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A/C Issues? Anyone else

Live in AZ and I have the same issues with my A/C, pretty much have to keep it on full blast to keep the cab cool. Never had to keep the A/C running that hard on my '15. I wonder if the issue is only effecting trucks not equipped with dual-zones?
 
Harrison_AZ said:
Live in AZ and I have the same issues with my A/C, pretty much have to keep it on full blast to keep the cab cool. Never had to keep the A/C running that hard on my '15. I wonder if the issue is only effecting trucks not equipped with dual-zones?
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I thought the problem was more common with the upper trim models. I have dual zones with the problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The issue seems to be clustered more around the dual zone systems, but even those without it seem to have issues hence the confusion as to what exactly is the problem
 
Just another data point: wife and I (and dog) headed home yesterday afternoon. 105 and the AC ran nice and quite. Dual temps on auto. We do run a bit higher than @Rich, at 74 on both sides. but the A/C kept up with the fans on low after the first 5 minutes or so of cool-down. I guess I'm lucky for once.
 
Dr__Bob said:
Just another data point: wife and I (and dog) headed home yesterday afternoon. 105 and the AC ran nice and quite. Dual temps on auto. We do run a bit higher than @Rich, at 74 on both sides. but the A/C kept up with the fans on low after the first 5 minutes or so of cool-down. I guess I'm lucky for once.
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You're lucky. I drove our 2012 3500 with NO auto climate control Thursday through Sunday and the AC did o.k. I got in my 2020 2500 Laramie Sunday evening and was just disappointed in the AC. It felt like warm/moist air blowing on me and the auto climate control is unusable. Disappointed for sure.
 
When turning on the AC these trucks do not shut off hot water flow through the under-dash heater radiator.
A fellow on another forum found that when he closed off the heater hose his AC improved a lot.
An easy mod would be to put a shut-off valve in the heater hose flow. Nearly all vehicles in the past had a like valve that operated when the AC was turned on or certain temps reached.
I'm thinking about doing such a mod even though I am not having AC troubles. Can't hurt and an inexpensive improvement
 
John Jensen said:
When turning on the AC these trucks do not shut off hot water flow through the under-dash heater radiator.
A fellow on another forum found that when he closed off the heater hose his AC improved a lot.
An easy mod would be to put a shut-off valve in the heater hose flow. Nearly all vehicles in the past had a like valve that operated when the AC was turned on or certain temps reached.
I'm thinking about doing such a mod even though I am not having AC troubles. Can't hurt and an inexpensive improvement
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John, this mod has been covered here on HDRams in many threads for a few months now as well... Many members participate on many other forums as I know you do too.

I've seen mention of a "blend door redesign" that might be what ramcares alluded to as a "fix in the works."

Great if they do a big recall and that fixes it, but also a bit scary as many dealer dash pulls result in squeaks afterwards. I couldn't even get my dealer to properly fix an A-pillar trim piece installed incorrectly from the plant. They had the door seal captured under it after re-installing the piece.
 
I'd like to hear thoughts on any possible negative effects to the bypass valve and why in the world would ram not just plumb one in if it makes so much difference
 
Rich said:
I'd like to hear thoughts on any possible negative effects to the bypass valve and why in the world would ram not just plumb one in if it makes so much difference
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Rich,
The answer is "here on HDRams in many threads for a few months" :eek:
 
John Jensen said:
Rich,
The answer is "here on HDRams in many threads for a few months" :eek:
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I guess I've been driving to much and not reading enough. Is there a cliff notes version or should I go digging. I've read multiple times that people are doing it, just never noticed what longterm ill effects it could cause
 
Rich said:
I guess I've been driving to much and not reading enough. Is there a cliff notes version or should I go digging. I've read multiple times that people are doing it, just never noticed what longterm ill effects it could cause
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Sorry Rich, I just couldn't pass up quoting Brutal (a little backtalk). :D

The bottom line is there are no negative effects. If you block it off the water still circulates, it just picks another route. I'm no expert, just rephrasing what's been said on the forums.

I like what Brutal said about a possible blend door redesign recall - if they can do it without taking the dash out.
I'm not having any A/C problems so I'm just going to wait and see what transpires. If nothing happens I may do the block off but I looked at the engine compartment and I'm not sure I want to tackle that.
 
Last edited:
Rich,
Here are some quotes:


That's the feed hose which I put a valve in with good results. My AC temp went from 58 down to about 42 after I blocked it off.

A 5/8 barb fits with some stretching of the hose, maybe the hose is like 15mm or something, but it works.

The drain for the radiator is on the driver's side, on the side of the radiator and you can reach it from the top. It's got a place to attach a drain hose and I took a couple gallons out to make sure the line was empty.

No harm in blocking it off, the water pump is what pushes it through and by blocking it, you'll just put all the water through the engine and EGR cooler instead of splitting off to the heater core
 
John Jensen said:
Sorry Rich, I just couldn't pass up quoting Brutal (a little backtalk). :D

The bottom line is there are no negative effects. If you block it off the water still circulates, it just picks another route. I'm no expert, just rephrasing what's been said on the forums.

I like what Brutal said about a possible blend door redesign recall - if they can do it without taking the dash out.
I'm not having any A?C problems so I'm just going to wait and see what transpires. If nothing happens I may do the block off but I looked at the engine compartment and I'm not sure I want to tackle that.
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Hahaha, regular old mister giggles John Jensen. There's only 1 brutal and 1 rich so lets keep 1 John. We definitely don't need 2 of us.
I agree with yah on tackling that job. I'm sure it wouldn't be to bad but something always goes wrong, at least for me anyway. As you know mine works very good but I will never pass up on a better operating product. I read brutal idea that maybe there coming up with a possible blend door redesign recall, wich sounds great, but I'll be the idiot to say, I don't know what that is.
I also just wonder if a bad batch of compressors were bought but I'm sure that's already been discussed as well
 
I created a thread on Cummins forum with pictures/videos. Lots of great insight over there from people chiming in.

www.cumminsforum.com

2019+ AC Hack (Pictures/Videos)

I figured this would be a great thread for any and everyone who is experiencing a weak AC on a 2019+ 2500,3500, etc. I did a quick test with some vice grips and sure enough the air temperature dropped DRASTICALLY! I plan on installing this valve to completely block off all coolant from entering...
www.cumminsforum.com www.cumminsforum.com
 
Has anyone had sucess with Ram providing a fix for this?

Finally getting hot here in Oregon. AC bairly gets cool. Max AC seems more like basic AC. Not like any other vehicle Max AC.
 
3_Rams said:
Has anyone had sucess with Ram providing a fix for this?

Finally getting hot here in Oregon. AC bairly gets cool. Max AC seems more like basic AC. Not like any other vehicle Max AC.
Click to expand...

RamCares posted a couple of weeks ago(?) that a resolution was in the works... I honestly don't expect to see an announcement for *at least* 3-4 months and realistically 6 months.
 
Thanks! Sounds like the fix might be ready mid winter. Well atleast by next summer.

What a waste! running the heat and AC at the same time o_O
 
Here's what I posted on Nick's thread (#275):
#186 • 5 d ago
Installed my valve today. The 5/8" valve slipped right in, wasn't a tight fit as Nick said. Really didn't need to cut a piece out of the hose, did anyway, about 1 1/4" to take the bend out. Moving the overflow hose to the bottle out of the way helped a lot. Overall was easier than I thought.
Thanks, Nick and others.

#190 • 17 h ago
I haven't been on a long enough trip to measure temps but I can tell you there is an improvement. Before the valve was installed, on my normal short routes, the AC is always on auto and @ 70 degrees, the fan would run fairly constantly on high. Same routes, same settings the fan quickly moves off of high to lower settings.
 
I work on heavy equipment diesels everyday and they used manual shut-off valves like for years before computer controlled actuator doors. Some operators will still request we add them because they say it helps the cab stay cooler. Never seen a problem with them in my line of work, some guys would have us put them on both sides of the heater core so if they down the road sprung a leak in the heater core or hoses from vibration they could just shut it off and keep running.
 
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