Vehicle Air Conditioning System Recharging and Repair

Recharging a vehicle’s air conditioning system requires a license and the proper equipment.
Recharging the air conditioning (climate system) is necessary when, for some reason, the car no longer cools the cabin or when the windows start fogging up.

Air conditioning recharging and maintenance includes:

• Removing the old refrigerant, moisture, and partially contaminated oil;
• Maintaining a vacuum for 20 minutes;
• After checking the vacuum and removing moisture, adding the correct amount of manufacturer-specified refrigerant, dye, and oil.

If the air conditioning system is in good condition, a simple recharge is sufficient.

Occasionally, there are situations where the air conditioning pipes are damaged.
In such cases, simply recharging the system will not help.
If there is a suspected leak in the AC pipes, the leak must be located using UV detection, repaired, and then the system must undergo a vacuum check followed by a recharge with refrigerant and oil.

In general, there are two common types of refrigerants:

The older type, R134A, and

The newer, more environmentally friendly type, R1234YF.

These refrigerants should not be mixed.

In electric vehicles, as well as some newer Mercedes-Benz and Audi models, the climate systems may use R744 (CO₂) gas.
Handling this gas is typically done only by authorized brand service centers.