People I have encountered so far in regards to my air con services.

A little glimpse of what kind of customers that I have come across in the negative aspect towards my services.

1) "I have driven cars for more than 20yrs. Owned each of them. Never in my life heard that air con must service. This is a boo thing. I am not going to get it done. Period."

2) "Where got oil one?"

3) "You sure or not?"

4) "Air con not cold? Just top up gas can liao."

5) "Don't want lah. Wait do liao alot of problem can happen..."

6) "Just pump the oil treatment, enough already."

7) "Compressor no need service. Spoil liao just change. Air con then like new."

Many more.

Since day one, air con compressor has oil in the system in order to have moving parts lubricate. The oil also lines the walls of the pipings when the gas moves through the system. The oil lubricates the system everywhere it goes.

This oil will wear and will be worn out like engine oil in the engine. Once the life of the oil is gone, the oil will no longer lubricate the system and it actually turns against the car owner. Moving parts will wear out faster and a compressor failure is a matter of time.

If you are mechanically inclined, then you will understand what does 'volumetric efficiency' means.

With the oil and just enough gas in the system, the compressor will use min. effort to run and it will give you the coldest possible air in the cabin. When you have too much gas, it does not only cause compressor premature failure. Too much gas in the system, air con will not be cold too.

Why do we top up gas? It is deal to leak.

How come got leak? No system is perfect and leakage is normal and so topping up gas does help in such instances.

If your system has no leak and you top up gas... probably no gas top up at all or too much gas in the system. Sometimes, when you top up too much gas, the serviceman actually reduces the volume of gas in your system to get your air con cold.

What is treatment oil? It is an addictive that enhances the oil in the system for better lubrication. If you always use the treatment oil but not service the system, you will have a overcharged system with too much oil in system. Air con system will become intermittent. Hot cold hot cold is such symptoms.

Would the servicing cause the climate control to fail? NO. The servicing only flushed out your oil and recharge with new oil and gas. It has nothing to do with your climate or electrical control system. If it fails, your climate control module is faulty.

I have a client changed out his air con compressor twice. Each last only for a yr or less. Air con is only cold for about 3months and then performance lost. Until it is unbearable, change another unit but a recon unit.

Recon unit is fine but it is the installer who does the swap that could give you a lot of problem. This client has extremely dirty oil in his recon system when I flushed the oil out. Check out the evo's photos. Client mentioned that his system is intermittent. Cold day cold, hot day hot. Sometimes cold day also warm air. Kinda like kana 4D when the air con is cold... oh well.

I am not saying that if I flushed and refresh the system will help eliminate the problems. It all depends on the recon unit condition as well. If the recon unit is still good to use, you will most likely to have a cold air con to stay with. Like most of the cases, recon unit works well after flush if the recon unit is still good. If recon unit is not good, even after flushing the air con will still be bad.

How do we know if the compressor unit is good or bad? Only the installer knows and sometimes he does not. End up it depends greatly on your luck.

So if you service your air con compressor yearly, you are likely to enjoy cold cold air con throughout your ownership of your car.

As new technology progresses, air con compressor unit normally becomes smaller and uses less oil but less oil also means that the oil will turn bad faster. Engine heat remains the same most of the time or even hotter at times, but less oil and smaller compressor meaning more loads are experienced by the smaller unit. Regular servicing is critical to keep the smaller unit alive.

Less oil in the system means that the production plant will get to enjoy lots of savings. A typical system holds between 100-250cc of oil. Newer and smaller compressor uses less oil like sometimes 60-80cc only. It is a huge savings but car owners would not know that they will have to service their system more frequently. Car owners will bear the costs for maintenance and that is why cars are cheaper to buy nowadays for some brands as alot of parts are swapped out to save costs.

JDM and EDM have different OMV. Why is it so even for the same model? Smaller cc engine car can have higher OMV than bigger cc cars. Thank about it.

Recon's Perils!!!

I have been working on car after car and the greatest problem encountered by owners so far is those reconditioned compressor unit.

There is nothing wrong with the compressor unit in terms of installation and gas charging. The problem lies with the amount of oil that is supposed to be top up too.

Common findings:

1) No new oil. (Extremely dirty oil flushed out.)

2) Oil treatment used instead. (At least got use oil but normally overfilled the system.)

3) Too much gas.

4) Not enough gas.

5) System not flushed but still charged up with fresh oil. (Overfilled system.)

6) Not enough oil in system.

The list still goes on and on...

"This is the third compressor that I have in my car..."

"Got oil in system? Something new!"

"Air con compressor can be serviced, really?"

ETC...

If you feel that your air con system is behaving strange lately, sometimes it is already too late.

So far, cars with the most times of compressor changed are... EVOs and EVOs, then WRXs.

If you have a monster in the bonnet, you better keep your air con check'ED! Mitsubishi tops my lists now. I have only worked on a few EVOs and almost all have recon'ed units. Subaru is not uncommon but don't add to the stats.

Another 'RECON''ed air con with such problem.

After 2nd flushing. More 'black particles' are flushed out.

After 1st flushing.

I worked on another car yesterday that has a air con compressor swapped out for a 'recon'ed unit. I believe the swap was less than half a year ago.

Complaints are air con came on and off, off at traffic lights, etc...

Upon flushing, I realized lots of black particles are found in the flushed out oil. During optimization, the system seemed 'choked' but it was not as bad before work.

Indeed, after flushing the whole system a second time, more 'black particles' were removed. This is the worst case I had ever come across to date.

Finally, the system is able to be optimized and system runs fine.

Dear friends, if you are diagnosed with air con compressor failure by someone, please make sure you know where is your car being checked. With regular servicing, your air con compressor would normally out last the numbers of years that you are going to be with your ride.

Very bad oil with lots of black particles.

Just before the holidays last week, this beautiful EVO IX came in for servicing. During the routine checks, the air con compressor oil was found to be very dirty.

According to the owner, his air con compressor was just been replaced with a recon unit. Apparently, the air con system was not flushed. Upon flushing the system, the old oil has lots of tiny black particles floating around.

These tiny particles would soon choke the thermal expansion valve within and there goes another day in the workshop for rectification and another big bill.

Car owners are advised to have their air con system flushed yearly or every 40,000km.

7 more horses on wheels!

After much explaining about how the air con compressor eats up your horses during a hot day, I finally have time to go test my own car to see if I have retrieved any horses back to wheel power.

Same setup and nothing has changed, only air con optimization.

302whp turns 309whp!

No matter what, the air con compressor will still require much horses to run the system in the range up to 20% with respect to optimization done or not, oil condition, any contamination of refrigerant or air in system, too much oil, too much gas, too little oil, etc.

That works out slightly over SGD30 per horse for my case.

Thank you for the valuable feedbacks my friends. Many said the car feels lighter to roll out and the engine sounds less effort required for air con too.

Now at least I have some figures for my own car. ;)

Another 'SPECIAL' Encounter

I was working on a Subaru Legacy GT Wagon today. Apparently, the air con system behaved in a peculiar way.

The air was cold for a brief moment and then hot air instead. After hot air, cold air next. It went on and on.

After flushing, then we found the cause to the strange encounter. The system had too much oil in the system, twice as per normal! Furthermore, the condition of the compressor oil was also BAD.

What happen when there is too much oil in the air con system? The expansion valve will get choked and air con performance could become intermittent, just as mentioned earlier.

As per owner, the system was never serviced before. Car came out straight from factory and never once was the air con system touched. His feedback about his air con system was just as mentioned too. He thought that it could be normal somehow BUT IT IS SURELY NOT!

Too much oil in a system will make the compressor 'choked' and same applies to the rest of the parts in the system.

If you do encounter such similar situation, go to your trusted workshop for rectification before it is too late. Otherwise, you know who you could reach too.

;)

Touched up my car's air con after major servicing.

After major servicing was completed on my car, I went on to touch up my air con system. The result is really great.

Some asked why is it that my car has such result.

Results vary with different made and also different made of air con compressor. Not only these, the climate control system together with the thermostat would also contribute to the final result.

Now my car feels even more like turbo'less'. Some called it 'VTec'. LOL

Oh, my ride went through the lambda treatment as well. Now everything seems so SMOOOOOOTHHHH..... ;)

Opel Combo 1.7CDTI

This van has new hoses for her air con compressor due to rupture. The reasons for hoses to fail is very obvious in the 2nd photo above. The condition of the compressor oil is bad, really bad.

After the hoses were replaced, the system was tested for stability and performance. It could still manage about 12 oC but the compressor was noisy. The old oil was no longer providing lubrication for the system.

After flushing and optimization, the 1st photo speaks for the result.

Once again, recommended settings are not close at all. If I have followed the recommended gas volume... I guess I could be having dead compressor for supper....

What happened?!!!

The shop received a call in the morning and then a tow truck brought in a Subaru Legacy.

The caller told us roughly what happened to the car while the owner was driving along NSHW in Malaysia.

The car is totally stock and has no tuning done or upgrades. Serviced regularly at factory and timely too.

Owner appeared and related what happened. Nothing usual as said.

No tuning. No modifications of any sort. No downgrade of petrol use. Absolutely a very normal car.

This is what happened...

WHAT HAPPENED?!!!

E320 CONTAMINATION SOLVED!

Just as the title mentioned, the contaminated vehicle is saved from a big bill which required unnecessary works to be carried out.

The contaminated gas was recovered the right way and stored away.

System refreshed, flushed and optimized.

(I am having problems with the font's color after cutting and pasting from facebook. Check out the rest of the details in my facebook.)

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=361756&id=140545905973932&ref=fbx_album

Contaminated E320!!!

A Mercedes E320 just drove into the shop to get his air conditioning system rectified.

Oil in compressor is no longer white and clean. Dirty yellow and slight tint of brown.

As the checks went on... the worst nightmare that a owner could have is to have a contaminated system!!!

Picture speaks louder than words...

Subaru Impreza 1.6L MY08 Sedan, hard to come by.

I laid my hands on a sedan finally. It is a rare thing on the road for this model.

Car was registered in April 2009. Maximum temperature achieved at max cooling with fan 2 speed is only 15.4oC.

The oil condition indicator showed dirty oil when checked. Upon flushing, owner was shocked that the oil actually turned bad so quickly in a year with about 40000+km.

After optimization and sanitization, temperature hit 7.5oC on the thermometer.

Accordingly to owner, car feels much more lively on light throttle now. When turning on or off air con, engine does not react much in terms of vibration.

The lambda system of oil extra and otto were also used, after about 15mins on the road with car parked, the car has become very quiet and idling noise from engine is almost not there.

"Sounds like engine has not been started at all!"

The smile on his face is my best reward for the day!

Just before track day.

On Friday, 13th August 2010, it was one amazing day for me. At least 3 batteries issues plus a dead alternator came into the shop.

First, the Chevrolet Aveo came in the day before for air con optimization. The battery was dead and replaced (by another workshop) after works on air con. Diagnosed with alternator having charging problem as well. Indeed on the next day, the owner got stranded across the border in JB.

Two more guys came in with dead batteries. Although cars were still able to start but owners did realized that their cars did not start well especially during 1st drive of the day. Batteries changed in the shop and cars started well and good. One alternator is suspected damaged due to almost dead battery. Meanwhile, car is good to start and drive after new battery installed.

4th, a Legacy GT. Dealer installed a new battery for this car's owner. Car was bought 2nd hand for about 1/2 a year. Battery's built-in indicator is leaking and acid was spilling out from the indicator!!!

A leaking battery or almost dead battery will kill your car sooner than you could imagine.

The alternator for the Aveo is $400++... not including labor yet.

Simple maths.

Choose your car wisely.

Yesterday, i just worked on a good friend's car.

As more makes and models I touched, I realized that the design of the vehicle greatly affects the the results of your air conditioning system in your car.

Sadly, some cars are not well built to ensure that you have a worry free air con system...

Partly our weather here in Singapore contributed more bad than good to the already not so effective system...

One way to try is to test drive new car in very hot weather or during hot afternoon, you will know if the aircon is good or no good.

;)

New hoses or not?

The pipes or hoses for L and H port, new from factory carries a hefty price tag each.

If minor leaks are detected, chances are that you could still salvage the situation upon removal. Minor leak repair with minimum corrosion, it could cut your bill almost 40-50% for repair.

What if it is beyond repair?

PRAY!

Genuine parts or repaired parts are not much of a difference if you ask me. If it could be repaired, please repair as it will still serve the purpose well. Unless the joints are badly corroded and not reusable, then you will have to worry.

It does not matter if it is new from factory or repaired hoses, you will have to take good care of it. You may not understand the whole theory behind it but bringing your car to certified personnels to get it serviced or checked, it could save you lots of money.

How does new oil look like?

How long automotive air conditioning oil (PAG OIL) look like?

When fresh from factory, the oil is white and translucent.

Once its lubricating property starts to drop, the oil has started to turn light brown. Light brown oil is bad, trust me. You do not want to spend thousands of dollars to repair your car's air con.

I just had a car that has the air con system neglected throughout the years of driving and modification. Leak is detected along the H and L ports pipes.

Replacement of these two pipes is a simple task but they cost a bomb!!! Two pipes from Subaru factory and with labor will burn a hole in your pocket. Two pipes alone will cost you $1k-1.2k!!! When I first saw the bill, I thought my blood sugar is low...

Friends of mine, repairs for air conditioning system is not cheap. The two pipes could actually buy you a system 2 for your house!!!

Some oils collected from vehicles.

PAG OIL is what I use to service your air con system. PAG OIL is OEM. When new, PAG OIL are translucent and white in color. Once the oil is worn down, it starts to turn brown.

Sometimes you will see yellow dye in the oil from some vehicles. The car owners could have added treatment or leak guard to your system previously. Air con treatment or leak guard has yellow dye. In the event of a leak, it is alot easier to identify the location of the leak.

Manufacturer recommends air conditioning system to be serviced every 40,000km or yearly. This will greatly ensure that your air con compressor stays in good health and last you a long long time.

Neglected system up to 3 years, it is like a time bomb ticking away.

This could cost you expensive repairs and down time.

If you are in doubt about your air con in your car, drop by for a free consultation now. No obligation to engage the service that could be rendered but at least you know what is the condition for your system.

Call me at 9853 7486 or email me at mtshark@gmail.com.

Vehicle Air Con Optimization

I shall carry on updating this blog of mine here in regards to what I am doing now.

I have stepped into the automotive industry with my boss's help and has begun to offer sales of products and also services.

What kind of services?

Ans: AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION FOR VEHICLES

Before I even talk about what optimization of air conditioning system about, let me give you a better idea by talking about something else.

Almost every family in Singapore has air conditioning units installed in their homes.

We all know that if we never engage services to service our air conditioning units, 'aircon' will sooner or later turns NOT COLD, turns smelly, water pipes choked... etc.

If the system is serviced regularly, everyday you will be enjoying cold air in your own home after a hard day at work.

Get the picture yet?

For those who drive, seldom would even think about their air con system in their cars. As long as it is cold, it is fine. So, how do we define 'cold'? What is 'cold' enough? What temperature?

Before I engage myself in this line of service, I used my car (Subaru) to test out the service rendered. I am amazed. For weeks and now months, my car air con is still very cold. Not me alone, my boss's Honda's too. He has lined up his other cars for as well for this form of service.

If you are reading this, I know you are internet savvy and do know how to do search in regards to automotive industry.

On theory, the air temperature directly from the blower CAN be zero oC!!! Due to environment and climate, anything around 5 oC is acceptable with stimulation of on the road driving.

When I first figured out what temperature was I getting from my car, 16 oC. Is that cold enough? NO WAY!!!

An air con compressor unit in the car draws about 15% of power from the alternator and the power comes from the engine of course. Meaning during drive, you lose about 15% power as well when driving with air con on.

The longer the compressor works, the more load the alternator and engine would be having. Thus loss in power and performance. That is why sometimes you have to off air con when you want to have some performance to overtake or speed!!! (I am not recommending people to speed here. Period.)

If your cabin temperature could be achieved in the shortest possible time, your engine will not be working as hard.

You may have to maintain higher rpm when air con compressor is running for a XXX speed and ideal temperature is not hit, the longer the compressor would have to work. More loads on the engine as well.

But.... if you get to optimize your system properly, the air con compressor will take less time to achieve your temperature you want. Less time and less load on engine of course.

Less load on engine also means that you have better power on the drive as well. If your system is optimized properly, you will not have to off your air con system during OVERDRIVE! More horses on the throttle at your expense. Lower rpm at desire cruising speed.

Manufacturers recommend servicing of air conditioning system every 40,000km... err... how come many of us do not know about this. This information is not disclosed or perhaps it is hidden from car owners.

Even cars that just came out from factory face this problem. As long as the vent has cold air, the car is good to go. What is cold? How cold is cold? Such questions surface again.

Getting your system optimize not only helps in saving on wear and tear of your air con compressor, it also help to save the environment as well. I think you do not need to tell how this thing work to save environment.

LESS FUEL BURNT FOR YOUR AIR CON IN CAR!

Personally, I have done two cars. I will update again in regards to the findings and results accordingly soon. Stay tuned!