Air Conditioning Servicing in Cambridge with Archdeacon Motors

Air Conditioning Servicing and Recharging in Cambridge

Many cars are now fitted with air conditioning and we are air conditioning service and repair specialists. It's important to get your air conditioning tested and serviced to ensure you can keep cool when you need to. Call us to make an appointment and if required we can collect and deliver your car to your home or office in the local area for a small fee.

If your car's air conditioning is not performing as well as it should then it may just need a re-gas where we extract any remaining gas from your system and re-fill it with new gas. We will also check for leaks and other issues which may reduce performance and we can repair any problems we find with your air-con systems.

The majority of cars here in the UK use either R134A or R1234YF refrigerant.

R134A gas is most common in cars manufactured prior to 2014 but all vehicles manufactured after December 2016 will require the new R1234YF air conditioning gas. This is more environmentally friendly and the manufacturers are no longer allowed to use the older R134A air con refrigerant gas.

Even if your air conditioning is still working the vehicle manufacturers recommend that air con systems are recharged every 2 years. Air conditioning testing and servicing is not typically performed as part of a service or an MOT test so it can often be overlooked meaning it may not work properly when you need it most.

A fully working air conditioning system means:

We are no longer allowed to simply top-up your air conditioning system, instead we perform a full system and leak test to ensure that the refrigerant is not being lost into the environment. Our full air con service costs just £65 plus gas + VAT for older cars, where your air conditioning system requires R134A refrigerant, and for later vehicles requiring R1234YF the service costs just £100 plus gas + VAT. In both cases around 500g of gas is fine for most vehicles and costs £15 + VAT but if your car takes more refrigerant we do charge for the extra. Any gas removed from your system will be replaced and then any top up required is charged for.

Our complex air conditioning service comprises the following:

What causes the smell in my A/C system?
The origin of the smell is caused by fungus, bacteria and other microbes growing inside the evaporator core. The moisture-laden environment is very conducive to the growth of these organisms. As car makers downsize components to save space and weight this problem has been increased. Because the manufacturers made the evaporator smaller they also added more fins and packed them closer together to increase the efficiency of the evaporator. While this has made the evaporator more efficient it has also made it more prone to trap moisture that contributes to the growth of these organisms. We offer a full odour removal service using the latest research, tools and equipment. Contact us to find out more.

Does my car need an air conditioning recharge?
A working air conditioning system can lose up to 10% of it's refrigerant every year, so a 5 year old car may have lost half it's refrigerant seriously impacting on the performance of the system and damaging the components involved. You should regularly have the air conditioning systems serviced to reduce wear and tear on the components and help avoid potentially big repair bills. The latest regulations mean that we cannot simply re-charge a system, we have to perform a full leak test first.

Why should I get my air conditioning serviced?
Non-use of your air conditioning system and result in degradation of the seals. Regular air conditioning system servicing ensures the system is full of refrigerant, there are no leaks, that the pressure is correct and that the hoses, seals and pipes are all in full working order.