Nobody can figure out AC problem

[davekrave]

I have a 2006 Ram 2500 5.9 L diesel. I bought the truck used and the AC never worked.
Took the truck to Dodge and had them inspect it for a fee. I was told something was not allowing flow through my condenser. I tried to use my extended warranty and was told they would only replace my compressor.
As it seems the compressor blew up and parts went all through the system. Since the warranty would only cover the compressor for some unknown reason ( which was also determined to be bad ) the shop replaced the compressor and put a charge on the system to see if it would pass any refrigerant.
Why they could NOT determine the root cause without ***** nilly having to replace every part i do not know. Thats not how i operate nor would expect a professional shop to operate. i am withholding the name of the Dodge dealer because I"m not sure of the rules of the forum.
So.. after paying my deductable and some other charges I go down the road with a broken AC system. but got a new compressor out of the warranty at least.
I took the truck home, and knowing a little about AC, replaced the condenser, origice tube, and filter. I did find the old orifice tube to be blocked solid. I took a hack saw and dissected it and found the orifice itself to be TOTALLY blocked with debris. So.. throwing away old orifice tube, replacing basically everything except EVAP coil.. i put a vacuum pump on it and pulled it down to 30 inches. The vacumm held all night long and still showed 30 hg on a good gauge set over night.
I charged the system with about 28 oz of r134a and some oil.
I still have no AC and my suction pressure is running 180 lbs. My discharge pressure the same 180.
It doesnt appear i'm getting any flow through my evap for some reason. I took the filter out, cut it in half and found it to be normal. I blew air through the evap to see if its blocked and i get good flow. At this point no idea. what to try. I'm afraid to take it to a dealer again as the failed miserably first time. I'm ready to check the orifice tube once again for blockage. The only other thing i can think of is the compressor is shot.
NO idea at this point. Please help. any idea opinions all welcome. Any recommendation for a good mechanic or shop in Sac Vacaville area would also be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[emjohn4]

Sounds like you still have something blocking the system.

You need to remove the orfice tube and have the system flushed to get the debris out of it.

Then get an OEM orfice tube.

Install, and evacuate the system; recharge, and you should be G2G.

 

[davekrave]

I was thinking the same thing.
I can say that first time i fired it up with new parts, it seemed to be cooling for a while and then the suction pressure went sky high. Its as though something went through and clogged things up .
I would have thought that the filter would have caught something but it wasn't plugged.
Last question, if the orifice tube was plugged wouldn't that cause discharge pressure to go high? Seems to me orifice tube is down stream of condenser...

 

[Anthony C]

Ok, if the orfice is blocked. The suction side will go into (BLUE GAUGE) a vacum, 180 PSIG on both sides of the system tells me the compressor is either no good, or it's not runnung. Normal suction pressure varies from 35 PSIG to 45 PSIG depending on the ambient temperature. The discharge pressure should be anywhere (RED GAUGE) from 250 PSIG to 350 PSIG, again depending on the ambient temperature. Check your connections at the compressure, the system should have a safety switch somewhere. Not sure where it is. Not enough freon in the system, and the compressor will not engauge. A bad (high pressure cut out) HPCO switch, the compressor will not run either. Take your time, don't get in a hurry. Once it's repaired you'll enjoy the cool air. Let me know what you find, I hope I've helped some.

 

[BigSloth]

^^^ close. A restricted orifice tube filter will not cause the low side to go into vacuum, the low pressure cutoff switch on mopars will disable the compressor when low pressure reaches 18psi to avoid freeze ups and running the compressor dry.

Low side pressure can vary from 30-55psi, High from 150-325, both depending on ambient temp. Agreed the compressor is not running.

But first things first, compressor is not running. Check for voltage at the AC compressor clutch relay, located in the PDC. If no voltage is present, something is stopping it. Check the aforementioned cutoff switches. If voltage is present, and if the relay is functioning, check for voltage at the connector to the compressor clutch.If voltage is present at the compressor clutch, but the clutch is not engaging, check the resistance across the clutch field coil. Should read less than 10ohms. If it reads OL or 0, coil is bad and compressor replacement is needed.

 

[tommyboy]

I can't believe that they would put a compressor in and not change the orifice tube and refrigerant filter. I don't really work on Car AC systems, but I do commercial HVACR for a living. We see all kinds of clogged filter driers and metering devices such as orifices and TXVs. You should see that stuff that comes out of them. Any luck?

 

[Kalifas]

I own a 2006 Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins. After a year or so with constants AC problems I look into the Wiring diagram myself and devised a solution. It seemed to me that the Totally Integrated Power Module was protecting itself when enabling the AC clutch, I noticed this when I would turn my AC on and the compressor would kick in and out and after this the AC clutch wire blue with yellow stripe, did not show 12v anymore. I turned off the truck and within a few minutes turned the ignition switch back on with the compressor disconnected and the blue/yellow stripe wire was showing 12v again, I wired up a salve relay with a 10 amp fuse and solved the problem once and for all after a few hundred dollars down the drain. I figure now that either my compressor is about to give up or the new clutch is not good quality. I hope this is helpful for somebody out there!

 

[xb1230]

What I don't get is that when something in an A/C system goes bad enough to spread debris in the system, everything should be replaced as any remaining debris can wreck havoc in any of the new parts, thus only breaking anything that was replaced...

Whenever, I have found debris in an A/C system I have replaced the whole thing to ensure nothing bad is left in the circuit that could cause frustration (best case scenario), or more damage to newly replaced parts (worst case scenario).

Just saying...

 

[SnipeoffYT]

Hey guys we replaced the entire AC system and fan clutch and some other parts, on our 2004 Dodge 2500.
We also did the recharge ourselves, here is a video showing everything we did check it out.
Hope this Helps

 

[Mccoy1256]

Hey guys we replaced the entire AC system and fan clutch and some other parts, on our 2004 Dodge 2500.
We also did the recharge ourselves, here is a video showing everything we did check it out.
Hope this Helps

Where’s the video

 

[crazykid1994]

Where’s the video

You are 3 years late to their post and as that’s their only post on that account I doubt they will reply. But given this is your first post as well I forgive you.

 

[jawzs2]

You are 3 years late to their post and as that’s their only post on that account I doubt they will reply. But given this is your first post as well I forgive you.

Yep - at least he used the search feature and his first post wasn't "has anybody on here ever have an A/C problem?"