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Shop Owner

Exploring electronically controlled variable displacement compressors

November 23, 2021

Electronically controlled variable displacement compressors (ECVDs) have been in use now for over 15 years.  However, there are a lot of technicians in the field who have very little knowledge about them and their operation.
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Electronically controlled variable displacement compressors

November 16, 2021

what if" this system used an electronically controlled variable displacement compressor instead of the pressure controlled variable displacement compressor?   What would the results be?
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Troubleshooting the “what ifs” in a mobile A/C repair

November 9, 2021

High side:  Likely somewhere around 130 psi (at an idle) & 140 psi at 1500 rpm.  Why? With only a 35% charge in the system, the compressor isn't going to be producing a lot of pressure.
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Meet MACS member, Tom Lech

November 8, 2021

Stationed in San Francisco, California, Thomas Lech has maintained a bustling business for almost three decades. Lech Auto Air Conditioning has been busy for 365 days a year from opening at 7 a.m. to closing at 7 p.m. for the last 27 years, with summertime only increasing the demand for the shop’s services.
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What do you know about the fixed displacement piston compressor?

November 2, 2021

What do you know about the fixed displacement piston compressor? 
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Bring the heat!

November 1, 2021

At this time of year, I often end up with an earworm in my head from a Canadian rock band … Summer’s going fast, the nights are growing colder. Then it’s the line everyone knows from something more mainstream … Winter is coming. It’s early September, and the leaves on some trees are already starting to change. Winter is coming.
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The concept of superheat

October 19, 2021

We illustrated the concept of superheat in last week's article by boiling water and superheating steam in a moonshine still. This week we will apply this concept to refrigerant in an air conditioning system.  The still has been replaced with an evaporator. 
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Over 500 automotive scholarships available

October 14, 2021

The University of the Aftermarket Foundation (UAF) is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2022-2023 school year on its Automotive Aftermarket Scholarship Central website. Scholarships from UAF and more than 40 donor organizations are consolidated and easily accessible at AutomotiveScholarships.com.
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A burned clutch is a symptom of another problem

September 14, 2021

Not much thought is given to compressor clutches until they fail, but they are extremely durable.  I have personally owned three vehicles that had between 200, 000 and 240,000 miles on them.  They all still had the original compressors and clutches, and they were still functioning perfectly.
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Facts to know about the compressor clutch coil

September 7, 2021

Checking the clutch air gap before installing a compressor is an important step in compressor installation. This is because of the possibility of a clutch air gap getting knocked out of adjustment due to rough handling or it being gapped incorrectly at the factory.  These issues of course can cause problems with clutch operation.  If detected and corrected before compressor installation, a lot of time can be saved.
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Back to school bus A/C

September 1, 2021

Since it’s September (and another school year is upon us), we’re going to look at what’s so different about school bus A/C as compared to the more common automotive-type systems.
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Mind the compressor clutch gap

August 31, 2021

One of the first things I was taught in my A/C training was to always check the clutch air gap prior to installing a compressor. 
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