Attention Sienna or anyone, Please how do I know the difference between a factory fitted A/C and the one installed after purchase

factory istalled performs betteroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Naaaa
It denpends on what is being installed and who installs it.

Which do you think is better, an old factory a/c and a new aftermarket?

Things get better with time its a matter of the quality of system being installed, and installer.

How do u know whether an A/C is factory fitted or is installed after market?

mmb:

factory istalled performs betteroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

An assumption, and often a wrong one too. R12 / R134A is the same regardless of factory or aftermarket installation. What is important is the integrity, and quality of the wiring, and connectors used. The joins should be soldered, and heat shrunk to seal out moisture ingress. As long as the wiring is carefully routed, away from sharp metal parts of the behind-the-fascia area, it should perform as well as the factory installed item.

imohregi:

Attention Sienna or anyone, Please how do I know the difference between a factory fitted A/C and the one installed after purchase

Most aftermarket systems tend to have switches that don't match the rest of the controls in the car.

The dash is often cut, and the evaporator housing is generally made of non-matching plastic, as compared to the ABS plastic used in the rest of the car. Depending on the car model, you may find the glove box has been compromised, i.e become smaller, with the aircon airbox occupying most of the available space.

Vehicle manufacturers don't make their factory installed aircon systems, but the control relays will generally carry their brand name and logo - i.e Audi will carry the Audi / VW name and logo, Mercedes-Benz will carry the name, as well as the 3-pointed star etc. If the wiring does not use the same conduit / trunking as the rest of the dash wiring, it's also safe to assume it's an aftermarket system.

It's a good idea to look at the aircon condenser too (radiator) and see if it carries the vehicle manufacturer's name / logo. It should, and the high-pressure pipes should bear the same. Some aftermarket aircon systems also have fabricated brackets to attach the compressor to the engine block. It would normally (thhough not always) be made crudely from steel. Factory brackets are mostly made out of light aluminium, and will be cast, with the car manufacturers name / logo / part numbers clearly stamped / embossed.

Most installed ACs in Naija just over labour the engine. THe engine speed booster is mainly not installed or installed incorrectly.
Secondly the engine speed is raised to take care of the power demand from the AC,so it ends up running on rpm wellabove idle speed even when the AC is not on.
That is why they hardly last.
Installing AC in Naija is big biz if it is done well