Avoiding Expansion Valve Woes (Part 1)
March 21, 2023
By Richard Hawkins On March 2nd, an article was published in this blog covering a class that was held at the recent MACS Training Event and Trade Show. The class...Read Article >
Global Parts Distributors to exhibit
October 18, 2022
All GPD products are designed to meet/exceed OE fit, form, and function. Product lines include compressor, condensers, cooling fans, electrical components and engine management sensors, evaporators, expansion valves, fittings, heater cores, hose assemblies, radiators, tools, chemicals, service items, and ‘Do It Right the First Time Kits’: Compressor Kits, Kits Plus, System Service Kits, Blower Motor Kits, as well as application specific O-Ring Rapid Seal Kits (included w/ Compressors Kits, Kits Plus, and System Service Kits) and Cap and Valve kits.Read Article >
Southwest Air Products Joins MACS Trade Show
October 13, 2022
Southwest Air Products has been around for over 60 years supporting automotive, residential/commercial HVAC systems, sundries and clean rooms.Read Article >
Refrigerant overcharge
October 5, 2022
A shop could end up with an overcharge of refrigerant in a system and a resulting performance problem and waste a lot of time trying to diagnose what the problem is.Read Article >
OEM oil capacity information
June 7, 2022
If you are installing an OEM replacement compressor in this example then it "should" contain 4.5 ounces of oil but if the compressor is not drained and the oil measured, the amount will not be known for sure. Also, if an aftermarket compressor is being installed, there is no standard that exists in the industry regarding the amount of oil that might be shipped in a replacement compressor. It might have no oil in it, a partial charge, or a full charge or even more than a full charge. To make matters worse, the OEM does not provide the total system capacity for this vehicle.Read Article >
Compressor oil and the drain plug
May 17, 2022
When draining oil from compressors which have drain plugs, proper draining procedures call for the removal of the drain plugs and the unit drained from both the drain plug hole and the suction and discharge ports.Read Article >
Compressors 101
May 2, 2022
You are invited to attend a compressors 101 class I will be conducting next week at the MACS training facility in Lansdale, PA. The title of the class is Behavioral Characteristics of Various Compressor Types. It is happening live on Wednesday May 11 from 5:30 to 9:00pmRead Article >
The benefits of MAP-controlled thermostats
February 9, 2022
A customer driving a 2014 BMW 328i arrived at the college's 2nd-year electrical lab reporting his illuminated check engine light. The customer had no complaints other than the light. The vehicle had just over 82K miles showing on the odometer. A student (Phil) assigned to the BMW performed a review with a scan tool, and a single code (P0597 – Thermostat Heater Control Circuit Open) was present.Read Article >
Air contamination in an A/C system can ruin your day
February 2, 2022
I had a memorable encounter with air contamination in the mid 1990s. I was conducting a lot of retrofit clinics at the time and had recently acquired a demo refrigerant identifier which I took to those clinics. At one clinic, there was a technician who was extremely interested in the refrigerant identifier.Read Article >
The pulse width modulated duty cycle signal
December 7, 2021
Several years ago, when vehicles using these compressors were just starting to show up at shops for service with some regularity, we were searching to find some detailed information about their behavior to use in clinics. There was not a lot of it available, so we borrowed several vehicles and did some videos. The following are some clinic slides produced from one of those videos.Read Article >
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.Read Article >
Disassembly and inspection of a seized compressor
November 15, 2021
MACS Tim Iezzi takes apart a problem compressor in this step-by-step video.Read Article >
