A/C Issues? Anyone else

[savaytse66]

My wife made a comment today that the a/c doesn't blow as cold as the other truck did (11 1500 Big Horn) and her 15 Grand Cherokee. I agree with her. In the mornings going to work it's cold as a freezer. In the afternoons in the sun (70s to 80's temps it's a very noticeable difference. I've also noticed that in the mornings when outside temps are very low, that if I turn the dial up a notch or two from max cold, the air gets very warm quick! Dunno what the answer to this is.

Yes! That hot air is exactly what I've experienced over the last week during cool (low 50s) mornings. I mentioned earlier that with an AC set of of 70 I was getting 130 degree air! I had a revelation today that it MIGHT only occur when I also have the rear defroster on, but I have not been able to test this and verify.

 

[AndyS]

Are the 1500 guys experiencing the same thing or is the a HD issue only?

 

[Gondul]

Are the 1500 guys experiencing the same thing or is the a HD issue only?

This has been an issue with 1500s since rolled out lat year... my 2019 1500 had the same problem. However, FCA/RAM won't call it a 'problem' as it is working within spec... the problem is that the spec sucks.

 

[Jugular]

Having a "spec" for air conditioning that doesn't let the truck cool down to comfortable levels on hot days is a pretty significant failure in my mind. It is honestly the one thing that is stopping me from ordering at the moment...just hoping to hear that the spec gets changed.

 

[AndyS]

I'm curious to what exactly they did to change the spec. Would it be something relatively simple? (Im not an automotive hvac guy so i do not know).

 

[RamCares]

My wife made a comment today that the a/c doesn't blow as cold as the other truck did (11 1500 Big Horn) and her 15 Grand Cherokee. I agree with her. In the mornings going to work it's cold as a freezer. In the afternoons in the sun (70s to 80's temps it's a very noticeable difference. I've also noticed that in the mornings when outside temps are very low, that if I turn the dial up a notch or two from max cold, the air gets very warm quick! Dunno what the answer to this is.

Hi AndyS,
We certainly understand why this concern is frustrating. If you are considering having this addressed by your dealer feel free to private message us!
Laura
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[IronByron]

Having a "spec" for air conditioning that doesn't let the truck cool down to comfortable levels on hot days is a pretty significant failure in my mind. It is honestly the one thing that is stopping me from ordering at the moment...just hoping to hear that the spec gets changed.

I can assure you my 2500 (2019 6.7L) is working like a champ. It’s been in the mid 90’s and humid as hell here in the midwest. My truck is operating no different than any other vehicle I have ever owned (nice and cold). I wouldn’t make your decision of those having issue.

 

[Jugular]

I can assure you my 2500 (2019 6.7L) is working like a champ. It’s been in the mid 90’s and humid as hell here in the midwest. My truck is operating no different than any other vehicle I have ever owned (nice and cold). I wouldn’t make your decision of those having issue.

Good to hear one good report on the AC! Maybe I'll have to test for myself on a hot day (if we have anymore in the PNW).

 

[Gondul]

I can assure you my 2500 (2019 6.7L) is working like a champ. It’s been in the mid 90’s and humid as hell here in the midwest. My truck is operating no different than any other vehicle I have ever owned (nice and cold). I wouldn’t make your decision of those having issue.

Glad it is working for you... however here in Central Florida (95° and 85% humidity on a good day) it has been mediocre....

 

[IronByron]

Glad it is working for you... however here in Central Florida (95° and 85% humidity on a good day) it has been mediocre....

The day I wrote that, it hit 94° and not far from that on humidity.

 

[2019_Ram]

Has anyone who has cooling issues tested their expansion valve's function? Maybe they had a bad batch of valves produced that only allowed marginal cooling?

Prior to seeing this, I had been told you test an expansion valve by seeing how long the high and low side pressures take to equalize after shutting down the system, typically in 1-2 minutes.
https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/how-to-test-car-expansion-valve/

I would be very interested to see the results on a truck with poor cooling and one with good cold air.

As expected, I returned from the dealer a couple of days ago and they could find nothing wrong, as the "computer" said the truck passed all tests including the cool down test. These tests must be graded on a huge curve to pass 99.9% of all cases. I wish it had found something as then the tech could have had a reason to hook up a set of gauges to the truck and see what it is actually doing, and possibly correctly diagnose it. This inadequate AC on this truck is a HUGE negative, especially when I enjoy the rest of the truck so much.

When it warms up again, I may have to visit an AC shop and get their opinion on what is causing the poor cooling.

 

[Zrojas]

I have an A/C RRR machine and I have performed several performance tests. I have not found specs on the new expansion valves, but they are a different part number than previous years. I would like to know the full specifications of the valve, and particularly the superheat.

Additionally, it seems that the computer may be arbitrarily controlling the compressor clutch circuit. The high side pressure lower than I would expect. I plan to do more testing when I have time again.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[2019_Ram]

If you are able to find out anything, please share. It's great you have the equipment available to do the diagnosis yourself.

 

[Matfam1]

I have an A/C RRR machine and I have performed several performance tests. I have not found specs on the new expansion valves, but they are a different part number than previous years. I would like to know the full specifications of the valve, and particularly the superheat.

Additionally, it seems that the computer may be arbitrarily controlling the compressor clutch circuit. The high side pressure lower than I would expect. I plan to do more testing when I have time again.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

As an HVAC tech I have a pretty good understanding of refrigeration circuits. I would expect superheat to be between 10 and 20F, sub-cooling should be about the same. High superheat and low sub-cooling= low charge (most likely) high superheat and high sub-cooling = a circuit restriction.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BigBlack]

There is a video on you tube with a 2019 Ram 3500 that takes his in to the dealer for the same reason. He finds out from the dealer that the Freon is low. Wonder if they’re all coming out that way

 

[Gondul]

There is a video on you tube with a 2019 Ram 3500 that takes his in to the dealer for the same reason. He finds out from the dealer that the Freon is low. Wonder if they’re all coming out that way

If I'm not not mistaken, there have been one or tow folks who have had the system purged and re-filled with little/no improvement.

 

[AndyS]

Perhaps Ram has a possible fix for this? I don't get why Ram/FCA is in such denial over this....
In this video

someone commented on their experience. I took a screenshot of the comment so it would be easier to read.

 

[Gondul]

Perhaps Ram has a possible fix for this? I don't get why Ram/FCA is in such denial over this....

Saying you effed up is a hard pill to swallow... especially for a manufacturer because now you're paying out your earning to cover the replacement of all the defective units.
I hope they have finally conceded there is a problem as it has been going on since the 2019 1500's rolled out.

 

[OuachitaAdventure]

Perhaps Ram has a possible fix for this? I don't get why Ram/FCA is in such denial over this....
In this video

someone commented on their experience. I took a screenshot of the comment so it would be easier to read.

I sent that comment to FCA yesterday. Waiting to see if they have a response.

 

[Ruffone]

I was driving my 2019 Ram 2500 yesterday when something happened to my A/C that got me thinking. I was on the interstate going a steady 5 mph over the speed limit with the cruise control on. I got hot so I turned on the A/C, after about 10 minutes the air coming out of the vents was not cold but it wasn’t hot either. I was still hot so I turned on the Max A/C. After about 5 minutes the air coming out of the vents really hadn’t changed temperature wise much, the CFMs were there just no cold air. Then I remembered that FCA added the active grille shutters to these trucks. They say they added them to help with the aerodynamics while cruising to help improve the mpg. They say they open and shut based on the engine temperature. So with that thought in mind, I turned off the cruise control and started doing some spirited driving to raise the engine temperature. Once the engine temperature started rising I am assuming the grill shutters must have opened up, because all of a sudden the temperature of the air coming out of my A/C vents plummeted to where they should be for Max A/C. With the A/C condenser being sandwiched between the radiator and these new active shutters, not enough air must be flowing across the condenser for it to do its job properly when the shutters are closed. I’m a Project Manager for one of the big 3 A/C manufacturers so I kind of know my way around A/C systems, BUT... like was mentioned above, I am not familiar with how they plumbed Or programmed the A/C systems in these trucks. Do they have bypass valves that could be causing the issue, if so what kind of program did they write to control the valves?? Since I was driving the truck and I was at highway speeds I was obviously not able to physically watch the shutters operate. This is just my assumption based on my knowledge and also from reading the forums over on the 1500 site. A lot of the people over there have removed their active grill shutters and it seemed to cure a lot of the temperature issues they were having, both engine and A/C issues. And it seems there’s a 50/50 split with some saying they haven’t noticed an mpg drop and some saying they have after removing the shutters. I could be way off base though, just a thought...