Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd - 3-Day Car Air Conditioning Course

This 3-day combined City & Guilds ‘Certificate in Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning Service & Repair’ and ‘CITB Safe Handling of Refrigerants’ car air conditioning course has been designed to offer the necessary training and subsequent qualifications to satisfy the forthcoming legislative changes - It is aimed at anyone in the automotive industry from the mobile mechanic to large garages or workshops.

Our instructor is an approved CITB instructor/assessor who has over 25 years of automotive experience and can offer invaluable advice and tips to our students.  

The following information details the course content and what you can expect to gain from the course. Timings have been purposely omitted as we proceed through the course at a pace which suits the majority of the students; this is to ensure that everyone gets the maximum benefit from our instruction.

What’s Covered

Day 1 – (approximately 70% theory and 30% practical)

1. Introduction and administration
2. Law & legislation (Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, British Standards etc.)
3. Ozone & global warming
4. Health & Safety
5. COSHH
6. The 4 functions of an A/C System
7. Theory of heat transfer
8. A/C Terminology
9. Pressure/Temperature relationship
10. Identification of refrigerants
11. A/C system components
12. A/C systems (Expansion valve & Fixed orifice tube)
13. System operation (Refrigeration cycle)
14. Safety features (sensors, switches, relays etc.)
15. Servicing (Refrigerant recovery, pressure testing, system evacuation, re-charging refrigerant, leak detection, adding oil/UV dye, commissioning the system, customer reports.)

Day 2 – (approximately 20% theory and 80% practical)

1. Following on from day 1 with a continuation of practical tasks associated with servicing the A/C system
2. Electrical theory and fault finding exercises (Mechanical faults, electrical faults, electronic faults and leaks)
3. System repairs
4. Oils
5. Retrofitting
6. City & Guilds written assessment

Day 3 – (approximately 20% theory and 80% practical)

1. Following on from day 2 with a continuation of practical tasks associated with servicing the A/C system and carrying out system repairs
2. CITB practical and written assessments

On confirmation of a course booking we will issue students with the CITB Safe Handling of Refrigerants reference manual and City & Guilds study notes prior to attending the course. Although the CITB written assessment is ‘open book’, students are advised to familiarise themselves with the content prior to attending the course.

What You Can Expect To Gain From The Course

The 3-day combined course will provide students with everything they need to know in order to carry out motor vehicle air conditioning servicing and repairs on their own.

We have a purpose built training rig which allows students to study all the working parts of an automotive air conditioning system. The training rig allows us to simulate faults found in common a/c systems and provides students with an opportunity to conduct electrical and mechanical fault finding activities.

All equipment used during the course is of excellent quality and students attending these courses are able to purchase a variety of equipment (including complete start-up packs) at discounted prices.

Location & Accommodation

The course is held at the Seabank Hotel, Porthcawl just 2 minutes walk from the town centre. Students wishing to stay at the Seabank Hotel will benefit from preferential rates negotiated our training centre for the duration of their stay (currently £40.00 p/n en-suite bed & breakfast as opposed to £60.00 p/n room only).

NB: Summer months get very busy as this is a tourist town – it is recommended that you book your accommodation as early as possible to guarantee your room at this very popular hotel.

Cost

The 3-day combined course is currently £395.00 + VAT

Only Need One Qualification?

Forthcoming legislation requires anyone working with vehicle air conditioning systems to have both qualifications. However, if you are already in possession of one of these qualifications then we are able to offer the following individual qualifications should you wish:

1. 2-day CITB Safe Handling of Refrigerants training and assessment @ £275 + VAT

1. 2-day City & Guilds Certificate in Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning Service & Repair @ £275.00 + VAT.

If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact us on the numbers below to discuss things further or visit and select the relevant tabs to the left of the welcome screen.

Steven Fisher
Centre Manager
Red Dragon Air Conditioning Ltd
Tel: 01656 786499 / 0777 620 7563