Refrigerant and form an acid that can affect the functioning of crucial parts of the AC system.

Signs that Refrigerant has leaked

The easiest way to figure out Refrigerant leaks is to check three things –

  • Car AC is blowing warm air
  • Frozen Coils
  • Visible Leaks beneath the car

If any one of the things happens, chances are that a Freon leak has taken place.

2: Compressor failure

Compressor failure

The compressor in the AC of a car can easily be said that it is the heart of the AC. It plays a pivotal role in keeping the proper functioning of AC.

What is a compressor in AC?

It is in charge of keeping the Freon flowing in all places of the AC system. Increasing the pressure of the gas, in turn, reduces the volume of gas and makes it hot. After this, the usual process takes place in which Freon is passed through coils that cool it down.

car accessories image

What happens if the compressor fails to work?

If a compressor fails, there would be no flow of Freon. And flowing of freon is crucial as it lays the basis for the process of supplying cool air.

So the short, simple and easy answer to this would be that the AC would blow hot air. Thus, a compressor would always be needed for the proper functioning of AC.

Common symptoms related to compressor failure –

  • Blowing of warm air
  • Loud noise when the compressor is running
  • Fluid leaks

These symptoms are pretty much similar to the ones given above for Refrigerant leaks, as both of them are quite interlinked.

3: AC clutch failure:

AC clutch failure

Another common cause for the failure of AC to blow cool air.

An AC clutch is not the same clutch as found in manual cars to shift gears. Its working is quite similar to it – It has to engage to start rotating to get energy from the engine, just like the gear clutch which has two rotating shafts.

How does the AC clutch work?

The AC clutch is located in front of the compressor and is in charge of taking energy from the engine and delivering it to the compressor. The compressor then uses this energy provided to perform its task of increasing pressure and eventually playing a crucial part in churning out cool air.

To transfer the energy from the engine to the compressor, the clutch engages and starts to spin. However, if it doesn’t work in the first place, the compressor wouldn’t function either and the whole process would stop.

The function of the AC clutch

As read by you above, the main function of the clutch is to rotate and transfer power from the engine, which acts as a generator, to the compressor.

Another vital function of the clutch is to stop the AC from running continuously. If the compressor would do so, the engine would have a lot of load thereby reducing the mileage of the car.

4: Blown AC fuse:

Blown AC fuse

As the name suggests, the AC has a fuse, and it is a very important part of the AC. Without the fuse, an electrical shock could damage the car AC system forever.

What is an AC fuse?

An AC fuse is simply a wire of low melting point inside a transparent case made of glass. In case there is more than the required flow of electricity, the wire melts and breaks the flow of the circuit.

Why does the AC fuse blow up?

A blown AC fuse is most often found when the AC takes up too much power from the engine of the car. This happens in extreme heat conditions, where the AC takes up more energy than it actually can take care of. In this condition, the fuse wire melts and breaks the circuit between the AC compressor and the engine. Thus the compressor doesn’t work and the freon doesn’t flow, which means hot air in place of cold air.

Thus, fuse wire is a very important safety device that actually helps you.

5: AC filter is too dirty

AC filter is too dirty

This aspect is the most overlooked one in maintaining the AC. Many car owners neglect periodic cleansing and servicing of the AC filter and with time, dust accumulates and particles get stuck to the filter. As a result, the filter gets clogged and affects the working of the AC.

What is an AC filter?

An AC filter is simply a membrane that filters all contaminants from the air that goes out via the AC vents. It is responsible for the removal of pollutants in the air like dust and allergens.

1: Signs that AC filter is clogged:

Reduced airflow –

The most obvious sign that a filter needs cleaning is reduced air, as when dust sits on the filter, the air would pass through in smaller amounts as dust acts as an additional barrier.

Increased dust from AC –

The second most obvious sign is that there is an increased amount of dust in the cabin. As the blower moves, the dust particles that are sitting on the filter start to disperse and before you know it, loads of dust enters the car’s cabin.

2: Side effects of a dirty air filter

The most common side effect of a dirty air filter is reduced power output. Although it wouldn’t be noticeable at first, it would have a bad effect over the long term.

This happens as follows: – When the air filter is clogged, there would be more load on the engine as the AC would demand more electricity to push the same amount of air through.

Also, because of the excessive flow of electricity demand, the fuse wire could also blow up leading to other problems as mentioned above.

These were the Five reasons why an Air Conditioning system in one’s car would blow warm air.

We at Carorbis, hope that this article helps you to learn about the potential reasons why your car AC is blowing hot air instead of the cool air it should be giving. If you found this blog informative, make sure to check out other interesting reads on the Carorbis Blog and also read.

Similar Posts