AC never frosty cold since new!

[ArmyGrunt66]

Good morning

I have a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT with a Hemi, 4x4 and single cab. I've owned this truck since new, the AC has never been so called frosty, cold yes but never had that freezing feeling, it has never had the AC recharged either. Is this normal for our Rams? Thanks for any responses.

Kevin.

 

[KeepRight]

Good morning

I have a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT with a Hemi, 4x4 and single cab. I've owned this truck since new, the AC has never been so called frosty, cold yes but never had that freezing feeling, it has never had the AC recharged either. Is this normal for our Rams? Thanks for any responses.

Kevin.

How hot is it where you live? Are you expecting ice after keeping the windows up in the middle of the day? Are you moving down the road or sitting in city traffic?

I'm not judging you, but it's the hottest part of summer. All A/Cs are gonna struggle this time of year.

My 2015 Ram won't blow ice, but going down the road, it's cold.

You can buy diy freon from most auto stores. Very simpile to use, and read the instructions.

The age of the truck, won't hurt to get the AC checked at a quality garage.

 

[Quyonmob]

My 2017 has been disappointing since new, but is “within range” so no warranty repair. It works, but is the worst of all the vehicles I drive.
Vehicles I drive regularly that have colder AC than my ram:
-2015 Camry
-2012 F250
-2012 Silverado
-2010 F150 (x3 of them)
-2010 Dakota
so everything else is colder...

 

[NJMOPAR]

Nature of the Ram beast.
I'd advise against those DIY charge cans, I blew up my compressor last month because of a faulty gauge on one of those.

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

How hot is it where you live? Are you expecting ice after keeping the windows up in the middle of the day? Are you moving down the road or sitting in city traffic?

I'm not judging you, but it's the hottest part of summer. All A/Cs are gonna struggle this time of year.

My 2015 Ram won't blow ice, but going down the road, it's cold.

You can buy diy freon from most auto stores. Very simpile to use, and read the instructions.

The age of the truck, won't hurt to get the AC checked at a quality garage.

Good morning

Yea, the AC doesnt work as cold in the summer, I just recharged my wifes Ford Focus this morning with a DYI can of freon, very cold in her car compared to my Ram. Maybe the cab is larger in my Ram and by the time the cold air reaches my body its not as cold? I did check the pressure in my AC and it was at 40PSI, I added a little freon and got it up to 45PSI, feels slightly colder. It was 85 degrees with 90% humidity this morning.

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

Nature of the Ram beast.
I'd advise against those DIY charge cans, I blew up my compressor last month because of a faulty gauge on one of those.

Very efffing true about the faulty gauges on those DYI, I over charged my wifes focus and released enough freon to get it right, whewww!

 

[indept]

My 2017 does fine. We've had mid 90's temps with high humidity here for most of July and my air was cold. I will toss a thermometer in the vents the next time I go out on a good hot day & report back on what I find.

That said your truck most likely uses R134 & mine uses 1234yf so there's probably difference due to that.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Nature of the Ram beast.
I'd advise against those DIY charge cans, I blew up my compressor last month because of a faulty gauge on one of those.

I had a friend killed when the can exploded. Gauges are the ticket.... otherwise, leave it to the pros.

 

[Tach_tech]

What’s the actual outlet temp with the A/C on max and recirc?

 

[phantomfixer]

I have a 2016 Big Horn 5.7 4X4 and I live in Florida.It's very freakin' hot and humid here and the AC in this truck is the best I've had in any vehicle

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

What’s the actual outlet temp with the A/C on max and recirc?

Good morning

The outlet temp with recirculation activated was 43 degrees, not activated it was 49 degrees. My truck was not moving when I took these readings.
QUESTION: I read in our manual we shouldn't use the recirculation feature for a long period of time, is this true? Thanks for any advice.

Kevin

 

[Tach_tech]

If you’re getting 43F out of it that’s pretty good and I wouldn’t expect any better. The new R1234yf systems typically don’t get much colder than 45-50F.

The reason they advise against extended recirc operation is that it can increase humidity and cause microbial growth on the evaporator which ends up causing a musty smell. If you’re running recirc for a long time, just turn it off for a few minutes every now and then to get fresh air. That will help prevent it.

 

[NJMOPAR]

43 degrees?
That's only 11 above having your sweat freeze on your face!
How much colder do you want?

 

[indept]

43 degrees?
That's only 11 above having your sweat freeze on your face!
How much colder do you want?

 

[Sandevino]

43 degrees?
That's only 11 above having your sweat freeze on your face!
How much colder do you want?

That's a rather personal question....lol

Somewhere, usually on the passenger front side, there's a sticker indicating the air conditioning refrigerant type and charge for the system. Having a good set of gauges to check the high and low side will tell you if there's an issue with the charge.

This is a sealed system, so the likelihood of losing refrigerant next to zero if the system is sealed properly. If you've losing the charge, you likely have a leak, albeit a pinhole or slow leak. Larger leaks need no explanation, but require troubleshooting to locate.

Refrigerant does break down, but that's a topic for another discussion.

 

[indept]

If you’re getting 43F out of it that’s pretty good and I wouldn’t expect any better. The new R1234yf systems typically don’t get much colder than 45-50F.

The reason they advise against extended recirc operation is that it can increase humidity and cause microbial growth on the evaporator which ends up causing a musty smell. If you’re running recirc for a long time, just turn it off for a few minutes every now and then to get fresh air. That will help prevent it.

That's interesting. Why would it increase humidity? It would be taking already cool air & repeatedly run it through the evaporator which would cause the humidity to condensate and drip out through the drain tube wouldn't it? Now I'd be more concerned with using up the oxygen & having increasd CO2.

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

If you’re getting 43F out of it that’s pretty good and I wouldn’t expect any better. The new R1234yf systems typically don’t get much colder than 45-50F.

The reason they advise against extended recirc operation is that it can increase humidity and cause microbial growth on the evaporator which ends up causing a musty smell. If you’re running recirc for a long time, just turn it off for a few minutes every now and then to get fresh air. That will help prevent it.

Great, I've always stayed away from using the recirculation mode since my truck was new, thinking it would damage the system, guess I was sweating all these years for nothing, lol. Thanks for your opinion on this, never cared until I started messing with the wifes AC yesterday and her car is now an ice box on wheels, she's happy so I have peace and quiet again, lol. Thanks again.

Kevin

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

43 degrees?
That's only 11 above having your sweat freeze on your face!
How much colder do you want?

Yea, I always avoided using the recirculation mode, guess I was wrong, 6 degrees difference I guess for me makes a difference, thanks for your input.

Kevin

 

[Tach_tech]

That's interesting. Why would it increase humidity? It would be taking already cool air & repeatedly run it through the evaporator which would cause the humidity to condensate and drip out through the drain tube wouldn't it? Now I'd be more concerned with using up the oxygen & having increasd CO2.

Not all the condensation drains though, the evaporator will still be slightly damp. The moisture on the evaporator when the vehicle shuts off can cause the growth and musty smell. This is really only an issue if it’s in recirc for a long time, and it’s very minimal but over time it can cause the growth. The newer systems with humidity sensors will actually automatically open the fresh air intake to help control humidity.

 

[ArmyGrunt66]

Not all the condensation drains though, the evaporator will still be slightly damp. The moisture on the evaporator when the vehicle shuts off can cause the growth and musty smell. This is really only an issue if it’s in recirc for a long time, and it’s very minimal but over time it can cause the growth. The newer systems with humidity sensors will actually automatically open the fresh air intake to help control humidity.

Yea, I usually will turn my AC off and run my fan for a minute or two to clear out any moisture before turning my truck off.