I'll start with the Refrigerant, also referred to as "Freon". In the early stages of Automotive A/C the refrigerant used was R12, or Dichlorodifluoromethane. In the mid 1990s the Refrigerant of choice was changed to R134a, or Tetrafluoroethane. To put into simple terms, the refrigerant reacts very well to pressure changes in the way of temperature changes.
There are two types of systems typically used in the automotive industry. One system uses a Receiver Drier and Expansion Valve (primarily in Asian vehicles), while the other type uses a Fixed Orifice and an Accumulator (primarily in Domestic vehicles).
At the risk of a Chicken, or the Egg argument, I am going use the Compressor as the starting point. The Compressor is similar to an engine, instead of the suction and discharging of air and fuel, the Compressor works with refrigerant. The refrigerant is compressed and then discharged as a hot, high pressure gas typically (depending on the ambient temperature) 250 PSI and moves into the Condenser. The Condenser works the same in the same way as the Radiator using incoming outside air flow from a fan and, or air forced across the Condenser by forward vehicle movement. Here the Refrigerant is cooled and condensed into a hot, high pressure liquid and moved to the Fixed Orifice (Domestic vehicle), or Expansion Valve (Asian vehicle) where the Refrigerant is reduced in pressure where is becomes a cold, low pressure liquid, approximately 30 PSI, where it then moves into the Evaporator. This is where the Blower Motor (Interior Fan Motor) blows across the Evaporator and forces cold air into the passenger cabin. As warm ambient air is forced across the Evaporator the refrigerant changes into a cold, low pressure gas and in a Domestic vehicle it moves into the Accumulator where since a liquid cannot be compressed and any refrigerant not evaporated is stored and allowed to warm and is converted back into a gas where it drawn back into the Compressor and the process starts over again.
I'll start with the Refrigerant, also referred to as "Freon". In the early stages of Automotive A/C the refrigerant used was R12, or Dichlorodifluoromethane. In the mid 1990s the Refrigerant of choice was changed to R134a, or Tetrafluoroethane. To put into simple terms, the refrigerant reacts very well to pressure changes in the way of temperature changes.
There are two types of systems typically used in the automotive industry. One system uses a Receiver Drier and Expansion Valve (primarily in Asian vehicles), while the other type uses a Fixed Orifice and an Accumulator (primarily in Domestic vehicles).
At the risk of a Chicken, or the Egg argument, I am going use the Compressor as the starting point. The Compressor is similar to an engine, instead of the suction and discharging of air and fuel, the Compressor works with refrigerant. The refrigerant is compressed and then discharged as a hot, high pressure gas typically (depending on the ambient temperature) 250 PSI and moves into the Condenser. The Condenser works the same in the same way as the Radiator using incoming outside air flow from a fan and, or air forced across the Condenser by forward vehicle movement. Here the Refrigerant is cooled and condensed into a hot, high pressure liquid and moved to the Fixed Orifice (Domestic vehicle), or Expansion Valve (Asian vehicle) where the Refrigerant is reduced in pressure where is becomes a cold, low pressure liquid, approximately 30 PSI, where it then moves into the Evaporator. This is where the Blower Motor (Interior Fan Motor) blows across the Evaporator and forces cold air into the passenger cabin. As warm ambient air is forced across the Evaporator the refrigerant changes into a cold, low pressure gas and in a Domestic vehicle it moves into the Accumulator where since a liquid cannot be compressed and any refrigerant not evaporated is stored and allowed to warm and is converted back into a gas where it drawn back into the Compressor and the process starts over again.