Trusted repairers
All workshops are MTA approved, so you know your car's in safe hands. All work is covered by our 6-month / 10,000km warranty.
NZ's #1 automotive repair booking site.
The relay for your air conditioning compressor is how your a/c dial tells your power supply that it’s time to fire up your air con. If it stops working, your a/c won’t come on and you’ll be left with the windows down cursing your car. Luckily it’s an easy fix and something that doesn’t cost the world.
The relay itself is inside the engine bay and has a circuit that includes your air conditioning control dial, fan and compressor. When you turn the air conditioning on from inside your car it completes the circuit and lets power flow through to power the compressor. In turn this lets cool air blow through to you.
Without it, you’ll be left sweating in your car on a hot day. If it fails, you won’t be able to cool your car down and as the air conditioning won’t work at all. In summer your air conditioning is your best friend so you want this relay in perfect condition.
It’s pretty clear usually, the air conditioning doesn’t work. If you turn the dial and nothing happens then the relay might’ve failed. If it’s playing up, you may still get cool air occasionally but it’s unreliable and you often find it’s when you need it that it doesn’t work.
It’s cheap and easy. It’s as simple as swapping out one relay for another and then testing the system. Expect prices to start around $35 to $100+ for a replacement of the relay alone.
They don’t typically fail inside of 150,000km. If your air conditioning starts playing up then it’s worth having a mechanic look into it. You want to be comfortable when you’re driving and it’s a cheap and easy fix.
Only to your comfort levels. Make sure the relay is working as it should and you won't have any trouble staying cool over summer.
You can find a mechanic near me with My Auto Shop.
View other services
Why book with My Auto Shop?
All workshops are MTA approved, so you know your car's in safe hands. All work is covered by our 6-month / 10,000km warranty.
We provide transparent, upfront pricing and quotes for hundreds of services and repairs. Book with confidence.
Get prices and book online 24/7. We come to you. Easy as.
With hundreds of MTA approved garages nationwide, we have one just for you
View all garages