313A practice exam · Ontario · Red Seal
The 313A practice exam that shows you where you'd lose marks.
Question dumps make you memorise. Pre-exam classes teach everything to everyone. Examen Studio finds the work areas you get wrong, explains every answer with its source, and makes you troubleshoot like you would on a call.
- Free during the preview
- No card
- Original questions, never dumps
“It runs all afternoon but the house won't cool.” R-410A split system, TXV.
- Superheat
- 17 K
- Subcooling
- 1 K
- Outdoor air
- 32 °C
- Air split
- 7 K
On site: Sight glass shows bubbles.
What's your diagnosis?
Illustrative readings, built on the diagnostic patterns the 313A exam tests.
Why it works
Most 313A prep tests what you remember. The exam tests what you'd do.
The breakdown
125 questions, split six ways. Study where the marks are.
The Red Seal publishes how the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic exam is weighted. Every diagnostic here draws questions in the same proportions, so your report reads like the exam will.
- 8%Safety and trade practiceA · Performs common occupational skills
- 16%Tools, piping and refrigerant handlingB · Performs routine trade activities
- 13%Planning installs and retrofitsC · Plans installation
- 21%Installing systems and controlsD · Performs installation
- 17%Commissioning and start-upE · Performs commissioning
- 25%Maintenance, service and troubleshootingF · Performs maintenance and service
Source: Red Seal examination weightings, read 2026-09-21. Full task matrix →
How it works
Three things no flashcard deck does.
It tells you which areas would cost you marks.
Thirty questions, drawn in exam proportions. Your report shows correct out of answered for each work area, flags the ones with too little evidence to judge, and picks one next step. Leave halfway; it waits for you on any device.
It explains why every wrong answer is wrong.
Knowing the right letter is not the same as knowing why. Every option comes with its reasoning, the task code it belongs to, and the source you can check it against.
A TXV system shows low suction pressure, high superheat and low subcooling. Airflow is correct. Most likely cause?
Sources · Federal Halocarbon Regulations, 2022, s. 10 · Red Seal task F-16.01
It makes you troubleshoot out loud.
Read the call, then say what you would check and in what order. A checklist written by a person scores what you covered and what you skipped. It's the closest thing to a journeyperson quizzing you in the truck.
Recordings are transcribed and discarded, never stored.
“First I'd check the breaker and the disconnect
, then 24 volts at the contactor coil.
If it's there and not pulled in, it's the contactor.”
- CoveredChecks line voltage to the outdoor unit
- CoveredChecks for 24 V at the contactor coil
- UnclearInterprets the coil voltage result
- MissedChecks safeties in the control circuit
What we will not do
- Sell you recalled exam questions. Every item is original, and it is labelled with its review status.
- Predict whether you'll pass. You get correct out of answered, per area. Nobody can honestly give you odds.
- Sell unreviewed content. The bank is free until a certified 313A mechanic has checked every question.
- Nag you with streaks. Shift work doesn't run on a daily schedule. Your review queue waits.
Free, no account
313A practice questions with the full reasoning.
Ten original questions across all six work areas, each with the answer, why every other option is wrong, and the source. Readable on any phone.
See the practice questions →Field notes
The concepts behind the questions.
Superheat vs subcooling, reading a decay test, glide, A2L refrigerants, and the federal refrigerant rules, explained plainly. Plus a glossary of 54 terms.
Read the blog313A vs 313D: which Ontario refrigeration trade is which?
The difference between the 313A Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic and the 313D Residential Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic: scope, hours, exams and Red Seal status.
Read All areasChallenging the 313A exam: the Trade Equivalency Assessment explained
Experienced but never apprenticed in Ontario? How the Trade Equivalency Assessment decides whether you can challenge the 313A certificate of qualification exam, what it costs, and what evidence counts.
Read Area E + FSuperheat vs subcooling: what each reading tells you
Superheat reads the evaporator, subcooling reads the condenser. How to calculate both, which one to charge by, and how to read them together.
Read Area FUndercharge or restriction? Telling two starved evaporators apart
Low suction pressure and high superheat can mean a leak or a restriction. Subcooling and a temperature drop across the drier tell you which.
Read Area BReading a vacuum decay test: leak or moisture?
What a micron gauge is telling you after you valve off the pump, why the compound gauge can't, and how to set up an evacuation that finishes.
Read Area B + ETemperature glide, dew point and bubble point, explained
Why zeotropic blends like R-407C have two PT values, which one to use for superheat and subcooling, and why they must be charged as liquid.
ReadAre these real 313A exam questions?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says theirs are. Every question here is original, written against the public Red Seal task list, so you learn the reasoning instead of memorising someone's recollection of the wording.
How is this different from a 313A pre-exam course?
Pre-exam classes teach everything to everyone on a fixed schedule. Examen Studio starts by finding what you personally get wrong, then spends your time there, in five-minute sessions you can do on a break.
Is there a free 313A practice exam?
Yes. The five-question sample needs no account, and a free account gets you the full 30-question diagnostic with a report across all six work areas.
What does it cost?
The sample, the practice questions and the 30-question diagnostic are free. Every account also gets 100 free credits for practice sets and voice scenarios. Founding Access, C$49 once for 90 days with a seven-day refund, opens everything up once a certified 313A mechanic has reviewed the bank; you can reserve a place now.
Does it cover 313D?
Not yet. The questions follow the 313A (Red Seal Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic) breakdown. There is a plain comparison of the two trades on the blog.