Hey guys,

So I was in the desert in SoCal in April and the A/C compressor wouldn't kick on (lit up light on dash, but no compressor). Took it in to a shop, $800 later I'm back on the road with a new compressor and dryer, and a freshly charged system blowing cold air. 3 months later, back in Colorado, the A/C air suddenly starts to blow halfway cold air (outside air about 80*, A/C felt like 65*). Something was happening, just not cold, cold air anymore. I'm 1200 miles from the shop that did the work so that's out of the question. I feel the compressor kick on when I push the A/C button (feel the load in the throttle), but it's not doing it 100%. How can I troubleshoot?

Thanks

 

Sounds like a leak
Hoping an expert chimes in, mine is acting up too, ac not ice cold, passenger vent is blowing warm
I am planning to introduce some dye and recharge the system.
I am also wondering how good these ac sealant cans are ?
Good luck

 

Bump

 

For the love of all that is holy, do not use those death in a can repairs!
These AC systems are fairly simple. I would suggest to get a gauge set from harbor freight ~$60, and do some research about AC systems. Send me a PM with your email and I'll forward you a very good guide that you can start with.
Most likely, you have a leak. In AC systems leaks can start of really slow, might take weeks to loose pressure and freon, but AC leaks never get better. Eventually it will get large enough and lose all pressure in a matter of moments.
The most common these trucks leak at are the gaskets behind the compressor on the high side. The bottom of the condenser where rust can accumulate and near your evap core.

 

So just spent $70 for nothing, sytem recharge added .7 lbs of freon. Started truck and a/c was colder, not super cold. 3 mins in, started to get warm. I felt the condenser and it is real cold, line out is too. What else could it be? Guy at shop said maybe the pressure switch? He couldnt locate it and said it would need another system charge anyway so i am back to square 1.

 

Um next time dont have them charge it. Just buy a can of freon with the lil gauge on top and top it off yourself and add some dye to it. Only 30 for a can ith a reusable gauge

 

Good to know for next time, any suggestion on how i can get er goin?

 

not much you can do without either gauges or inject dye and search for a leak.

 

Not sure about your truck but there should be a sticker on top of the radiator support that says how much freon your truck will hold. Mine takes 30 ounces. But start off with a big can of freon. They sell a 18 ounce can with a filler hose and gauge on it. The synthetic stuff will blow lil colder too. Hook the hose up the line near the canister. It will only fit on one side. With Truck running and AC on max . Screw in top to pierce can and back out out to release fluid. Do NOT hold it upside. holding can sort of upright. go 12-3 every 15 seconds. Watch the gauage and reach in and feel A/C. My passenger side seems to alway blow slightly warmer than the drivers side. Not warm ehough that my GF (lil miss always cold) doesnt complain about me having it too cold in truck.

 

Dont use the 18oz cans, these have the additives that will clog your orifice tube and your accumulator. only use the R134a 12oz cans when filling your system. here is a picture why NOT to use death in a can.
This is a accumulator of a friends of mine that used death in a can. just imagine what the rest of the system looked like.

 

Glad I didnt use the death can! Do you still think its a leak though? I got the system fully charged to 1.8 lbs (which would be 28.8 oz) and only had cold air for a few minutes. Compressor is working, condenser and line is cold, is there a switch or connector that could be bad? Frustrating having had to drive 18 hrs with the windows down knowing that little sucker is cold, just not letting me get it!

 

I wouldn't be looking at the freon charge anymore, you've covered that... Is your a/c condenser plugged in any way? I would also be looking at the temp control switch itself maybe its gone bad (hot cold **** on the dash) lastly I've seen evaporator cores in the dash become so plugged up with mold that they weren't working, check to make sure that the water drain for the system isn't clogged with debris, should be a rubber hose coming out of the firewall

hope this helps

 

its hard to say, because your two symptoms contradic themselves. If you charge it and you have cold air for a few mins then it goes warm. that tells me everything is working but you have a leak.
Then you say that your accumulator and tube going into the firewall is cold. That tells me you might be suffering from either the blend door issue these trucks have, or your evap core is clogged.

If you turned your AC on now does your accumulator still get cold but your truck blows out hot air? With A/C systems, they are hard to troubleshoot over forums without either gauge readings or being there.

 

Update:

Finally swapped out the high pressure switch with a new dodge one, pressure tested system, no leaks. Still not working. I'm gonna check the drain tomorrow to see if it is clogged. Any other ideas? I watched the compressor engage after pressing the button, could the new condenser be shot?

Is there a way to troubleshoot the blend door? It gets way hot when i turn the **** that way.

I removed the cabin air/outside air door a while back because it had snapped off and was laying on the blower.

Thanks for the help!

 

If you can, you need to get a set of gauges hooked to the system. That will tell us so much more about what is going on. Be sure to include what the out side air temp and the inside air temp is. The past times that you have had it charged has someone be putting a vacuum on it or have you just been putting refrigerant in?