5 Symptoms of a Bad Expansion Valve: Causes and Fixes

Do you believe that the AC expansion valve in your AC system is faulty because you feel that it is not functioning properly? If this is the situation, you have come to the right spot because there is a lot to discuss and we will learn everything there is to know about this AC expansion valve.

These days, having a functioning AC system in your automobile is crucial. It’s not like when these air conditioners were a luxury and solely utilized by the wealthy in the past. They are now utilized by everyone.

Additionally, you must confirm that your AC system is in good operating order before the hot season arrives. To ensure that everything functions properly, thorough testing must be done before the season.

And if it doesn’t and you suspect that the expansion valve AC is damaged, you’ve come to the correct spot. There will be a lot to discuss on this subject, and we’ll teach you everything you need to know.

We’ll first go over the fundamentals of an AC system, including what it is and how it operates. The AC car’s expansion valve will then be discussed. We’ll go over the specifics of how this valve operates.

Next, we’ll discuss the symptoms of a bad expansion valve in your car’s air conditioning system and how to identify one. Later, we’ll concentrate on how to replace it and how much it will cost. So, keep reading if you want to discover more.

An Air Conditioning System: What Is It?

To better understand the AC system as a whole, let’s start with the fundamentals. That will help us comprehend what an AC automobile with an expansion valve is and how everything functions as a complete.

Additionally, not everyone in this room is quite familiar with this idea, so a solid introduction is crucial for everyone. You are welcome to immediately move on to the subsequent chapters if you feel ready. If not, follow along with us for a while.

A car’s air conditioning system. Another indication of a broken expansion valve in the car’s AC system is when the compressor is constantly working hard and under heavy load as if there is no tomorrow.

What is an AC system, then? The term “AC system” stands for “air conditioning system.” This system is a gadget that eliminates heat while simultaneously regulating the air’s humidity. All of this is in a small space. which, in our situation, is the automobile.

AC systems are standard in most contemporary automobiles. These systems were previously considered to be a pure luxury and were only offered in the most expensive versions. However, the cost of AC systems has decreased over time. And today, the AC is a standard feature on 99% of newly manufactured cars. which is a remarkable accomplishment for 50 years of use.

As you are aware, a unique gas is used in these systems to achieve this cooling. Previously, this gas was referred to as R-12 or Freon. But recently, R-134a took the role of this gas, which was abandoned due to the harm it caused to the ozone layer for a much safer gas that is significantly more environmentally friendly.

But we’ll go into more detail about that in a later section of the text. Before we look at the expansion valve AC car, let’s concentrate on how the AC system in a car operates.

How Does a Car’s Air Conditioning System Work?

Let’s now discuss a crucial topic: the fundamental principles of how an automobile air conditioning system functions. By being aware of this, you will be able to see where the expansion valve is located and gain a better understanding of how everything functions.

The AC system will be covered first, and the expansion valve AC automobile and its function will be the main topic of the next chapter. So, stick with me.

The air conditioning system is an enclosed circulation system made up of AC lines, an evaporator, a compressor, an expansion valve, a condenser, and various smaller parts.

The compressor in the AC is where it all begins. This strong apparatus is energizing the AC system and carries out all the labor-intensive tasks. The drive belt sometimes referred to as the serpentine belt, powers the AC compressor.

All the magic begins when the AC compressor turns on. The R-134a gas is compressed by the compressor until it reaches boiling point, at which point the compressed gas is transferred to the condenser. The condenser resembles a radiator. The gas is cooled by this apparatus, turning it back into a liquid.

The liquid is then placed in the dryer. The drier is what stops the gas from flowing any farther. In other words, only liquid may pass through.

This liquid then makes its way from the dryer to the expansion valve AC vehicle that we are covering. The next chapter has more information on the valve.

The gas then moves from the expansion valve into the evaporator. And once more, the liquid is converted to a gas in the evaporator. A fan that circulates cool air into the cabin is located next to the evaporator. The gas is sent back to the compressor once it has left the evaporator.

An Expansion Valve: What Is It and How Does It Function In an Air Conditioning System?

Since we witnessed how the AC system functions in action, we are aware of how the compressor converts gas into liquid.

We can now go into more detail about the expansion valve AC automobile. What exactly is this part, and what function does it serve in the real world?

Freon 134a refrigerant for car AC by Suyash.dwivedi / CC BY-SA 4.0. To accomplish this cooling, these systems employ a special gas. This gas was once known as R-12 or Freon. However, R-134a has recently replaced this gas, which was discontinued because it damaged the ozone layer in favor of a gas that is far safer and significantly more environmentally beneficial.

This part is just a valve that modifies the high-pressure liquid’s state from a liquid to a mixture of vapor and a liquid while also controlling the amount of gas forced into the evaporator.

The expansion valve is an opening and closing valve, and it has a cable that connects to a sensing bulb. This sensing bulb is an enclosed, metallic, and refrigerant-filled item. The end of the evaporator has a mounting for this detecting light.

The boiling gas then travels to the expansion valve when the coolant boils inside the detecting bulb. This is a signal or message sent by electricity. The expansion valve receives a message from the sensing bulb.

Requesting that the valve be opened so that more refrigerant can enter the evaporator. As we mentioned earlier, the gas first enters a high-pressure liquid-vapor mixture. However, it becomes a low-pressure gas as it escapes.

This conversion procedure is very important because if it is skipped and the liquid enters the AC compressor, it will permanently harm it. Because of this, the expansion valve in an AC automobile is a crucial part of the system.

Unfortunately, this expansion valve is known to malfunction and lead to several problems with your car. These are additionally referred to as symptoms of a bad expansion valve. They suggest that there is a problem with the system. More on them to follow.

What Makes an Expansion Valve Essential to the Functioning of the Air Conditioning System In Your Car?

Several things could go wrong if the AC expansion valve in your car’s AC system isn’t functioning properly. For instance, if your AC expansion valve isn’t working properly, you can discover that you have too much refrigerant leaking into your evaporator core.

This can cause the core of your evaporator to freeze. However, you can also discover that you don’t have enough.

This can cause the core of your evaporator to freeze. On the other side, if your AC expansion valve isn’t functioning properly, you can discover that there isn’t enough refrigerant going into your evaporator. This can cause your evaporator core to overheat and reduce the efficiency of your air conditioning system.

When the AC expansion valve in your automobile malfunctions, you might still be able to use the air conditioning system, but soon the system’s functionality will start to deteriorate. If your AC expansion valve is malfunctioning, you might not be able to fill your automobile with all the cold air you want.

Additionally, your car’s air conditioning compressor could need to work harder to produce cold air, which would require it to operate virtually constantly. These kinds of situations should be avoided by repairing a damaged AC expansion valve as soon as possible.

What Causes the Failure of an Expansion Valve?

You should try your best to keep the expansion valve in good shape if you want to keep your automobile out of the shop.

This shouldn’t be a major problem if your automobile is relatively young because the AC expansion valve won’t have experienced significant deterioration.

AC refrigerant cylinder by Лобачев Владимир / CC0. When the AC compressor kicks on, everything starts to happen. As soon as the R-134a gas hits boiling point, the compressed gas is transported to the condenser by the compressor.

But as time passes, you’ll subject the AC expansion valve to increased wear and tear, which will eventually lead to its failure.

So, how can the expansion valve be safeguarded? The fact is that you can’t to some extent. Your car’s expansion valve will experience some wear and tear every time you switch it on unless you plan to keep the system permanently off.

However, you can try to prevent overworking the expansion valve and system as a whole by occasionally taking a break from it. When local temperatures aren’t too high, it’s preferable to open your car’s windows rather than turn on the air conditioning.

By doing this, you’ll reduce some of the pressure that your car’s AC expansion valve is subjected to each time the AC system is turned on. Additionally, you’ll stop putting stress on other components of your AC system.

By doing this, you’ll lessen the likelihood that your AC expansion valve may fail unexpectedly and be able to use your car’s air conditioning system without any issues for many years to come.

What are the Typical Symptoms of a Bad Expansion Valve?

After learning more about the expansion valve AC car, we realized how essential it is to the efficient operation of your AC. Without it, the AC wouldn’t function properly and would manifest several signs of poor air conditioning.

But what do these symptoms of a bad expansion valve in an AC automobile mean? In the chapters that follow, we’ll go into greater detail about these symptoms and discover the potential effects of the malfunctioning expansion valve.

1. Warm Air Blowing from the AC

Let’s now discuss the initial expansion valve AC automobile symptom. And that’s when the air conditioner continuously pumps heated air. How come this is the case? When the AC is set to blast cold air, why does it instead blow warm air?

When you first switch on the air conditioner, a small amount of warm air is entirely typical. However, if the AC continues to pump warm air after five or ten minutes, the system is broken. Either the AC car’s expansion valve is damaged or the system contains little or no refrigerant. The first explanation is also the most likely one.

Nevertheless, your car’s expansion valve may be the root of this issue. It’s crucial that you avoid overloading the system and instead switch it off in this scenario. You will avoid any potential harm to the AC compressor by doing this.

The expansion valve can then be examined to determine its condition. If you lack experience, you can simply bring the car to a shop and have them handle the repair. Let’s move on to the following expansion valve AC automobile symptom.

2. The AC System Performs Poorly

Poor overall AC performance is another sign of this defective expansion valve AC automobile issue. What does this signify, though?

This indicates that the AC won’t function well enough and will be quite erratic. The expansion valve must open when necessary for refrigerant to enter the evaporator and chill the cabin. If it doesn’t, the cabin won’t be cooled.

A car’s serpentine or drive belt by Miya.m / CC BY-SA 3.0. The AC compressor is where it all starts. This robust device powers the AC system and completes all labor-intensive operations. The AC compressor is driven by the drive belt, also known as the serpentine belt.

When this occurs, you’ll notice that the air conditioner initially blows cold air, then all of a sudden the air gets hot and it blows cold air once more. This uneven effort will not benefit you or your experience while you are operating a motor vehicle.

When this occurs, it’s crucial to turn off the air conditioning. By doing this you will partly be safe from difficulties. This means that the issues this AC automobile with an expansion valve is having won’t worsen and damage the AC compressor.

Since compressors are quite expensive, they will be destroyed if the valve does not turn the liquid into a gas before it enters the compressor.

Therefore, take caution and exercise caution when dealing with this. Because the expansion valve in your car’s air conditioning failed and you were slow to react, you don’t want to spend a fortune on a compressor. Let’s move on to the following symptom now.

3. The Evaporator and AC Lines Have Frost Formations

Frost that accumulates on the AC lines and the evaporator is another sign of a malfunctioning expansion valve in an air conditioning system.

You need to respond fast if you see something similar. Observing frost growth on the cables and the evaporator is not typical.

It can be challenging to notice this frost. For the inexperienced eye, who is unfamiliar with the AC system and doesn’t know where these lines are heading, in particular. Therefore, it is helpful to look at a few web diagrams for your vehicle and comprehend the plumbing of the AC system unique to your model.

This will enable you to determine whether the AC lines are frosty and forming ice. If so, there could be a problem with the expansion valve.

It either blocks the valve and ice is developing on this particular valve or it leaks too much gas into the evaporator. In any case, the scenario is undesirable since it could overload the AC compressor. And in the chapter after this, we’ll talk about that.

4. AC Compressor Is Overloaded and Constantly Running

When the AC compressor is always working hard and under heavy load as if there is no tomorrow, that is another sign of a malfunctioning expansion valve in the AC system of the car.

Since the AC is a device that is constantly on and operating at idle speeds, this shouldn’t be the case. However, the gas will flow at a much quicker rate and the AC won’t be able to keep up if the expansion valve AC automobile is releasing more gas into the evaporator than it should.

The compressor will therefore be under a lot of strain, which could cause damage. When you see excessive amounts of frost on the evaporator and the lines, that is why. The compressor is therefore likely overworked, so shut it off.

After that, restart it to see if the problem has been resolved. If not, simply bring your car to a nearby shop that deals with AC systems, explain how the system is acting, and request that they examine the expansion valve on your AC system. You will then determine what your next steps will be depending on their feedback.

5. A Not Functioning AC System

The complete breakdown of the AC system is the final sign that a car’s expansion valve AC system is malfunctioning. If you continue to drive the automobile with a defective expansion valve, the system will eventually stop working.

A car’s cabin on the front side. When necessary, the expansion valve must open to allow refrigerant to flow into the evaporator and cool the cabin. The cabin won’t be cooled if it doesn’t.

It’s possible that refrigerant leaks are developing and that part of the lines will fail, causing the entire refrigerant system to leak.

When it comes to this, the AC compressor is one of the most delicate parts, and if it breaks, you’ll have to spend a lot of money getting it fixed. In other circumstances, a new compressor for some cars might easily cost a grand or more, which is an absurdly high sum of money.

Determining the cause of the poor expansion valve AC automobile problem is therefore imperative. We will discuss exactly where we may learn to diagnose this issue in the chapter that follows. So, continue.

How Can I Diagnose the Symptoms of a Bad Expansion Valve?

A malfunctioning expansion valve AC automobile diagnosis can be challenging. since not many people can accomplish it. You must have some past knowledge of working with AC systems for this to be viable.

You must specifically comprehend the cold and hot sides and use the gauges. Then, you must learn how to interpret these gauges so that you can determine whether an obstacle exists and where it is.

Additionally, detecting a problem like this is not an easy task. Keep in mind that the system contains a lot of refrigerants.

Additionally, detecting a problem like this is not an easy task. Keep in mind that the refrigerant in this system is harmful if you come into contact with it. especially if it’s warm outside and there’s a lot of pressure.

Because of this, it could be advisable to let the experts handle this task so that it can be resolved swiftly and efficiently. You can watch a detailed demonstration of this diagnosing process by heading to YouTube for videos about it.

Additionally, you can just replace the expansion valve in your AC car if you are certain that it is broken. If you’ve changed your AC system before and have prior experience, this task should be simple for you. We’ll describe how to do this on an automobile in the subsequent chapter. So, continue.

How Do I Replace the Expansion Valve In My Car?

How then do you change the expansion valve in a car? First of all, allow me to warn you that this is not one of the easiest things you can perform in your car.

Since the expansion valve is positioned on the evaporator, which is located beneath the front dash, it is quite time-consuming and demands a lot of patience and ability to have it resolved. Consequently, getting there will be a major hassle.

But if you’re determined, you can accomplish it. Your car will need a new expansion valve, so that is the first thing you must do. Make sure you order the right component and not a substitute.

After that, you must drain the refrigerant from the air conditioning system. You merely want to avoid hurting yourself. Ensure that the refrigerant has been adequately drained from the system.

The evaporator must then be located, which requires removing two bolts from the engine’s side. To access the evaporator, you must first remove the glove box.

A car’s cabin on the passenger side. Next to the evaporator is a fan that blows cool air into the cabin. After leaving the evaporator, the gas is returned to the compressor.

You will be able to access the expansion valve AC vehicle and replace it even then. The system must then be thoroughly cleaned with a vacuum before being filled with refrigerant.

This procedure is quite labor-intensive and difficult for a novice to do. Therefore, if you are just starting, you might want to start with something simpler than an AC automobile with an expansion valve.

How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Car’s Expansion Valve?

We now know how to repair the expansion valve in an AC vehicle; let’s see how much it will cost. And regrettably, replacing it won’t be cheap.

mostly due to the location of this valve, which is under the front dash. Therefore, getting there could be a hassle. For this reason, many businesses will charge you for this task.

You should consider yourself lucky if you can resolve the issue for less than $400. Although the component is rather cheap, the work required for this job is very demanding. The harder it is to get to this evaporator, the more complicated the automobile.

This job won’t be too difficult or expensive if you have a pickup truck or an older vehicle from the 1990s or an earlier model because everything is present and readily interchangeable. For this maintenance, which is absurdly expensive for a car with an expansion valve AC, you may even pay up to $700 if you have a contemporary exotic vehicle. But that is the way things are.

It can be replaced for less than $100 if you do it yourself. After finishing, you’ll need to refresh the AC system for the parts and refrigerant. Don’t forget to consider the refrigerant discharge as well. Therefore, if you choose to do it yourself, the final cost might be up to $150.

Is Incurring the Cost of an Expansion Valve Replacement Worth It?

The cost of replacing an AC expansion valve will be well worth it to you if you intend to keep the car you’re now driving and are aware that it will be hard to do so without a fully functional AC system.

When you can sit in your car on a hot day and feel the cool breeze flowing from your vents, the $300 you’ll have to put into the car will seem like nothing.

However, if you don’t anticipate keeping your automobile for very long and don’t believe that changing the AC expansion valve will significantly increase its worth, you could be better off selling it.

Spending $300 on an outdated vehicle that might already be plagued by other issues is not very wise. You should figure out how to unload it so that you may stop worrying about your broken AC expansion valve rather than spending extra money on it.

What Is the Lifespan of an Expansion Valve In a Car?

One of the difficulties you’ll have is that it might be challenging to predict how long one is going to survive. Nevertheless, you must monitor the performance of your car’s AC expansion valve and replace it as necessary.

A car’s coolant reservoir tank. When the coolant boils inside the detecting bulb, the boiling gas then moves to the expansion valve. This is an electrical signal or communication. The sensing bulb sends a message to the expansion valve.

It’s virtually impossible to foresee when an AC expansion valve may break and require replacement. You may never need to worry about replacing your car’s AC expansion valve in some circumstances, but in other situations, you may need to do it more than once while owning the vehicle.

Given this, you need to be aware of the warning indications that indicate the AC expansion valve is in good health. You should act swiftly and have the AC expansion valve changed if you ever detect anything unusual with the AC expansion valve.

Otherwise, you risk overworking your car’s air conditioning system and preventing it from generating the needed cold air. Additionally, you run the risk of making other AC system parts wear out earlier than they should and necessitating costly AC repairs.

The Conclusion

We have talked about a lot of expansion valve AC automobiles in this article. We gained knowledge of the operation and parts of the AC system. The operation and mechanism of the expansion valve AC automobile were then discussed.

Immediately after we talked about the symptoms of a bad expansion valve. And as we noticed, there were a few of them. Then there was the issue with heated air blowing, along with inconsistent operation and a significant strain on the compressor.

In addition to learning how to diagnose and replace the expansion valve AC automobile, we also discussed how much the work will cost.