MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC1

Service Reports
MOBILE AIR CLIMATE SYSTEMS ASSOCIATION ©
By Rachel Dill, Product Design Engineer, Schrader Pacific - Altavista
and Gene Dianetti, SAE Interior Climate Control MAC Supplier Standards Committee
Service Ports: Recent Developments for
Mobile Air Conditioning System Access. Is it Time for a Change?
Background
MACS periodically conducts field surveys with its
members. The results of the 2018 field survey indicated
issues related to A/C service ports. This has
become the second largest reason for A/C service!
Figure 1 illustrates the top ten reasons for service
from this survey.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the information
gathered from these surveys? The results
of the 2018 survey were provided to the SAE Interior
Climate Control Standards Committee in November
2020, notifying its members that issues with A/C
service ports were a rising cause for service.
Within the SAE Interior Climate Control Standards
Committee, there are five standards sub-committees:
the Steering Committee; the Service Standards
Committee;
the OEM Standards Committee;
the Fluids Standards Committee; and the Supplier
Standards Committee. Each of these committees are
made up of industry experts from automotive and
mobile manufacturers around the world, along with
the supplier and the mobile air conditioning service
base supporting the industry. These committees
publish standards such as J2788, which defines the
performance criteria for R-134a recovery/recycling/
recharging equipment and J2888, for R-1234yf service
hoses, fittings, and couplers.
Field surveys from MACS members are a valuable
tool used by the SAE committees to identify service
issues which require technical solutions by the auto
manufacturers and its supporting supply base.
The A/C Service Ports Task Force
In April 2021, the SAE Interior Climate Control Supplier
Standards Committee formed the A/C Service
Ports Task Force to address the findings of a 2018
Field Survey performed by MACS. The task force
was comprised of industry expert members representing
automotive manufacturers, service port and
other component suppliers, mobile air conditioning
service, and other interested parties. The 2018 survey
clearly identified problems with service ports,
but did not yield enough information to propose any
solutions. The task force worked expeditiously on a
plan to identify the root causes of leaking service
ports.
In order to perform a deeper dive into the issues,
Figure 1: Bar chart showing the top 10 " reasons for service " ,
according to the MACS 2018 Field Survey.
MACS Service Reports is the official technical publication of the
Mobile Air Climate Systems Association, P.O. Box 88, Lansdale, PA
19446. The material published in MACS Service Reports expresses
the views of the contributors and not necessarily that of MACS. Every
attempt has been made to ensure
December 2022
1
the task force worked with MACS to perform an additional
field survey with questions only related to
service ports. The resultant survey had 17 questions
and 4 relevant opportunities to provide comments.
the accuracy of the content of MACS Service Reports. MACS, however,
will not be responsible for the accuracy of the information published
nor will MACS be liable in any way for injury, labor, parts or
other expenses resulting from the use of information appearing in
MACS Service Reports.
MACS Service Reports
December 2022
MACS
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022

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