Air Conditioning problem

[Miner49er]

About a 250 mile drive from Bruneau, Idaho to Elko, Nevada the other day. Temperatures got up to around 100 degrees.

I had the ac unit on full blown in my 2005, 2500 Dodge. My wife was saying that she was not getting very cold air comming from the passenger outlets. My side seemed to work fine.

Do I have a freon problem or could it be something mechanical... Got to keep the wife "cool" you know...

 

[Bill Stockard]

My '03 was doing the same (Laramie w/dual control) several years ago when the truck was still in the 3 yr/36K warranty period and the dealer added only a few ounces of refrigerant which fixed it. It's begun doing it again. Evidently, there is a very slow leak somewhere in the system.



Bill

 

[JFought]

i currently have the exact same problem.

How can it just be freon?
The driver side is about 20-30 degrees colder! i am leaning towards a door issue.

comments please. . ?? its 102 Here in TX. i need it going better.

 

[JeffJackson]

My '05 will slowly leak refrigerant out too. Over the winter it leaks enough that the system is so low on pressure that it won't turn on in the spring time. The first sign it's low on refrigerant is the passenger side starts blowing warm air out the dash vents. What I do is add more R134 until the passenger side is good and cold, which seems to last for a couple of months until I need to refill it.

 

[BGlidewell]

i currently have the exact same problem.

How can it just be freon?
The driver side is about 20-30 degrees colder! i am leaning towards a door issue.

comments please. . ?? its 102 Here in TX. i need it going better.

Are you using MAX? (recirculation?) Does the air from the vents speed increase when MAX is selected?

 

[HHhuntitall]

There's something about the A/C ducting that makes the colder air blow to the driver side. I don't know if the duct to the driver side gets air from the front of the evaporator, or if it's from the area around the blend doors, but adding freon seems to fix the problem most of the time. If you're getting air out of all your vents like your supposed to, when selected to specific vents, then I'd say add some refrigent. I've fixed several that way..... and knowledge comes from experience, and experience comes from mistakes, sometimes. Back in '05, I hadn't really worked on many of the newer Dodges at that time, and I had just acquired an '03, as my wife was expecting. I had the same problem, my wife kept going off in the passenger seat. One weekend, which turned into Tuesday, I had the whole dash out of my '03 and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I did manage to break one of the doors in my flopping around under the dash, but after putting it back together, I had the same problem, still. I added 8-10oz of refrigent, and it works fine, now. I had the same repetitive wife "problem. " Kept coming from the passenger seat. I fixed the repetitive noise by placing her in the driver seat, and my snoring drowned it out... . I'll tell you from experience, checking your freon would be much easier than pulling the dash... ... and takes a few days less!!

 

[BGlidewell]

... I had the same repetitive wife "problem. " Kept coming from the passenger seat. I fixed the repetitive noise by placing her in the driver seat, and my snoring drowned it out... . ...

Somehow I know she is not looking over your shoulder now.

 

[goodguys75]

how can i put this DODGE A/C SUCK

 

[BGlidewell]

how can i put this DODGE A/C SUCK

mine has been ok. But I did have to remove the dash last sumer to replace the recirc door...

 

[macdaddy]

If the system is low on Freon the compressor will cycle on/off with great frequency.



Mac

 

[Miner49er]

Thanks guys for all the advise. To answer BGlidewell, yes & yes. Once I get off the mine site on friday, I'm taking the truck down to the local dealer & getting her a shot of freon.

You know, years ago I use to brag about "how hot" my wife was... course she use to think I was "really cool" too...

 

[Grey Wolf]

My sons 2005 will do the same thing when it needs refrigerant. He has the dual zone unit and the passenger side always gives him the signal that the refrigerant level is down...



Do you guys have the standard units or the dual zone units?

 

[moparme]

Well Mine is an 03 and I dont have dual zone and it has done this for over a year now. I think it is Doors. My recirc works fine, but changing from dash vents to floor to mix, i have to coax it by stopping the fan and starting fan on hi. Just no time to pull dash. Camping and my sons MX racing has my Ram in full demand for the season.

 

[Crunch]

Well Mine is an 03 and I dont have dual zone and it has done this for over a year now. I think it is Doors. My recirc works fine, but changing from dash vents to floor to mix, i have to coax it by stopping the fan and starting fan on hi.

That's a problem with Mode Door 1:



Dodge Ram 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, blend door auto AC heat replacement part

 

[JBotz]

05 ac prolbem

i have a 05 with the same ac problem. Ido not have the 2 zone system. will have to try to put some 134A in her and see what happins. if that works Iwill not have to pull dash apart

 

[CharlesHoward]

Dealer Freon Refill on my 05 solved my warm wife problem (at least since it was done a year ago). Currently still blowing very cold air.

 

[Lordsman]

Low refrigerant charge will not fully saturate evaporator coil. Therefore only half the coil will get cold and the other half will be warm. Seems the warm half feeds the passenger side. I got a R-134a service coupling at NAPA, added refrigerant and problem solved. Mine was short cycling on the low pressure control(47 cut-in and 27 cut-out). I had an electronic thermometer checking each side till the temps were running equally to prevent an overcharge. My son held the RPM at about 1800-2000 to keep the head down while I charged it. Took only a few ounces on mine.

 

[BarlowCummins]

I have just developed the same problem on my 04. 5. I have never had to mess with the AC. How easy is it to do with some r-134a from an auto part store? Is there any special coupler? Also where do you hook it up to the AC under the hood?



Thanks

 

[BGlidewell]

you can buy a can with a gauge on it from wallmart, just make sure it is not the stop leak kind, only coolant. some people will not work on the A/C after you put leak fix in it.

There is a black bottle on the passenger side firewall with a screw-on knurled cap. Remove the cap and put it in your pocket while you place the charge coupling on it and recharge while the engine is running with the ac on max fan max ac recirc. These instructions should be on the charge bottle too.

 

[Crunch]

The Walmart dispenser rig is good. Just don't buy the kit that has the dispenser and R-134a all in one because it has the leak sealer in it. I would also add that it is probably a good idea to get the Dodge specs for low side pressure. If I recall correctly, the Walmart dispenser directions are a bit higher than the Dodge specs. I've always tried to charge it on the hottest days and charge it to the middle of the Dodge recommended zone to save wear on the compressor. The 03drm.pdf file (page 2778) lists the following specs for the `03 AC:

Ambient Air
Temperature
21° C (70° F) - 138 to 207 kPa (20 to 30 psi)

27° C (80° F) - 172 to 241 kPa (25 to 35 psi

32° C (90° F) - 207 to 276 kPa (30 to 40 psi)

38° C (100° F) - 241 to 310 kPa (35 to 45 psi)

43° C (110° F) - 276 to 345 kPa (40 to 50 psi)

For me that means that if the outside temperature is 100* I wouldn't charge it over 40-43 psi, and maybe up to 48 psi if it were 110* outside. I wouldn't charge it at all if the outside temp were below 90*, but in Texas during the daytime that might not happen till October.