Job Profile:      Air-Conditioning Mechanic (A/C Mechanic)


Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles.

49-3023
Job Information
   
   
37,930 61,870 93,580

Select Tasks
Inspect vehicles for damage and record findings so that necessary repairs can be made. Test and adjust repaired systems to meet manufacturers' performance specifications. Repair, reline, replace, and adjust brakes.
Estimate costs of vehicle repair. Review work orders and discuss work with supervisors. Troubleshoot fuel, ignition, and emissions control systems, using electronic testing equipment.
Confer with customers to obtain descriptions of vehicle problems and to discuss work to be performed and future repair requirements. Align vehicles' front ends. Test electronic computer components in automobiles to ensure proper operation.
Tear down, repair, and rebuild faulty assemblies, such as power systems, steering systems, and linkages. Perform routine and scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes, lubrications, and tune-ups. Follow checklists to ensure all important parts are examined, including belts, hoses, steering systems, spark plugs, brake and fuel systems, wheel bearings, and other potentially troublesome areas.
Plan work procedures, using charts, technical manuals, and experience. Maintain cleanliness of work area. Align wheels, axles, frames, torsion bars, and steering mechanisms of automobiles, using special alignment equipment and wheel-balancing machines.
Tune automobile engines to ensure proper and efficient functioning. Repair, replace, or adjust defective fuel injectors, carburetor parts, and gasoline filters. Repair and service air conditioning, heating, engine cooling, and electrical systems.
Disassemble units and inspect parts for wear, using micrometers, calipers, and gauges. Change spark plugs, fuel filters, air filters, and batteries in hybrid electric vehicles. Overhaul or replace carburetors, blowers, generators, distributors, starters, and pumps.
Repair or replace parts such as pistons, rods, gears, valves, and bearings. Rewire ignition systems, lights, and instrument panels. Install, adjust, or repair hydraulic or electromagnetic automatic lift mechanisms used to raise and lower automobile windows, seats, and tops.
Rebuild parts, such as crankshafts and cylinder blocks. Conduct visual inspections of compressed natural gas fuel systems to identify cracks, gouges, abrasions, discoloration, broken fibers, loose brackets, damaged gaskets, or other problems. Diagnose and replace or repair engine management systems or related sensors for flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) with ignition timing, fuel rate, alcohol concentration, or air-to-fuel ratio malfunctions.
Repair or rebuild transmissions. Retrofit vehicle fuel systems with aftermarket products, such as vapor transfer devices, evaporation control devices, swirlers, lean burn devices, and friction reduction devices, to enhance combustion and fuel efficiency.





Select Abilities
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns. The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you. The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources). The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part. The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears. The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists. The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object. The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath. The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs. The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion. The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). The ability to see details at a distance. The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
The ability to see under low light conditions. The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead. The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting. The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness. The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated. The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.




Tools Used
3 pound sledge hammers 5 pound sledge hammers 5-gas emissions analyzers
Adjustable wrenches Air chisels Air compressors
Air conditioner chargers Air drills Air hammers
Air sanders Air wrenches Alignment wrenches
Allen wrenches Alternating current/direct current AC/DC inductive current clamps Alternator testers
Ammeters Angle drills Antenna socket sets
Anti-lock braking system ABS/air bag scan tools Antifreeze recovery equipment Anvils
Auto body dollies Auto scanners Automotive on-board diagnostics scanners
Awls Ball joint separators Ball peen hammers
Bandsaws Battery chargers Battery hydrometers
Battery jump starters Battery load testers Battery/alternator testers
Bearing pullers Bench lathes Bolt cutters
Bore gauges Borescopes Box end wrenches
Brake bleeders Brake cylinder hones Brake drum lathes
Brake line flaring tools Brake rotor hones Brake shoe tools
Brake tools Brass hammers Breaker bars
Buffers Butterfly air wrenches Cable cutters
Calipers Capacity testers Carbon scrapers
Catalytic combustion analyzers Center punches Chain hoists
Chain wrenches Channel lock pliers Circuit testers
Circular saws Clamp-on multimeters Claw hammers
Clutch holding tools Clutch wrenches Code readers
Coil testers Cold chisels Combination pliers
Combination wrenches Combustible gas detectors Combustion leak detectors
Compression analyzers Compression testers Computerized engine analyzers
Computerized scanners Computerized suspension analyzers Continuity testers
Crescent wrenches Cutting torches Cylinder leakage testers
Deburring tools Dent pullers Desktop computers
Diagnostic code readers Diagonal cutting pliers Dial calipers
Dial gauges Dial indicators Diesel modulator shift testers
Disc brake pad spreaders Dolly blocks Drill bit sets
Drill presses Dwell meters Dynamometers
Electric drills Engine cylinder hones Engine oil pressure testers
Engine stands Exhaust analyzers Exhaust/tail pipe cutters
External snap ring pliers Feeler gauges Filter wrenches
Flare nut wrenches Flaring tools Flat files
Forklifts Frame racks Freon recovery equipment
Front end alignment equipment Fuel injection cleaners Fuel pressure testers
Gas welding equipment Gasket scrapers Gear puller tools
Gear pullers Gear wrenches Graphing scanners
Grease guns Grinding equipment Hacksaws
Hammers Hand clamps Hand pullers
Handheld computer diagnostic equipment Heat guns Hex keys
High velocity low pressure HVLP spray guns Hoists Hose cutters
Hydraulic bleed tools Hydraulic presses Hydraulic shop presses
Ignition module testers Ignition testers Impact guns
Impact wrenches In-line ignition spark testers Infrared digital thermometers
Infrared thermometers Inspection mirrors Insulated pliers
Internal retaining ring pliers Jack stands Jacks
Laser levels Laser photo tachometers Laser printers
Leak detecting diagnostic smoke machines Leak detection smoke machines Leak detectors
Light emitting diode LED circuit testers Light emitting diode LED leak detector lights Locking C-clamps
Locking jaw pliers Locking wrenches Long nose pliers
Lug wrenches Magnetic pickup tools Manifold gauge sets
Mechanics' stethoscopes Metal cutting dies Metal cutting taps
Metal inert gas MIG welders Micrometers Mini circuit testers
Modular diagnostic information systems Multimeters Needlenose pliers
Nibblers Non-contact thermometers Nut drivers
Offset brake wrenches Ohmmeters Oil filter wrenches
Oil injectors Oil pressure gauges Open end wrenches
Oscilloscopes Oxyacetylene welding equipment Oxygen sensors
Paint sprayers Personal computers Phillips head screwdrivers
Picks Pin punches Pipe wrenches
Plasma cutters Plastic tip hammers Pneumatic chassis lubriguns
Pneumatic drills Pneumatic fluid evacuators Pneumatic orbital sanders
Pneumatic wrenches Polishers Portable exhaust analyzers
Power drills Power grinders Power pullers
Power sanders Power saws Power washers
Pressure brake bleeders Protective ear muffs Protective gloves
Pry bars Punches Radiator hose pinchoff pliers
Ratcheting box wrenches Ratcheting gear wrenches Ratchets
Razor knives Reamers Reciprocating saws
Refrigerant gas analyzers Refrigerant identifiers Refrigerant leak detectors
Remote starter switches Revolutions per minute RPM gauges Rivet guns
Riveting tools Rotor/drum brake lathes Safety glasses
Safety shoes Sandblasters Scan tools
Scrapers Screw extractor sets Screwdrivers
Scribers Shears Shielded arc welding tools
Shoe retaining spring tools Single-cut mill saw files Slide hammers
Smoke machines Socket wrench sets Socket wrenches
Soft face hammers Soldering irons Spark plug gapping tools
Spark plug sockets Spark plug testers Spoons
Spot welding kits Steam cleaning equipment Steering wheel column pivot pin pullers
Stickleback rasps Straight blade screwdrivers Strap wrenches
Strobe wheel balancing systems for heavy vehicles Tachometers Tape measures
Taper punches Test lights Timing lights
Tire changing machines Tire pressure gauges Tongue and groove pliers
Torque wrenches Torx keys Torx screwdrivers
Transmission jacks Tube cutters Tubing benders
Tubing cutters Two way radios Ultrasonic diagnostic kits
Utility knives Vacuum gauges Vacuum pumps
Valve seating equipment Vises Voltmeters
Welding masks Wheel alignment machines Wheel balancers
Wheel weight hammers Winches Wire brushes
Wire cutters Wire strippers Workshop cranes
Workshop presses

Add Additional Job Requirements:   Work Condition, Physical requirements, Certifications, License, etc.