My Air Conditioner is Not Cold!

This time of year we hear this a lot. The refrigerant that makes your air conditioner work is always under pressure, whether the engine or the air conditioner is running or not. Reber once told someone that the air conditioner in his car is like an aerosol can - if the can has a hole in it, it's all going to leak out, whether you push the button or not.

Since the refrigerant turns into a colorless, odorless gas when released, it makes it hard for us to find a very slow leak. What we will typically do if the refrigerant is undercharged is verify that it has the proper refrigerant in it, then reclaim what we can, add a special fluorescent dye, and recharge with the proper amount of refrigerant (by weight). After that is done, assuming it is cooling properly, we need you to bring it back to us in approximately 2 weeks. At that time we'll use an ultraviolet light that will allow us to see the dye from most refrigerant leaks. If we see a problem, we'll give you an estimate for a proper repair & the decision is up to you.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install or allow anyone to install any kind of stop leak into an air conditioning system. It doesn't work, and it usually ruins EVERY component in the system, not to mention our recovery equipment. An average estimate for a compressor, condenser, evaporator core, filter/drier, hoses & lines would run $3000 - $5000. Our reclaimer costs approximately $6000 to replace.

Have a cool summer!