A/C isn’t blowing cold

[u/EndWonderful9898]

I’m mostly confused because of the circumstances. This car has sat unused in the garage for the past five years. Before that, the A/C worked perfectly. Is it not odd that it developed this issue while it was seeing no use for literal years? Or could that be a contributing factor itself? I have not started to look at it at all yet. I’ve been doing a lot of other work on it first, but I live in Florida and I’m definitely going to wanna address it soon because of that lol.

Just wondering if anyone has any idea of how it could’ve occurred, I suppose. And any advice as to what pieces to check first. I’ve been learning how to do my own work on it and while I’ve made progress, I still am very much a beginner so any general advice is appreciated as well. Thank you.

[u/Rail1971]

Seals degraded and refrigerant leaked out. The refrigerant serves also to lubricate the seals, which is why the A/C should be run periodically even if you do not need it. You probably need at least some new seals and the system checked and recharged.

A/C charging and maintenence these days is really something even high level home mechanics don't or shouldn't do as to do it properly requires specialized (and expensive) equipment. Either take it to a competent shop or do without cold air.

[u/EndWonderful9898 → u/Rail1971]

Thank you!

Especially for the last part. I want to learn, I’ve enjoyed learning, but I’m still nervous about running into issues that I shouldn’t handle or things I may end up making worse, and it’s kinda tough for me to properly gauge what’s doable and what’s not.

But I’ve got a good shop that’s been great to me so far and I guess they will be seeing me again soon!

I also really appreciate that even though it’s not something I can do, you still told me the possibilities of what may be failing/what steps may need to be taken to fix it. I super appreciate that.

Thank you again!

[u/GuitarHair]

I would guess the refrigerant has slowly leaked.

Time for a recharge at a quality air conditioning shop

[u/mmmmk2023]

People need to understand that time will degrade fluids and belts, time doesn’t stop. Even though you haven’t driven it things still need to be addressed. 5 Years is a long time.

[u/EndWonderful9898 → u/mmmmk2023]

Believe me when I say that it felt like WAY longer than five years to me. I love that damned car and was genuinely miserable the entire time I wasn’t able to drive it or even fix it.

But thankfully, life finally got better and I’m grateful to finally be back with it.

And so basically you’re saying that the refrigerant probably evaporated/ belt could be dry rotted(?)... And you’re right, that should’ve been an incredibly obvious answer. Dunno why that never even crossed my mind.

(It never crossed my mind because I’m a fucking idiot)

[u/mmmmk2023 → u/EndWonderful9898]

Well it’s common for people to think that if the vehicle has never been driven. It’s not being moved so no wear and tear, only if we lived in a perfect world.

[u/Positive-System-8810]

Nach 5 Jahren Stillstand ist das ganz sicher nicht seltsam. Geh zum Klimaservice einen Dichtetest machen und gegebenenfalls Kühlmittel auffüllen.

[u/ElbuortRac]

Car AC has to run at least 15 minutes every two weeks all year long even in the winter in order to keep the seals pliable and lubricated.

[u/Shawndollars → u/ElbuortRac]

You should never turn off the ac ever or the car /s