AC & Heating Repair

Spokane asks a lot of a climate control system. Summers run well into the nineties and a working air conditioner stops being a luxury somewhere around July, while winter regularly drops below freezing and a heater that only produces lukewarm air is a genuine safety issue when you cannot clear a windshield.

We diagnose and repair both sides of the system at All Motors Center, on cars, trucks and diesels.

Air conditioning

An air conditioning system is sealed. If it is low on refrigerant, it has a leak — refrigerant is not consumed in normal operation. This matters because the recharge-and-hope approach is genuinely wasteful: you pay for refrigerant that will be in the atmosphere within weeks, and venting it is against federal regulations.

We find the leak first. That means an electronic leak detector, UV dye where appropriate, and pressure testing the system. Common failure points are the compressor shaft seal, the condenser at the front of the vehicle where road debris and winter road treatment attack it, O-rings and line fittings, the evaporator inside the dash, and the service ports themselves.

Once it is repaired, we evacuate the system under vacuum to boil off moisture, hold the vacuum to prove it is sealed, then recharge by weight to the manufacturer's specification. Charging by weight rather than by pressure gauge matters — an overcharged system cools poorly and can damage the compressor.

We work with both R-134a and the R-1234yf refrigerant used in newer vehicles.

Symptoms worth booking for: air that is cool but not cold, cooling that fades on a long drive or in stop-and-go traffic, a compressor clutch that cycles rapidly, a musty smell from the vents, water on the passenger floor, or a rattle or squeal when the AC is switched on.

Heating

Weak or no heat usually comes down to one of a few things. Low coolant is the first and simplest, and it means there is a leak somewhere. A thermostat stuck open lets the engine run cool so there is never enough heat to give the cabin — often accompanied by a temperature gauge that sits lower than usual and a check engine light. A partially blocked heater core restricts flow, and typically shows as heat on one side of the vents and not the other. A failed blend door actuator, which is common and often announces itself with a repetitive clicking behind the dash, means the system cannot direct air correctly regardless of how hot the coolant is.

A defroster that will not clear the windshield promptly is worth treating as urgent rather than as an inconvenience.

Airflow and cabin air

If airflow is weak at every setting, the cabin air filter is the first thing to check and one of the most neglected items on any vehicle. If the blower only works on the highest setting, that is almost always the blower motor resistor — a small, inexpensive part.

A musty smell when the AC starts is usually microbial growth on a damp evaporator, and a plugged evaporator drain is often behind the wet passenger carpet that comes with it.

Call (509) 655-7715 to book an inspection.