DIY car maintenance is a practice that is beset by questions which need answering before you even attempt to do anything substantial. There is, without question, a real sense of achievement in fixing something in your car without needing to take it in to the shop and have it fixed by a professional. Not least of these is the fact that “doing it yourself” saves you the expense of paying to “get someone else to do it” – often meaning that you avoid paying out sums in the three figures. This is all the more relevant if you do not have a mechanic or a shop that you know you can trust – thus avoiding the “while fixing it, we found out that this and this and this need doing as well” scam – which any victim can tell you tends to end up with your holiday going bye-bye.

Recharging the air conditioning in your car is one of those things that does not require a diploma from a mechanics class. It certainly isn’t quite as easy as topping up the brake fluid either, but it falls between the points of “easy” and “can’t someone else do it?” Just make sure before you start that you know what you are doing, because starting it and not knowing how you are going to finish it will guarantee that you end up taking it in for repairs – and the mechanics will know that you haven’t got a keen mechanical mind, so they are liable to find some of those secondary faults which absolutely, positively need to be fixed now and will cost you money.

Inform yourself before you start. How old or new is your car, for example? If it was built before 1994, the type of refrigerant you need will differ from the type you need if it is a newer model. Older cars require R12 refrigerant, or some modification of a newer type of refrigerant. R12 is no longer available commercially, and any auto shop will need to pay a premium for it – which they will hand on to you. Essentially, if your car is from before 1994, recharging the air conditioner is a job for a professional, so take it to someone you trust.

Anything newer than a 1994 model will generally require R134 refrigerant. This is commercially available, and will normally require a fairly straightforward process. First of all, you need to find out the manufacturer’s specifications for doing this job – they should be in the manual and if not, are almost certainly available online. A R134 kit will be easily available at a department store or an auto parts retailer. This will contain refrigerant and a charging kit as well as, hopefully, some safety goggles. Do not attempt to recharge your air conditioning without eye protection, or you will be looking for more than a repair job on your car. Stick to the instructions at all times – once you have done the job correctly, you will know how to do it again should the need arise, but mess it up and you will face expense that you could do without.

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Article Source: ArticleSpan