We’re here to give you the best advice and service for your air-conditioning and heating needs.

At CoolCar, we’re known as industry leaders. We provide quality service in sales, installation, servicing and repairs. We’re also known for our friendly, down to earth service.

Talk to us for air-conditioning and heating for cars, vans, farm vehicles and machinery, heavy machinery, trucks, buses, trains, boats and aircraft.

There are four CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centres in Auckland and one in Hamilton. All five centres have the same high standards, our staff get the latest training and we’re up to date with industry developments.

However, an assessment of your system usually shows there has been a substantial system failure that was caused by, or led to, the refrigerant and system lubrication escaping. The problems that occur are almost always due to lack of use or lack of periodic maintenance.

An evaluation of the system allows us to identify the cause of the failure and identify the repairs needed.

Once your system is running again, we recommend you have your vehicle’s air-conditioning serviced every year. This includes cleaning the condenser of bugs and debris to encourage heat to be removed from the system.

Every second service we recommend replacing the refrigerant and receiver-drier. Servicing means your system will last longer and operate more efficiently and reliably. It’s important to maintain your vehicle air-conditioning just as you would any other mechanical system in your car. There are great long-term benefits that save you money.

Why: All car manufacturers recommend you use R134a refrigerant in purpose built systems or as a replacement for ozone-depleting R12, when replacement is required.   Other gases, such as hydrocarbons can  make your air-conditioning system dangerous.

Fact: If you own a car manufactured before 1993 and your air-conditioning has a fault or runs out of gas it will generally be retrofitted to the new refrigerant R134a.

Why: The old gas (R12) wasn’t environmentally friendly and is no longer produced, although some stocks may be available at various sites. R134a is the only refrigerant recommended for car air-conditioning known to be safe for passengers and service technicans as well as being ozone-friendly. R134a is, however, a ‘greenhouse gas’. This means that servicing to maintain the system’s integrity, and appropriate removal by trained staff, is essential to protect the environment. This is not required by law at present, but we believe it is best practice.

Fact: It is illegal to knowingly (or without lawful justification or excuse) release R12 to the atmosphere. This is subject to fines of up to $150,000.

Why: The environmental impact of R12 can be minimised by appropriate recovery and recycling or destruction of the refrigerant by trained and appropriately equipped technicians. CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centres are trained and appropriately equipped. We provide an inexpensive refrigerant recovery service for automotive repairers and retail consumers (conditions apply). CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centres will not charge R12 systems which are known to be leaking.

Fact: If your air-conditioning stops working or loses efficiency, it doesn’t just need gassing up.

Why: Some people believe that refrigerant is ‘used up’ by vehicle air-conditioning. This is a misconception. In fact, the air-conditioning unit in your car is a sealed system and the refrigerant circulates indefinitely. If your air-conditioning runs out of gas, there is a leak in the system. Gassing up the system without repairing the leak will eventually cause greater damage to your system, as well as being potentially harmful to the environment.

Fact: If your air-conditioning loses efficiency, get it checked immediately.

Why: If the system has lost gas it has also lost oil and the compressor may overheat, causing damage and possible failure.

Fact: According to the Mobile Air Conditioning Society, adding any chemical other than the correct refrigerant and lubricant to your air-conditioning system can create a chemical problem resulting in system damage, even if some initial system performance improvement is noted. Of particular concern at present is the advent of ‘A/C system sealers’ which seek out leaks in the refrigerant circuit and seal them.

Why: As an air-conditioning system ages, some parts can develop leaks resulting in loss of refrigerant and cooling ability. The proper steps your service centre should take is to identify the leaking components and repair or replace them with a quality part, restoring optimum performance and minimising the environmental impact of leaking refrigerant. Use of system sealers may lead to irreparable damage to system components. In addition, the as yet unknown action of these substances on the specialist recovery equipment used in the industry, is of concern to specialists in the field.

Evaporator:

The evaporator is a plastic box containing a core of fine metal fins, located behind your dashboard. It removes heat from the cabin or exterior. Heat is attracted across the fins into the cold liquid refrigerant inside.

This heat movement adds energy to the refrigerant, rapidly raising its temperature until it changes into a gas. This is similar to the way that water accepts heat until it comes to the boil then converts to steam.

In your evaporator, the air with heat and moisture removed is then pumped into the vehicle via the vents.

In winter, this dried air is perfect for use in addition to air warmed by your heater to keep windscreens dried and free from fogging.

Compressor:

The compressor is a mechanical pump that pressurises and drives the refrigerant around the system. The compressor pumps the gas, formed by the evaporator, to the condensor.

Condenser:

The condenser is another heat exchanger, located in front of your vehicle’s radiator. Heat is released across these fins from the hot, pressurised refrigerant gas to the colder outside environment. Heat transfer is assisted by a cooling fan. As the refrigerant passes through the coils of the condenser, losing energy, it condenses into a hot liquid.

The liquid passes through the receiver-drier which absorbs any harmful moisture and acid.

The dried, high pressure liquid is then forced through the expansion valve. The valve regulates the delivery of the high pressure liquid as a spray into the relatively low pressure environment of the evaporator.

This dramatic loss of pressure causes the liquid to lose a lot of heat, allowing it to receive new heat across the fins of the vehicle’s evaporator – starting the whole process again.

All of these components are interconnected by flexible hoses.

If any one of these components fails, it causes changes in the critical temperature/pressure relationship required to make heat transfer, and hence air-conditioning, work.

Controller panels:

The controller panels are mechanical or electronic controls on your dashboard that let you regulate your air-conditioning system’s performance, blending warm and cold air to suit your comfort level. Electrical circuits, sensors and protection devices may shut the system down if it’s not operating correctly.

Pollen filters:

Pollen filters trap dust, pollen and some odours. Pollen filters get blocked up over time, reducing air flow and cooling, at which stage they need replacement (once a year or approximately every 20,000 km).

Our customers include:

• milk and baked goods vendors
• chilled produce vendors including berries and lettuces

Maintenance

• Diagnosis and repairs (please note our free evaluation offer does not apply to truck refrigeration)
• Filter-drier replacement
• Evaporator and condenser coil cleaning
• Belt adjustment and replacement
• Fan replacement and repairs
• Rebuilt and new compressors
• Hose repair and replacement
• Electrical repairs, including 240V over-nighter repairs
• Refrigerant conversions

Installations

• New refrigeration systems fitted
• Front and rear refrigeration units available for Toyota Hiace 2005 onwards

Contact us at CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centre Hamilton or Manukau for any inquiries.