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Heater/Air Conditioner
Home » Car Maintenance » What's Wrong with My Car? » Heater/Air ConditionerIn the winter, there's no car problem that upsets more drives than a malfunctioning heater. In the summer, though, no one cares about the heater; instead, they complain about the broken air conditioner. Many times, however, problems with your heater and air conditioner are actually related.
First, perhaps your heater or air conditioner makes a lot of noise, particularly a rattling noise, while it runs. If this is the case, you may simply have some debris in your fan cage or in your vent, so try and remove that debris. It is possible, however, that the fan itself is loose (in which case you can tighten it) or damaged (in which case you'll need to replace it). Finally, and most expensively, you may have a broken motor.
Sometimes, however, you have the opposite problem--your heater and air conditioner hardly seem to be blowing at all. In this case, the problem likely lies with the blower fan, so you'll need to have that motor replaced. On the other hand, you may simply have something blocking the air duct or ice on the evaporator (which you can fix by turning off the air conditioner for f a few minutes).
If you have plenty of air, but no cool air, however, you may need to replace your air conditioner compressor, which is the mechanism that cools the air. Alternatively, your compressor may be good, but you have a leak in your air conditioning system. If it's hot air that you're lacking, the heater hoses may be damaged or the heater core may be blocked with dirt. All of these repair jobs are complex, however, and definitely jobs for a trained mechanic.
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