Occasionally, our service professionals at Shade Tree Garage are faced with a mystery repair job that requires a combination of deductive reasoning and intuition. When a customer brings in their vehicle with a stated problem, the first step of any professional is to examine the problem based on the information provided by the customer. However, not every issue is always what it may seem. In this month’s blog, we share a real repair story that turned out to be much different from the surface issue that was presented by the customer.
Background
A customer brought in an eleven-year-old BMW with the air conditioning (AC) performing mediocre at best. On a 78° day it worked, but on a 97° day it was not functioning at all.
After the initial inspection of the refrigerant level, it was deemed to be sufficient, but the cooling efficiency was way off. The fans were working properly so our service professional dug a little deeper and found the fins for the condenser were missing. The fins were not chewed or punctured but they were just missing. It was almost as if they had been blown off in a hurricane.
Where did the condenser fins go?
After further inspection, the fins were found in the radiator. Something had caused them to blow straight back into the radiator because of the fans and rapid air while driving. The radiator fins were packed full of the fins from the condenser restricting its ability to keep the engine cool. It is common to find leaves and even sometimes some nesting debris restricting air flow and sometimes fin rot, but the source of the problem was a first for our service professionals.
The problem was a double-edged sword, no condenser fins and restricted radiator, which exaggerated the temperature of the condenser which further reduced the AC efficiency.
The Solution
After using 120 lbs. of compressed air to try to blow the fins out of the radiator, it was not successful. They were deeply wedged into the radiator and would not budge. The vehicle required a new condenser and new radiator. After installation, the AC was cooling like new in the vehicle cabin. The engine was doing better regulating heat too now that the radiator had been replaced.
If you are looking for experienced and competent service for your vehicle, contact us at Shade Tree Garage to schedule an appointment. We use our years of knowledge and practical experience to find and address the root cause of your vehicle’s problems – common or in this case, unusual.