The air conditioning is a blessing, especially in hot temperatures. Do you still sweat while driving your Lincoln Nautilus? Your air conditioning system no longer cools properly? This can have different causes. What these are and what you can do about it, we explain in this article.
Линкольн Наутилус — (фото Линкольна)
The most common causes that hinders normal operation of air conditioning system on your Lincoln Nautilus are dirty cabin air filter, refrigerant leak, dirty or clogged condenser, dirty or clogged evaporator, bad blower motor, defective compressor, faulty blend door actuator or any fault in the electrical system.
1. Грязный салонный фильтр.
The pollen filter, also known as the cabin filter or microfilter, is a central component of the ventilation system in your Lincoln Nautilus. A dirty filter causes the overall ventilation of the interior to deteriorate resulting in reduced cooling, heating and air flow. It also puts unnecessary strain on the entire AC system which negatively impacts your Nautilus’ fuel consumption.
Срок замены салонного фильтра не регламентирован, но большинство производителей рекомендуют замену через 10,000 20,000–XNUMX XNUMX км пробега. Если вы едете на автомобиле в пыльной или загрязненной среде, фильтр может загрязниться намного раньше, чем рекомендует производитель.
Start by inspecting the condition of the cabin air filter on your Nautilus. Instead of changing it directly, it is often recommended to first clean the pollen filter. This can be done, for example, with a vacuum cleaner or a compressed air system, removing at least a large part of the visible dirt particles. Unfortunately, this procedure does not allow you to get into the deeper layers of the filter. Therefore, the filter performance will not increase significantly even after cleaning. As a rule, there is no avoiding a change.
Video: Replacing cabin air filter in Lincoln Nautilus
You don’t necessarily have to visit a workshop to clean or replace the pollen filter on your Nautilus. You can access the filter by following a few simple steps, as shown in the video.
Примечание: Грязный салонный фильтр чаще всего приводит только к ухудшению охлаждения. Если из вентиляционных отверстий в вашем Наутилусе выходит только горячий воздух, то проблема, вероятно, кроется в другом.
2. Грязный или забитый конденсатор
Like the radiator, the air conditioning condenser on Lincoln Nautilus sits at the front of the vehicle and is responsible for releasing the heat from the refrigerant into the ambient air. Over time, grime, bugs and other small particles can build up on its surface and in the gaps of its mesh. This hinders the condenser’s ability to release heat as less air passes through the mesh, which results in poor cooling in the interior.
If the condenser is dirty on your Nautilus, the simplest solution is to clean it. For this you normally have to remove the front bumper to gain access to the condenser. You can use power washer for cleaning, but make sure that its at low pressure setting, as high pressure can easily damage the delicate fins on the condenser.
A clogged or leaking condenser can also be the reason for air-conditioning not working properly on your Nautilus. A leaking condenser can lead to a loss of refrigerant and reduced cooling performance of the system. In order to find leaks in the air conditioning system, a leak search is carried out in the workshop using forming gas – even the smallest leaks can be detected. In this way, it can be determined whether the loss of refrigerant is due to a defective condenser. If this is the case, the only option is to replace the broken part.
3. Утечка хладагента
Insufficient amount of refrigerant is still the main cause of a non-functioning AC system. A loss of up to 15% of the refrigerant per year is normal due to the design. If you don’t have the system serviced regularly on your Nautilus, the refrigerant level will eventually get so low that the system loses its cooling capacity. Just have it refilled and you can drive with pleasant temperatures again. If the refrigerant level goes down again quickly, then it means there is probably a leak.
In addition to the normal loss, component defects are usually responsible for the escape of the refrigerant gas on Lincoln Nautilus. A defective sealing ring, a worn line or a condenser that has been damaged by a stone chip are the most common causes.
Обнаружение этих в основном очень маленьких утечек часто бывает непростым делом. Система заполняется формовочным газом (азот с небольшим количеством водорода) в цеху. Возможно, уже слышны более крупные утечки, или их можно обнаружить с помощью спрея для обнаружения утечек. Небольшие отверстия должны быть локализованы путем поиска всех компонентов с помощью детектора газа. Как только утечка обнаружена, ее необходимо снова устранить, заменив соответствующий компонент.
4. Грязный испаритель
Dirty evaporator can also be the reason for AC problems on your Lincoln Nautilus. Cabin air filter captures most of the dirt or other airborne particles, but some escape and fall on to the evaporator. Over time, these dust particles can builds up on the fins and block the air flow through the evaporator, resulting in poor cooling.
The two most prominent symptoms of a clogged up evaporator on your Nautilus are:
- Поток воздуха из дефлекторов прерывистый и неравномерный.
- В салоне автомобиля появляется неприятный запах плесени.
Cleaning the evaporator on Nautilus is not a simple task. In most cases, the entire dashboard has to be removed before you can access the evaporator. Therefore it is recommended to do this at a workshop.
Также может быть утечка хладагента в испарителе, в этом случае испаритель придется заменить.
5. Отказ компрессора
The compressor is the heart of the entire air conditioning system on Lincoln Nautilus. It consists of moving parts that convert what is actually a gaseous coolant into liquid – this is how your vehicle is cooled.
A broken compressor is usually irreparable. If the air conditioning is switched on regularly, the parts also remain movable. However, if you don’t turn on the air conditioning on your Nautilus for a long time, the parts will stick. The result is a defective compressor that can no longer be repaired. The only thing that helps is swapping with a new one.
The worst damage, however, is a failure of the AC compressor when it “eats” itself due to insufficient lubrication or a production error, metal chips form, which are distributed throughout the Nautilus’ AC system. If you only install a new compressor here, another failure is inevitable, as the chips immediately destroy the new component. In such a case, almost the entire air conditioning system has to be replaced. A maximum of the metal pipes can be rinsed here. Since the two heat exchangers (condenser and evaporator) are designed in cross-flow design, the detergent finds the path with the least resistance and leaves the chips behind. However, the high-pressure refrigerant pulls these chips back with it during operation and the next damage is inevitable.
6. Плохой двигатель вентилятора.
If there is no air flow or reduced air flow from the vents on your Lincoln Nautilus, bad blower motor could be the culprit. A worn out or weakened blower motor can also produce abnormal sounds when in operation.
Вы не можете отремонтировать сломанный двигатель вентилятора, деталь должна быть заменена новой.
Примечание: Если двигатель вентилятора внезапно выходит из строя от одной секунды к другой, вы должны сначала проверить, не является ли причиной неисправности перегоревший предохранитель.
7. Неисправный привод дверцы смесителя.
Blend door actuator plays a role in controlling the air flow and temperature inside your Nautilus. Anytime there is a problem with the temperature of the air conditioning system, it could be a problem with the blend door actuator.
The most common symptom of faulty blend door actuator on Lincoln Nautilus is a slight clicking sound repeatedly coming from under the dashboard. The sound will be most prominent for a few seconds when you turn on the air conditioning or adjust the temperature. Sometimes changing the temperature can temporarily stop the sound.
A knocking noise could be another indicator of a bad blend door actuator on your Nautilus, although its quite rare. The sound is something like a light tapping on the door and it happens when you turn on the air conditioning system or turn off the engine.
Заключение
There are many reasons why air conditioning may not be working properly on your Lincoln Nautilus. When looking for the reason, you should always start with the most obvious cause, low refrigerant level in the system.
В любом случае, неспециалистам рекомендуется посетить мастерскую. В случае неисправности механик может напрямую инициировать ремонт.