AC problem?

[Scrappy]

I took a 560 mi. trip today and had an issue with the air. about 100 miles into the trip the air flow from the vents almost stopped and was just barely cool. At that point I turned the air off and the level of airflow from the vents increased. On the return leg I turned the air back on and it worked as advertised for the last 200 miles. Does this system need recharged periodically like the old R12? I am thinking that the condenser in the dash froze up(why there was no airflow) and thawed when I turned it off. It was somewhat humid and about 81Deg. when it stopped. is this another possibility?

 

[B.G. Smith]

I think you diagnosed the situation correctly, evaporator iced up. Yes, it could be low on refrigerant, the system is basically the same as the old R-12 except for the refrigerant. Ice up could be caused by defective clutch cycling switch or low refrigerant charge. A very low air flow and high humidity also might cause ice up as the cycling switch opens at around 25#. Most likely cause is low refrigerant but your truck is pretty new to be low. bg

 

[MSilva]

Refrigerant Leak

I had the same problem last summer. I took it to the dealer they said it was low on Refrigerant and re-charged. according to the dealer they did not find any leaks. Well it has blowing very cold air until today. I exprienced the same problem again. I think I have a leak in the system. Keep me posted Scrappy.

 

[SSage]

Same ice up problem. No leaks could be found, it still leaked though. Showed up a few months after purchase. Probably will be a problem again, at least till the dealer replaces everything. Thats what happend after many visits with us, then we had problems that I figure were caused by the techs. I got to the point of Lemon Law and they replaced everything that could leak or cause a problem. Had two defrost door fixes, one compressor and the condensor and on and on. They even found a new truck for us since we had so much trouble but, Palmer Dodge ended up fixing it after all... over 12 visits for AC problems. The side to side temp blend still does not work right. But its good enough.

 

[Carlsummers]

When I had my '03, I was told by the Service manager that the '03's had a problem with the Fin Temp Sensor, and that it would cause the ice up, resulting in hardly any air... .

 

[DPKetchum]

Mine freezes up also. just haven't had it looked at yet. had poor cooling last year and was low charge.

 

[Scrappy]

thanks for the replies, guys! I have had the truck for a year and a half and now is the first time that I have really used the air, Ididn't really need it in AK. Is the recharge covered under warranty? I think I'll take it tho the local dealer and see what they say.

 

[NDanecker]

Most likely cause is low refrigerant but your truck is pretty new to be low. bg

I brought my truck in twice for this condition. The second time they evacuated and re-charged the system and found it to be low on refrigerant. At the time I only had about 1k or 2k miles. Still works fine after 31k miles but still not perfect, IMO. On REALLY hot days it has trouble keeping cool. I believe these systems are undersized for these trucks. Probably good for a regular cab but not for the quad cab. Can't wait to see what the Mega Cab owners report about these A/C units.

 

[SSage]

When I had my '03, I was told by the Service manager that the '03's had a problem with the Fin Temp Sensor, and that it would cause the ice up, resulting in hardly any air... .

That was the first thing replaced on our 03. I understand its behind the glove box. Since the weather has turned hot in the south the AC has been getting a work out. It cools very well to me, I just wished it had rear vents. The rear vents are really missed in cold weather and hot weather cool down.



The heater is what I don't like, the driver's feet stay cold too much. My drivers side floor vents never blow enough in the winter and leak cold air in the summer. Not bad, but you feel the draft unless you wear work boots. The passenger side works right, dealer says its normal and the said it was balanced. But, the drivers side heat to the floor never gets very warm. Nothing like the other side. Not balanced to me, my family, friends etc. .



Hope you guys have less trouble.

 

[Saccowboy]

ok get this one. my driver side vents blow hard cold cold air but the middle right and passenger side barely blows at all its cold air just very little. any ideas im nearing 36000 miles so i need to get it fixed now.

 

[SSage]

ok get this one. my driver side vents blow hard cold cold air but the middle right and passenger side barely blows at all its cold air just very little. any ideas im nearing 36000 miles so i need to get it fixed now.

You probably just have a balance problem. Mine has been calibrated before. I wish I had the standard AC sometimes. A blend door could be messing up, we had that happen. I think the dealer screwed them up when they fixed the defrost door that got stuck closed.



At least these won't have vacume leaks, my 98 changes modes on every hill while towing and the dealer can't find the leak.