2001 Ram, regular cab, 2-wd, Laramie (leather interior) 5.2L engine, about 42k miles, bought it new, don't drive it that much. I don't use the A/C that often, usually in the summer I'll just have the windows open. A few years ago I noticed the A/C compressor was engaging and then dis-engaging way too often, even though I didn't have the cabin control set to A/C. So I unplugged the compressor clutch wire and problem solved.
Earlier this year when I did a highway trip and naturally had the windows closed I had re-connected the clutch but I had practically no cooling. Long story short I used a can of Red-Tek and brought the freon up and the clutch cycled way less often and I get nice cooling. Might need to dump another can into it.
But what I'm really wondering - the interior hvac control knob has 2 settings that are obviously marked as A/C. One has the A/C symbol and a duct arrow (either floor or dash) and the other setting says something like "Max A/C". So I'm assuming that the only time the A/C should engage should be either of those 2 A/C settings and also for the defrost setting. So when I only want outdoor air to come in (upper duct, floor duct or both) the A/C should not engage - but I find that it does (hence that's why I unplugged the clutch wire). I also find that even on a cool day (ie 55 to 65 f) that when I have the temp knob all the way to the cold side (and again no A/C because clutch is disconnected) that the air coming into the cab is not very cool. It's not hot, but it's not as cool as outdoor ambient. Is this normal? Or was the A/C always designed to kick-on regardless of the position of the selector knob?
Earlier this year when I did a highway trip and naturally had the windows closed I had re-connected the clutch but I had practically no cooling. Long story short I used a can of Red-Tek and brought the freon up and the clutch cycled way less often and I get nice cooling. Might need to dump another can into it.
But what I'm really wondering - the interior hvac control knob has 2 settings that are obviously marked as A/C. One has the A/C symbol and a duct arrow (either floor or dash) and the other setting says something like "Max A/C". So I'm assuming that the only time the A/C should engage should be either of those 2 A/C settings and also for the defrost setting. So when I only want outdoor air to come in (upper duct, floor duct or both) the A/C should not engage - but I find that it does (hence that's why I unplugged the clutch wire). I also find that even on a cool day (ie 55 to 65 f) that when I have the temp knob all the way to the cold side (and again no A/C because clutch is disconnected) that the air coming into the cab is not very cool. It's not hot, but it's not as cool as outdoor ambient. Is this normal? Or was the A/C always designed to kick-on regardless of the position of the selector knob?
