Spooler

I tried tonight to get my pressure to spike again. I didn't have any luck. My fan was coming on and off tonight though. I heard it cycling on and off. Pressures would go up and down with the fan working. I didn't see any oil coming from the pressure relief valve. It is going to be tough to make it happen again. When my CP3 was leaking the electrical connector to the fan was full of diesel. Don't know if this is causing some of the issues or not. It looks like they removed it to replace the CP3. It is something that may need inspecting for a broken wire or loose connection. This work was done in January 06'

MikeyB

I haven't done the measurement between the back of the grill and the front of the condenser but Perma-Cool has a 16" fan that's only 3.25" thick.
http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page18.html

BTW, a member on dodgetalk.com added a 14" electric fan to help with the A/C cooling. I'm trying to get more details.

MikeyB

beem0

Another option would be to retro fit a better performing condenser. The current one has a lot of surface area, but is so-so as far as performance. The engine fan should kick up a notch when the AC pressure builds. I believe Spooler has reported this so his truck looks to be working as far as that logic goes.

Spooler

Well, last night after not being able to duplicate the issue I noticed that the pressures were low. 20 on Low side and 210 on High side. The fan was working. So I added some R134a. I know that I lost some refrig. from the night before because I hooked up my gauge set and now the pressures are Lower than what they were before. I added some from a new 12oz. can. I added until the pressures were acceptable and the vents were blowing equal. It took at least 3/4 of the can. The fan was still cycling on and off as it was supposed to do. Had the wife idle the truck up to 1800 RPMS before I added R134a and the low side was dropping to 15 PSI. No doubt in my mind it was low. Since I do not have a A/C machine at the house I could not evac. and weigh what was in the system. When I take the truck in next week I am sure Tech will evac. and recharge the system again. I will get them to tell me how much was in the system. I bet I have around 2 to 2.25 lbs in the system now. It does seem to be working as it should. Took the dog for a ride last night and we didn't have any issues. I will need to drive it during the hottest part of the day. Why would overcharging it make a big, big difference? Pressures after adding and a hot truck were 38 PSI low side and 250 to 325 High side depending if the fan was on or off. While at 1800 rpm the pressure did not drop below 28 PSI on the low side. High side was fine.

MikeyB

Also noticed in the shop manual the gas equipped Rams have an electric fan for the A/C condenser.
The next question now is how much of a gain when adding a pusher fan that's relayed with the A/C clutch.

MikeyB

Spooler

Beemo, toypar has had the same issue as me one time with the pressure spiking to 500 PSI. His truck was cold and the fan was also not on. Truck was an 04.5 also. He said he recovered the refrig. and that was 1.8 lbs. After recharging to 1.88 lbs his pressures remained low. Is that high pressure spike taking it's toll on our compressors, hence pressure being low and poor A/C performance. His thread is "what is the true refrigerent capacity). Can you answer about the compressor issue?

beem0

Let me ask around about the compressor question. You got me on this one. Unless there is some blockage somewhere I'm not sure why the spike. My only other guess would be if liquid migrated to the compressor and caused slugging. Did you hear a loud noise (compressor trying to compress the liquid?).

The diesel seems to be lower then normal. Its a system balance thing.....like I said I've seen where it will almost pull a vaccum on the low side.

Let us know what you find on driving your truck in the heat.

MikeyB

This fan will work as a pusher for the condenser. Only 2" thick so it will fit.
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...tegoryId=10117


MikeyB

Spooler

Actually, I did hear a loud noise when I first turned it on. Sounded like the normal clunk from the compressor clutch. It does this everytime I let it sit for a couple of days. Does it on que.

White97GTVert

Mine does this noise when it's hot out and I turn the A/C on for the first time. Usually right after I fire it up the first time that day and its warm outside. Not really a clunk though.

It almost sounds like a relief valve blowing open for a second. Real quick but VERY noticeable.

However, even though it's done this hundreds of times my A/C still works great.. Except when I take off from a light (even light-medium throttle). It's done that since new also so I am not sure what the noise is. I am monitoring this thread very closely in case I start having issues like you all are reporting.

MikeyB

Ok, the person that installed the Be Cool pusher fan on his truck said it made a big difference in A/C performance.
So who's willing to be the first here? Estimated cost is around $110 for the fan, relay and mounting brackets from Jegs.

MikeyB

Hounddog

D.C. OUGHT to be the FIRST per a TSB if it works.

Spooler

Like I said, I have 3 of these fans at the house. If they optimize the mechanical fan operation with a flash that should fix the issue if in truely that is the problem. I don't want to rig up a patch on my truck if the design is flawed. This is the third issue on my truck in the last 6 months. I haven't ever had problems with a new vechicle like what is happening with this truck and it is the most expensive vehicle I have bought. I couldn't help myself and went to where I bought it from and told them what I thought. I was very nice and they understood. I know it is out of their control. Wife ask me, "Did you get a lemon?". They said they would cut me a good deal on a new one. I don't know about that. Swapping out all of my stuff to a new truck, what a pain. Plus the beating on the trade.

Spooler

Beemo, why did they go with a lower refrig. level? I know since charging mine up the mechanical fan runs more. Was it causing issues in colder weather? Was the condensor unable to disipate the heat with the higher pressure? A little criteria for their decision would be great. What were they trying to balance in the system to make them charge the system to a lower level? I feel limited on what I can work with. A pusher fan will no doubt improve the performance in stop and go traffic without sacrificing power.

Spooler

You are right!! Hope they listen because if not they will be wearing the dunce cap in the cornor of the classroom.