Air conditioning is a standard feature on virtually every car in 2026, and it’s often one that we take for granted. Nobody wants to lose it, especially in the hot weather, which can make driving, especially over long distances, incredibly unpleasant. It is one of the worst things that can happen.
Driving on a 95-degree day, or higher, with no A/C can be awful. Thankfully, one TikTok user, Joe (@joesyourmobile_mechanic), has shown that if there is an issue with the A/C in your car, it might not be the complicated fix you once thought it was.
The mechanic posted a clip on his account showing that there are some simple things that we, as car owners, can do if the air conditioning stops working. All of this without needing to find time to take the car to a workshop, garage, or mechanic.
It is easy to assume that air-conditioning fixes are complicated and long-winded. And a lot of them are, and they could also be quite expensive. As well as being able to fix it yourself, there are also ways you can detect if the A/C is actually about to fail and break completely.
Quick Fixes for Your Faulty Air Conditioning
@joesyourmobile_mechanic A/C small talk diagnostics #summermashup #cartok #fyp #foryou #ford ♬ original sound – joesyour_mobilemechanic
One of the first things you can do, according to the TikTok mechanic, is to check the fuses in the car. “First is, you wanna check your fuses,” said the mechanic in his video. He then pointed to the fuse box in the engine bay and identified the fuse part of the box, as well as the relay. “You wanna verify they both work,” he said.
Joe said this can be done with a Fluke meter. Holding up a digital multimeter, he showed that you can check that there is power going into the fuse, and that you can test the relay and the ohms on it. This makes sure you know if the plug is actually on or not. The mechanic then goes to the hose that carries the refrigerant through the A/C system, and that allowed him to source the problem in this particular car with another simple trick.
Thanks to some UV dye, he was able to detect that there were pinholes in the hose. Starting the car up, we can see that the refrigerant is spitting out of the holes and escaping the system. “Now we’re gonna have to replace that hose,” he said. The mechanic stressed that this is not a full inspection of the car and its systems. But it does allow you to check things out, and potentially fix it yourself without worrying about taking it to a mechanic.
How to Spot if Your A/C System Is Failing
There are ways to check if the A/C system in a car is failing, even if it hasn’t failed completely. One way you can test this is by checking how long it takes the air in the car to get cold. If it takes longer to do so, there may be a problem in the system. The air becoming warmer when you are idling is another sign it is failing, as is switching between cold and warm while cooling the car.
The sounds the system makes can also signify there is a problem. A squealing sound when the A/C is on is a surefire sign there is an issue, potentially indicating an issue with a belt or tensioner that drives the compressor. Rattling or grinding sounds are also indicative of problems with the unit. Some repairs can be expensive; however, not all of them are, so it is absolutely worth taking the car to a garage to get it fixed.