A/C is only cool, fan seems weak

[moist_oyster]

I have a 2010 Laramie with the dual climate control in it.

1. I've never been impressed with the bower motor even on vents only on high it still seems weak to me especially compared to many other vehicles I've been in. Is there a fix or upgrade for the blower motor? Even in my 13 ecodiesel I had the same weak fan

2. My a/c is cool but I feel like it should be much colder. I'm going to plug my manifold set into the a/c after work today and see what my pressures are. Every once in a while when I have my temperature set to something above LO and I have the fan mode set to auto, I'll hear a hissing sound coming from the passenger side. Not sure if that's normal or not but it's been happening since I got the truck a couple years ago

 

[beerjoints]

I have a 2010 Laramie with the dual climate control in it.

1. I've never been impressed with the bower motor even on vents only on high it still seems weak to me especially compared to many other vehicles I've been in. Is there a fix or upgrade for the blower motor? Even in my 13 ecodiesel I had the same weak fan

2. My a/c is cool but I feel like it should be much colder. I'm going to plug my manifold set into the a/c after work today and see what my pressures are. Every once in a while when I have my temperature set to something above LO and I have the fan mode set to auto, I'll hear a hissing sound coming from the passenger side. Not sure if that's normal or not but it's been happening since I got the truck a couple years ago

I have a 04 SLT and I have the same problem. I just today swapped the blower motor and fan, new. Blows the same.oh and I checked the vent at the window and hood. Clear… I don’t get it.
But I can feel the cool air barely escaping the vent to maybe my steering wheel but that’s it. My kid and I are sweating bullets..
Did you get any luck with yours yet? I need to figure this out. It’s 115* today

 

[Jeepwalker]

Do you have a scanner where you can test the damper motor sweep action? Ensure *all* of the damper doors are fully opening and fully closing? Could be you have a bad motor on one and it doesn't fully port air through the cooling, and/or, the vents? Or a damper door that is partially broken off it's hinge. That kind of thing does occur.

Another possibility like you say is the charge could be low. The pressure switch could be flaky and it's not building up enough pressure. Maybe the pressure switch went out of calibration way back years ago. You can look up how to test, and back-probe with a multi-meter and check voltage, or look via a scan tool. There are some good quick videos on checking these things.

I could list off a few other possibilities (partially plugged orifice/weak fan clutch/partially plugged condenser coil, weak compressor, etc). The best thing might be to take it to a known "good" AC shop for a diagnosis. There could be multiple issues at the same time, not just one.

And yes, a guy can hear some hissing at the evaporator coil when the pressure builds up. But it's difficult to know if what you're hearing is what I'm thinking, in terms of how much hissing you're hearing.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Does your blower work on "Hi"?

 

[beerjoints]

So with mine. It seems to speed up and slow down when I turn the speed knob. But I don’t know a lot so those things you mentioned I wouldn’t have thought about. Or know about haha. And man! Thank you for reaching out and dropping some knowledge on me. I think I might do as you said and take to a reputable ac shop. Cause I feel like I’ll be on a long hunt knowing what I know. By the time I figured it out the 115 heat will pass haha

 

[crash68]

I've never been impressed with the bower motor even on vents only on high it still seems weak to me especially compared to many other vehicles I've been in.

People confuse volume and velocity all the time. The higher the velocity will make more noise and you'll feel a "stronger" flow. Ram runs lower velocity of air, same volume amount of air but it's not moving as fast. Also a slower airflow spends more time going through the evaporator coil which removes more moisture.

 

[yrraljguthrie]

Ram needs to work on the AC on all models. My F-150 got much colder, and quicker.

 

[Jeepwalker]

FWIW, The AC on my Ram has always been nice and cold.

Thing is, there can be two-dozen+ reasons your AC doesn't work well or any combination of them. Sure, check the obvious things. But anyone's trucks where the AC doesn't work right, or never worked right should seek out a good AC guy. It's a scatter gun approach trying to lob solutions sitting at our computers. If you really want to get to the bottom of the situation, you should find a good AC shop, spend some $$ and let them do all the basic troubleshooting & (hopefully) get to the bottom of things once and for all. Or buy a bunch of common failure parts and replace them, clean the system completely out, measure out the proper oil and get a good vacuum/charge on it. That's another approach.

Possible issues (not a complete list):
The AC clutch might not be adjusted or operating properly (slipping)
Piece of crap lodge in the expansion valve/orifice, restricting refrigerant flow.
Pressure switches (low side/high side) out of calibration
Plugged or partially obfuscated Condenser core (mud/bugs, internal plugging). Same with evaporator
Moisture in the system which eventually freezes in the expansion valve
Winch/lights/bull-bar, etc in front of the condenser cutting down airflow
Refrigerant not right (maybe someone put the wrong stuff in it), or too much 'sealant'
Low on refrigerant. Too high on refrigerant
Compressor weak
Too much compressor oil (or wrong type ...if previously serviced by a dufus)
Wiring issues (corroded connector/s, pinched wire, etc)
Damper door motor bad (any one of them)
Damper door broken hinge (not closing all the way)
Damper door seal damaged/broken, never installed correctly
Plugged condensate drain (making it feel humid inside the cabin- uncomfortable)
Improper HVAC controller operation
Condenser fan weak
Fan shroud missing/out of place
Glazed/slipping belt
Accumulator problems

 

[jws123]

Ram needs to work on the AC on all models. My F-150 got much colder, and quicker.

Its just yours mine is ice cold however I swapped my truck back to r134a instead of 1234yf couldnt tell ya if it made a diff blew a line while installing motor didnt want to pay the crazy price for 2 cans to re charge with 1234yf

 

[indept]

Does it have a cabin air filter? If so have you tried changing it?
It's worth a look.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Do you have a scanner where you can test the damper motor sweep action? Ensure *all* of the damper doors are fully opening and fully closing? Could be you have a bad motor on one and it doesn't fully port air through the cooling, and/or, the vents? Or a damper door that is partially broken off it's hinge. That kind of thing does occur.

Another possibility like you say is the charge could be low. The pressure switch could be flaky and it's not building up enough pressure. Maybe the pressure switch went out of calibration way back years ago. You can look up how to test, and back-probe with a multi-meter and check voltage, or look via a scan tool. There are some good quick videos on checking these things.

I could list off a few other possibilities (partially plugged orifice/weak fan clutch/partially plugged condenser coil, weak compressor, etc). The best thing might be to take it to a known "good" AC shop for a diagnosis. There could be multiple issues at the same time, not just one.

And yes, a guy can hear some hissing at the evaporator coil when the pressure builds up. But it's difficult to know if what you're hearing is what I'm thinking, in terms of how much hissing you're hearing.

Naw.... it's 115 degrees there in Arizona! Combine that with the cavernous amount of cubic feet of air to be "conditioned"... and there ya go. A ceramic tint and a high quality front window shade will do wonders.

 

[yrraljguthrie]

Actually, I think the problem with the AC is systemic.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Actually, I think the problem with the AC is systemic.

It might be!