Air Conditioning

[CBlack]

Are there any tips/tricks to helping the AC work better?

Just had to replace the compressor and fan clutch. They recharged the system (obviously) and it's a tad better but still a lot to be desired.

 

[JR]

Hopefully they replaced the drier and expansion valve along with the compressor....

 

[mweiman]

Check to make sure your air inlet is not restricted with debris. Also you could remove the blower fan and look in at the evaporator to see if it is caked up with dirt. Does the evaporator drain moisture out properly?

 

[seafish]

Some people are installing a gate valve at the heat exchanger to keep hot water from circulating in the heat exchanger while using the A/C. I have not needed to do so because I live in a temperate climate, but it seems like an effective idea. That being said, you should first make sure that your AC is operating to specs.

 

[Jim W]

Hi, I just had my truck AC tested to see if the AC needed to be recharged since the truck is almost seven years old. According to the service garage not a Ram dealer the AC does meet the factory specs for AC operation but when it is really humid and hot out the truck does not seem to cool fast enough. I know a Mega Cab will take longer to cool down but the DW does complain once in awhile. What I found out to do is run the AC in the in-cab recirculation mode instead of drawing in fresh air from the outside. This seems to cool faster and makes the cab cooler than using the fresh air intake for the AC.

Do you run your truck in the recirculation mode when needed? If not try this and see if this works better.

Jim W.

 

[CBlack]

Hopefully they replaced the drier and expansion valve along with the compressor....

We discussed it and opted not to as the compressor didn't have an internal failure. The clutch burnt out on it.

Check to make sure your air inlet is not restricted with debris. Also you could remove the blower fan and look in at the evaporator to see if it is caked up with dirt. Does the evaporator drain moisture out properly?

It is draining moisture properly. The inlet looks clean.

Some people are installing a gate valve at the heat exchanger to keep hot water from circulating in the heat exchanger while using the A/C. I have not needed to do so because I live in a temperate climate, but it seems like an effective idea. That being said, you should first make sure that your AC is operating to specs.

It is operating to spec. We looked at it all after the compressor was replaced.

Hi, I just had my truck AC tested to see if the AC needed to be recharged since the truck is almost seven years old. According to the service garage not a Ram dealer the AC does meet the factory specs for AC operation but when it is really humid and hot out the truck does not seem to cool fast enough. I know a Mega Cab will take longer to cool down but the DW does complain once in awhile. What I found out to do is run the AC in the in-cab recirculation mode instead of drawing in fresh air from the outside. This seems to cool faster and makes the cab cooler than using the fresh air intake for the AC.

Do you run your truck in the recirculation mode when needed? If not try this and see if this works better.

Jim W.

I always run the recirculation when operating. Like you I always find it works best that way.


Let me rephrase my original post...

The AC works as it is supposed to, but like most Dodge AC systems, it sucks compared to others. My 97 was the same way, it worked but in hot weather it took forever to really cool and then it wasn't as good as the competition.

Are there any tricks to getting it to work better? I seem to remember something about a tweak to a door?

 

[seafish]

Are there any tricks to getting it to work better? I seem to remember something about a tweak to a door?

See post #4 above.

 

[GCroyle]

My neighbor drives a 2013 cab chassis as a service truck. He can leave it running in the driveway and its an ice chest inside the cab. My '05, not so, it needs airflow across it to make it work. I did put a homemade air dam on the bottom, sides and duct tape on the top to close the air gap between the radiator, and CAC to more positively draw across rather than around. You'll see a big gap that lets air cheat in and not go across the condenser.

 

[JR]

The drier is an important piece of the a/c system in that it has a desiccant bag to trap any moisture that is in the system. It has an end of service life and that is generally about as long as your compressor lasts. Your desiccant bag may well be saturated and not able to remove the moisture that was introduced when the shop opened the system up, especially if they did a half *** job pulling vacuum on it. Moisture causes corrosion, and corrosion will eat everything in the system from the inside out. The drier and expansion valve are cheap compared to doing the job over again and should be done every time a compressor is replaced. I'm also betting money your warranty is now voided since the drier was not replaced at the same time.

 

[CBlack]

See post #4 above.

I misread it. Do you have a diagram that I can reference?

The drier is an important piece of the a/c system in that it has a desiccant bag to trap any moisture that is in the system. It has an end of service life and that is generally about as long as your compressor lasts. Your desiccant bag may well be saturated and not able to remove the moisture that was introduced when the shop opened the system up, especially if they did a half *** job pulling vacuum on it. Moisture causes corrosion, and corrosion will eat everything in the system from the inside out. The drier and expansion valve are cheap compared to doing the job over again and should be done every time a compressor is replaced. I'm also betting money your warranty is now voided since the drier was not replaced at the same time.

I understand what a dryer is in an A/C system. I also understand what a desiccant bag is and what it does. As mentioned my compressor did not fail from internal parts. My fan clutch was going out and I didn't realize it until the clutch on the compressor died. If I had paid more attention to my fan then the clutch on the compressor would have lasted longer. Unfortunately that did not happen and I had to replace both. Hence the decision to keep the dryer and other parts.

 

[MMeier]

The drier is an important piece of the a/c system in that it has a desiccant bag to trap any moisture that is in the system. It has an end of service life and that is generally about as long as your compressor lasts. Your desiccant bag may well be saturated and not able to remove the moisture that was introduced when the shop opened the system up, especially if they did a half *** job pulling vacuum on it. Moisture causes corrosion, and corrosion will eat everything in the system from the inside out. The drier and expansion valve are cheap compared to doing the job over again and should be done every time a compressor is replaced. I'm also betting money your warranty is now voided since the drier was not replaced at the same time.

X2 ... what he said !

 

[MMeier]

My '03 is currently blowing out 37* in 105 degree heat here in Vegas, and thats in fresh air mode, since my recirc door has taken up residence in the passenger door pocket several years back !

 

[JR]

CBlack I hope you didn't take offense to my above post. I'm surprised a shop advised against replacement, as far as I know that is the only way a compressor's warranty is honored regardless of the condition of the previous compressor...however that is not related to your current problem. Hope you get it resolved quickly, poor a/c in hot weather makes for a miserable commute. The wifes a/c tanked on her commuter car. It didn't take much of her prodding to get me motivated enough to fix it...:-laf

 

[PWong]

Do you have a diagram that I can reference?
There is no need to have a diagram.
Just install a ball valve or solenoid valve on the heater core inlet coolant hose.

 

[CBlack]

I don't think you can do that on the 6.7 like you can a 5.9. Been researching it and most people doing this have 5.9s.

 

[mwilson]

I don't think you can do that on the 6.7 like you can a 5.9. Been researching it and most people doing this have 5.9s.

Yes you can, I researched this last year. I'll try and find the post later today. It will NOT starve the coolant flow thru the transmission cooler or egr cooler.

If that were the case a plugged heater core would disrupt the other components if you think about it......

 

[RDeFayette]

Yes you can, I researched this last year. I'll try and find the post later today. It will NOT starve the coolant flow thru the transmission cooler or egr cooler.

If that were the case a plugged heater core would disrupt the other components if you think about it......

You can do it on any of the trucks just so long as it does NOT have water cooled turbo.

 

[mwilson]

You can do it on any of the trucks just so long as it does NOT have water cooled turbo.

I thought that I had worked that out as well. I am booked solid until the first of the week, after that I will go find that post. I had the Cummins block water flow diagrams and everything in it.

Mike.

 

[RDeFayette]

I thought that I had worked that out as well. I am booked solid until the first of the week, after that I will go find that post. I had the Cummins block water flow diagrams and everything in it.

Mike.

there is a double bypass deal I saw a good while back. (like 1 or 2 years-can't remember where though )
IIRC it used 2 valves and 1 crossover to stop the coolant to the heater core but kept it (coolant) going to/through the turbo.

 

[mwilson]

I will double check it, don't want to give out bad info for sure.

Mike.