Is this normal with the A/C?

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Philip

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Love my 2017, one thing I got confused about is the following, it happened about 3 times already.

I'm in Arizona, we run the air conditioning pretty much 24/7 in vehicles. Max A/C ON all the time.

Out of nowhere, you can tell the A/C stopped blowing ice cold air, and you can smell it when it happens lol like it's drawing in outside air even though I have it set to that mode where it recycles the cold air, the best mode etc. You feel the air blowing and it is still a cool flow, but you can tell it's not as cold as before. It's as if the MAX A/C mode went to a fan mode, and shut off the A/C?

In each instance, I was driving 40-45mph just cruising, didn't floor it or was hard on the truck etc.

It starts blowing ice cold about 5 minutes after. OR I turn off the A/C, and turn it on, then it blows ice cold again.

Glad I bought the extended warranty lol which covers electronics and small parts also.

2017 Pentastar only 283 miles on the odometer.
 

Deviousin10tions

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Are you using the Auto function? If you are it will cut in and out to maintain the temp you input, if not maybe someone else knows.
 
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Philip

Philip

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Are you using the Auto function? If you are it will cut in and out to maintain the temp you input, if not maybe someone else knows.

Yeah I'm familiar with that mode, but no, this is MAX A/C set to lowest setting LO.

I feel like the A/C is switching off and cooling the system for a few minutes because it is so hot out. Days here are 98-115 daily and sunny all the time. Nights are epic though, anywhere from 75-87 no humidity.
 

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Does it only act up when it's been on for a while? If so then it could have a thermo shut down sensor. It will turn the compressor off for a few min to cool down. Just a thought.
 
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Philip

Philip

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Does it only act up when it's been on for a while? If so then it could have a thermo shut down sensor. It will turn the compressor off for a few min to cool down. Just a thought.

Might be? I run A/C all the time. This is the first vehicle I ever owned that did that though. Before this it was an 05 V8 Mustang, 14 V8 Mustang, 15 Ford Fusion, 16 Ford Fusion. All blew ice cold air 24/7 but of coarse ate gas like no ones business.

I stuck to Ford all those years because I never had a hiccup, surprising lol right?

It's not a huge issue with this truck, I just hope it doesn't get worse.
 

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I'd bring it to the attention of the dealer. Have them scan it for any codes. It's possible there's a device (say, an outside air blower door actuator) which is intermittent and that might cause it to 'hunt'.
 
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ColdCase

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AZ id pretty dry, so the evap wouldn't be freezing up?
 

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Love my 2017, one thing I got confused about is the following, it happened about 3 times already.

I'm in Arizona, we run the air conditioning pretty much 24/7 in vehicles. Max A/C ON all the time.

Out of nowhere, you can tell the A/C stopped blowing ice cold air, and you can smell it when it happens lol like it's drawing in outside air even though I have it set to that mode where it recycles the cold air, the best mode etc. You feel the air blowing and it is still a cool flow, but you can tell it's not as cold as before. It's as if the MAX A/C mode went to a fan mode, and shut off the A/C?

In each instance, I was driving 40-45mph just cruising, didn't floor it or was hard on the truck etc.

It starts blowing ice cold about 5 minutes after. OR I turn off the A/C, and turn it on, then it blows ice cold again.

Glad I bought the extended warranty lol which covers electronics and small parts also.

2017 Pentastar only 283 miles on the odometer.

Hi Philip,

Please feel free to reach out to us if we can assist in getting you back to the Ram dealership to have this checked out.

Kori
Ram Social Care Specialist
 
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Philip

Philip

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You know what's funny, and this "might" be what's really going on. I'm not used to driving such a huge truck with HUGE windows/windshield. I bet it's the fact that when in direct sunlight, where it's beaming into the interior, I'm losing a lot of cool air. It's hard to tell though. It only happened once though today and I drove around 25 miles.
 

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That's called Solar Gain. Do you have automatic temp controls? Maybe stick a thermometer in there to see what's going on ...and an A/C probe thermometer (like $3 at Harbor Freight) into the center duct and see if it holds fairly steady. Some variability will occur as the pump goes on/off, but it should keep cooling if it needs to.
 
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Philip

Philip

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The weird thing is that when it happens the actual air smells like it's a bit dirty, or outside air if that makes sense. And keep in mind I have it on MAX ac with recirculate ON which in the manual says it's the best way to cool the interior.
 

SYKRAMMAN

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The weird thing is that when it happens the actual air smells like it's a bit dirty, or outside air if that makes sense. And keep in mind I have it on MAX ac with recirculate ON which in the manual says it's the best way to cool the interior.


Put a dryer sheet on the cabin filter.
 

Jeepwalker

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You might possibly be smelling mold growth in your A/C box. Couple things to note:

1) It would be worth poking your head under the truck and see if the A/C condensate drain tube is possibly plugged. I had a vehicle where some insects build a small nest and plugged up the drain. Some drains pinch down to a small area so it wouldn't take much. On my particular vehicle there was a fitting at the bottom of the drain and I had to pull that fitting off to see the nest (not a Ram). So, from the outside the nest wasn't immediately visible. If something like this happens water can back up inside the heater box. That water will evaporate during the cooling process as cool air blows over it and pick up humidity which makes the air feel like a 'cold' air conditioning (because adding humidity to air makes it feel more uncomfortable). It can actually build up enough that on a long trip it can spill out on the floor or soak your carpeting and so on. Anyway, perhaps this is what's happening?? At the same time, continued moisture build-up in the heater box can lead to mold growth which will smell funny and isn't good for your health either (if it gets really bad). So, check it out, make sure the condensate drain is open ...or have it looked at.

2) If you're parking it at an angle or hill after you drive it, a/c condensate could be getting trapped in a corner of your A/C box where it can't properly drain out. Over time it too can lead to mold growth. You don't want mold growth in there because removing the A/C box means pulling the dash out and it would be really expensive.

Get it looked at...
 
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Jeepwalker

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And keep in mind I have it on MAX ac with recirculate ON which in the manual says it's the best way to cool the interior.

The reason for this is simple: As the A/C system cools the warm 130 degree cabin air (on a hot sunny day) it also 'dries' the air, because air going through the cold fins a 35 degree a/c coil condensates like condensate on a cold pop can. And that condensate rolls off the a/c coil ..and out the drain. That 130* discharge air is now cooler, say, 60-70 degrees but it is also drier than the air which initially went into the coil. Temperature and humidity are linked when it comes to feeling 'comfortable'.

Having it set to 'recirculate' brings in a portion of that cooler and now slightly drier cabin air across the a/c coil again and cools it even more, then again ...and again. Pretty soon the cabin air temperature is worked down from 130 degree air to 75 degrees and the A/C system is cooling 75 degree air instead of 115* outside air. Therefore the system doesn't need to work as hard to bring the temperature down and the size of the truck cabin is pretty small compared to the size of the A/C system.

If you were to leave it on the "Outside" air setting, on a hot day in Phoenix, you'd be bringing in 115 deg air continuously and wouldn't bring down the humidity very well.

Now, if you Fart, then it's going to recirculate that air too which will smell kind of stale and 'funny' depending on what you had been eating!! I suspect that the system is not designed to shut outside air 100% for safety sakes, but I don't know that for sure. Either way, people open up windows and/or doors which lets in some outside air.

As I said in an earlier post, if water is collecting at the bottom of the A/C box it would be picking up humidity after the fact. It could even be spitting some moisture down into the ductwork too. (just a possible issue),

For others reading this post, if you don't want cold air but want to dehumidify (like on a rainy day), turn it to 'recirculate' and the A/C on. Then up the temp some. This will continuously dry out the air as it flows across the cold a/c coil, but also open a vent door inside the a/c box and divert some of that cold (and drier) air across the heating coil. That will raise the temperature of the discharge air. But the air is now DRIER than it was before it entered the heating box. It might seem strange to cool the air, then heat it up, but all commercial heating and cooling systems work this way and have for decades. It's nice to see automotive A/C systems become automated and sophisticated like commercial A/C systems.

It's really a 'smart' and nice system! But what can throw a wrench in the system, just as it can in a commercial a/c system is if vent door actuators stop working, or drains get plugged. Happens in commercial systems all the time.
 
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adrianp89

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Mine will sometimes blow harder - like the fan speed changed, but I was already at max. Not very common but have caught it a few times.
 

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Phillip, I know exactly what you mean when you say the air smells "dirty". I think the air is not being "conditioned", moisture not taken out of the air. My old 2005 Z71 did the same thing some years ago. I've been racking my brain to try and remember what the problem was. I do know the compressor went out and I had the system rebuilt. I did have to bring it back to the mechanic because it was low on Freon and he found a leak and repaired it. Another time there was some type of screen in the system that was plugged. Which he cleaned. Not sure if this helps or not..
 
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Philip

Philip

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Yeah something is definitely going on with this. It just happened 30 minutes ago, I was on a short drive, 5 miles or so, MAX ac blasting, then it starts blowing like a fan, and it's not ice cold anymore. I immediately turn off the a/c, then turned it back on to max, and it was blowing ice cold again. Weird. I also noticed that even if this truck is idling for 10 minutes with the a/c on, there's not much water below the engine on the ground, looks like a tablespoon of water. All the cars i've had, you would clearly see a huge puddle of water on the ground, dripping from the a/c.

I need to bring it in when I have time, it is a minor annoyance which I have a feeling will take A LOT of time for them to fix, not looking forward to that.
 

Addicted2fishing

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I’m thinking that maybe it’s just a burst of extra cold air and the system is designed to shut that feature off after some time. Ive always heard it’s best to keep it in the mode where it draws air from outside to pass through.

Here in Canada those temps would be a extreme heat alert and rare lol. I don’t really feel too bad for you as we brace for winter LOL.


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1quick1

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I have had this exact issue 2-3 times. I'm going with the auto A/C set to around 68 and it starts to smell like outside air and it feels like the AC isn't running. Turning the whole system off for a couple seconds and turning it back on fixed it each time. I could never make any sense of it and the AC never turns back on on it's own. I never bothered contacting the dealer as issues like this are guarantees they won't be able to reproduce.
 
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Philip

Philip

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I’m thinking that maybe it’s just a burst of extra cold air and the system is designed to shut that feature off after some time. Ive always heard it’s best to keep it in the mode where it draws air from outside to pass through.

Here in Canada those temps would be a extreme heat alert and rare lol. I don’t really feel too bad for you as we brace for winter LOL.


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Hahaha yeah it's a nice novembor to march out here! I don't miss snow, grew up in NY, walking through waist high snow SUCKS!

I have had this exact issue 2-3 times. I'm going with the auto A/C set to around 68 and it starts to smell like outside air and it feels like the AC isn't running. Turning the whole system off for a couple seconds and turning it back on fixed it each time. I could never make any sense of it and the AC never turns back on on it's own. I never bothered contacting the dealer as issues like this are guarantees they won't be able to reproduce.

Exactly! That's exactly my issue, and I agree the dealer would have a hard time reproducing the issue. It's so odd, just today I drove roughly 80 miles in 100 degree heat, and it worked like a charm. But then sometimes it just happens on a short drive.

Weird.

I'm assuming the A/C is under warranty but for how long I don't know. I purchased an extended warranty which covers it I believe up to 100K miles it only made like a $20 difference in the montly payment. The finance manager said it covers all the expensive electronics, and little things that can be tricky to fix. He flat out said that some components might fail with extended use here in Arizona because we run the A/C all the time in extreme heat. Not sure if I got hosed on that lol I probably did. I'm an easy sale :-(
 

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