just curious. i've read several of the A/C threads but I'm not sure I have a recirc or blend door issue. I'm hoping its not the Fin sensor.

A couple years ago I stopped at a light w/ the A/C on. When I left the light (normal acceleration) I saw a faint whitish smoke coming out of the vent between the steering wheel and radio. It has continued this for 2 years, and the smoke always blows through the vents on the drivers side. It blows until I've been to speed (60) for a minute or two then goes away.

While still under warranty I took it to the dealer and they said the smoke wasn't freon and that all the pressure was good. The tech even commented on how cold it was blowing. They sent me on my way saying it was "condensation and that I should use the recirculation" setting.

The other thing it does is on longer trips. The AC will blow like ice but after about an hour or 2 of running the air seems to stop coming out of the vents. Changing vent **** to any of the other settings seems to do nothing. A/C off and after a few minutes the outside are starts coming in fine w/ full fan pressure. The next day the AC works great. Most of my drving is less than an hour so I dont' notice it until we take a family trip. I guess that is God screwing with me. Wait till I have the entire family in the truck so they can all ***** about being hot.

Suggestions appreciated guys. I need the help.

 

I previously posted about my a/c issues and this is one element I forgot to mention. I have been having that same mist come out of the same register. Mine is now doing the cold on the driver's side and warm on the passengers side trick.
I will be following and researching to see what I can find. Thanks for the post. MN

 

Hmm. I don't have hot and cold sides. Just hear the fans and they don't seem to be pushing air.

 

Your system is freezing up... I but if you were to turn the AC off but keep the fan running pulling air in from outside after 5-10 mins you should be able to kick the compressor back on and get cold air again. Short answer is you system is not right... have your refrigerant levels checked again. If its not that then maybe it's your expansion valve?

 

I've got a warm side on the passenger side and a cool side on the driver. I know it's not frozen since this happens when you first turn on the A/C on a hot day. Sounds similar to this issue but different?

Anyone got any ideas?

Derek <*)))><

 

According to the fsm a/c trouble shooting guide, cold drivers side+warm passenger side=low refrigerant.....

 

Does the guide say anything about my symptoms?

 

This would be correct, I just had this and the dealer evacuated the system, recharged it and all is good. It was one pound plus low and now blows 38* from both sides. As far as the problem Diesbull is having, I'm also leaning toward a freeze up. I'd try turning up the thermostat a bit and see if it still freezes up. If it doesn't, you know where to start looking.

 

Dies... I shot you a PM

 

Sounds like a broken recirc door to me.

 

So I tested this morning.

Ran the AC and I can switch between recirc and regular. I notice a change in sound of the fans but that is about it. I guess its working.

As I ran the AC I noticed about 45 minutes in the fans started blowing weak. So I started by adjusting the temp. Took it up to about mid mark on the cool side. A few minutes later and the fans are still weak. Bump the temp to the mid mark, where cool and heat meet. Wait a few minutes and nothing. So finally I take it to about the mid point in red. No difference.

So I turn the AC off and let the regular vent blow. In about 2 minutes the fan is blowing hard into the truck again. I kicked the A/C back on and it ran fine until I shut it off in the parking lot.

I'm reading the email I from truckbouy2 now. But any suggestions would be great.

 

FunFinder & Totallyrad might have nailed this one with freeze up. Is the refrigerant at the proper level... Low will aid in freeze up. Unusual freeze up could be a evaporator fin sensor (I think StarScan can pin point that). These Dodges do keep you on your toes.

 

My friend has his apart and the passenger side blend door is definitely in a part-way position so the drivers is cold and the passenger side is warm (blended). The servo works on both with 12v applied but only the drivers side operates from the dash control (neither door is broken).

Any thoughts? Would low refridgerant cause a door to not operate? Is there a sensor that may interfere with the operation?

Cya and TIA

 

I had the freeze up problem on my 2003. You could turn the compressor off and run the vent for a few minutes and it would defrost. You could then turn the compressor back on and then it was good and cold again. This usually only happened at highway speeds when the condensor was getting plenty of air and the blower was on low. I finally added some freon and then sold the truck to my cousin. No problems since.

My dad's 2006 was always ice cold until it started the pass warm driver cold problem. I added a can of freon and it helped but then went totally out and the compressor was leaking. I had bought the heater treater blend door kit but did not install it before adding a new compressor. Same driver cool, pass hot with the new compressor with exact factory charge using new Robinaire a/c machine. I then cut into the box to replace the blend door. Pretty easy job, but was suprised to see no problem with the blend door. You do have easy access to the evaporator for testing at this point.

There is a small write up on heatertreater about the inefficiency of the dodge a/c system and about tuning the freon level to compensate. Using a infrared temp gun the temperature across the core with the factory freon charge varied from 15 degrees nearest the passenger compartment (area to driver) vs. 70 or more to the back (passenger area). The compressor would cycle erratic and outside line would frost and then defrost. The temp readings would vary depending on fan speed and compressor on and off. What I am getting at is that the charge was not correct and was causing this.

Evactuated system and found amount of freon in system was the factory spec. Recharged to 2 lbs and everything is working now. I did not take readings from the vents before the 2 lb charge but it could be measured as hot and cold by using your hand.

Now here is what I see driving with plenty if air across the condensor. 4 vents driver left to passenger right. 46, 44, 43.5, 46 This is just one of the measurements and it is not real hot out now.

I would recommend the heater treater blend door part to anyone that may be having an issue. Worst case you get it replaced with a better part. What is really important is you can see what is going on with the evaporator temp across the core and see what a problem is created by the inefficient design and then get the correct freon level in to correct it. You can put your hand on the air side of the evaporator and undestand why your passenger is hot.

I suspect that a lot of those people with factory warranties are taking their trucks in and dodge is turning this in as a blend door failure while just adding a little freon to the system. I know that the blend door issue is a real problem that is affecting a lot of people but was suprised that 2 ounces of freon would cause the severe ineffieciency that I saw.

The blend door is a pretty easy job with the heater treater. I might take a few more photos before I put it back togther for those who may want to do the blend door. I used a solder iron to melt instead of cut with the router bit. With my short cuts I came up with it only takes about 5-10 minutes of dash disassembly before you are ready to cut.

 

Phil E., some pics and a write up would be great. So far I have no blend door issues, but I'm surely expecting to, given the quality (or lack there of) of the A/C systems in our trucks.