Air Conditioning Best Service Practices Tried & Tested
When your car or truck has an air conditioning problem and needs service, what should you do? If your A/C system only needs some refrigerant, you can probably recharge the a/c system yourself. But if you are having cooling problems, leaks or electronic control problems, you should probably seek out a repair facility that specializes in air conditioning service work.
Our advice is to seek out a repair facility that is a member of MACS, the Mobile Air Conditioning Society. MACS is a non-profit trade association for repair shops that do air conditioning service work. MACS promotes training, education, professionalism, and most importantly "Best Practices" for servicing and repairing your vehicle's air conditioning system.
Since 1991, MACS has assisted more than one million technicians to comply with 1990 Clean Air Act requirements for certification in refrigerant recovery and recycling to protect the environment.
Recently, the Climate Protection Partnership division of the U.S. EPA teamed up with MACS to publish and promote six mobile air conditioning best service practices checklists. These checklists are written for professional technicians to help them environmentally safe and technically proper air conditioning service and repairs. The purpose of the checklists is make sure your vehicle is serviced correctly when you take it in for air conditioning service work.
If your shop is NOT following these practices, you should bring it to their attention - or take your vehicle to another shop who does follow the Best Practices recommendations.
Note: The Best Practices guidelines are voluntary recommendations, and are not required by law. Even so, they do reflect current thinking on the best ways to properly service and repair automotive mobile A/C systems. The input for these checklists was provided by highly experienced A/C technicians who are familiar with the right ways and wrong ways of servicing service A/C systems.
The A/C Best Service Practices Guidelines for A/C service include:
A/C Service (general)
Leak Detection
Refrigerant Recovery
System Charging
Field Repair and Assembly of A/C Hoses
A/C Equipment Maintenance.
A/C Service (general)
Leak Detection
Refrigerant Recovery
System Charging
Field Repair and Assembly of A/C Hoses
A/C Equipment Maintenance.
More Air Conditioning Articles:
MACS Recommended A/C Service Procedures (PDF file).
Flammable Refrigerants
A/C Cooling Problem: Blows Warm Air Only No Cool Air
Troubleshooting Air Conditioning Problems
Troubleshoot Automatic Climate Control
Troubleshooting A/C Cooling Problems with Temperature
Cooling Fan (electric)
Cooling Fan Relay Problems
How To Recharge Your Car's Air Conditioner
Refrigerant Contamination
Alternative Refrigerants for R-12
New Automotive Refrigerants
California proposes ban on R134a sales to motorists
Information about Retrofitting older vehicles with R-12 A/C systems to R-134a
A/C Compressor Failures
A/C Condenser Flushing
Click Here To See More Carley Automotive Technical Articles
Flammable Refrigerants
A/C Cooling Problem: Blows Warm Air Only No Cool Air
Troubleshooting Air Conditioning Problems
Troubleshoot Automatic Climate Control
Troubleshooting A/C Cooling Problems with Temperature
Cooling Fan (electric)
Cooling Fan Relay Problems
How To Recharge Your Car's Air Conditioner
Refrigerant Contamination
Alternative Refrigerants for R-12
New Automotive Refrigerants
California proposes ban on R134a sales to motorists
Information about Retrofitting older vehicles with R-12 A/C systems to R-134a
A/C Compressor Failures
A/C Condenser Flushing
Click Here To See More Carley Automotive Technical Articles