Summer in Chicago is marked by hot, humid weather and heavy traffic, and the last thing you need is for your vehicle’s air conditioner to take a summer vacation.

An automotive air conditioning system uses three methods to remove heat from the vehicle's interior: convection, conduction and radiation.

Convection blows the heat in your vehicle across the evaporator coils where it is absorbed into the cool refrigerant in the coils by conduction. The refrigerant moves the heat into the condenser using convection. It’s absorbed into the condenser fins by conduction, and then transfers back into the atmosphere through the process of radiation.

If your vehicle’s air conditioner isn’t blowing cold air, it could be the result of component failure, electrical problems or improper refrigerant charge. Component failure is the result of insufficient refrigerant, which is usually caused by a leak. It leads to more than half of all automotive air conditioner failures.

Some automotive air conditioner failures are caused by electrical problems, which can cause the compressor or the fan to stop working. Electrical problems contribute to 30% of automotive air conditioner failures. Electrical failures could also be caused by a failed sensor or a problem with the vehicle’s computer.

In 10% of cases, an improper refrigerant charge is the culprit. It occurs when the refrigerant liquid-to-oil proportion is out of balance. If your vehicle’s air conditioner is on the fritz, bring it in to any of the Chicago Tuffy Auto Service Centers, and we’ll check it out for you. We can diagnose the problem, and discuss the solution with you before we begin any repairs. Tuffy: your one-stop shop for auto repair in Chicago.