AC - does anyone have a truck that blows ice cold?

[thenrich]

My AC is Blows Arctic Cold Air that will throw your hair back.. Best AC I have ever had in any vehicle... I have a Longhorn

I hope to see many more comments like this.

 

[WhitbyRam]

So far it is comparable to the '13 Ram that I traded, will be happy if it stays so.

 

[Patsy1099]

I have been following these ac threads as well. I have only had to deal with a handful of 85 degree days (truck temp reads 95-99 sitting in the sun) so not enough data yet. The truck has taken about 10 minutes to cool down which is fine for me if it remains that way as temps increase in the summer. My setting has been on Auto btw and I turn it down to 68 until everything is nice and cool, then back up to 70. We shall see.

Maybe I’m just getting old but I don’t like it when the AC blows ice cubes. It feels hot all around me and then freezing streams of air. Like jumping into a cold pool! My personal opinion is that the ac should be able to cool the vehicle down in 10 minutes and maintain your desired temp thereafter. I find it is also helpful if when you first get in your vehicle you open the rear windows at least half way. That allows the ac air to push the stagnant hot air from front/back and out of the truck. I always do that for a few minutes just to get rid of the hot air sitting in the truck.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Forums always bring out the dissatisfied owners and unless you're a gearhead/car enthusiast, the satisfied majority never show up. I happen to be up in Michigan and I had picked up a metal chard of some sort near the outside edge of a tire. I found a Ram dealer that had my 22's in stock. I went there to pull out the metal and see what happened. No air leak so all good. Anyway, because this ac thing is such a hot topic here I took time to wander over to the service writers. Asked what kind of consistent issues they are seeing. Uconnect and the 12" screen complaints are brought in. I asked about ac. Hardly anyone complaining at this dealership up here. Same type of answer at my hometown dealership in hot, humid Florida.

Now can this truck make it like a meat locker? I don't know. That's stupid cold for me and likely most people. I've never had any passengers complaining about it being hot.

 

[wwalljr]

Mine works. It’s cold. As good as anything else I drive.

 

[BeauxXL1200]

Yay! Real data from one of those thermo-meter dohickeys!

43-44F is the best I have seen from the center vents when its around 90F+ outside as well - and that is with the heater core clamped off at the pump.

I have a couple of other cars in the driveway to test and they'll consistently produce air in the mid 30s.

Roger this. I have my hose clamped off and the center vent, drivers side air will now get down to about 44 degrees on a ninety degree day. Before installing the clamp, the coldest it would blow was 52 - 53 degrees. My last vehicle, a 2015 Mustang GT, would easily blow 42 degrees even on the hottest of days. But 44 degrees is acceptable. Too bad we have to Jerry rig our truck’s AC to get it down to an acceptable level.

 

[Jtr]

Roger this. I have my hose clamped off and the center vent, drivers side air will now get down to about 44 degrees on a ninety degree day. Before installing the clamp, the coldest it would blow was 52 - 53 degrees. My last vehicle, a 2015 Mustang GT, would easily blow 42 degrees even on the hottest of days. But 44 degrees is acceptable. Too bad we have to Jerry rig our truck’s AC to get it down to an acceptable level.

And on a really hot day in the sun with a cabin temperature around 120°, 52-53° just doesn't cut it. That really is my biggest peeve. It takes a long time right now to cool the cabin down.

 

[Lize]

I'll be interested to see what mine is like when it arrives. The AC in my Maloo is pretty useless which considering its Australian is a bit surprising. Its round 77 today (hot for this time of year in the UK ) and was thinking about how poor its always been but only considered it since reading the various threads here. Interestingly I have a 2001 Toyota RAV4 which has never been re-gassed and previous owner hardly ever used it, not climate control just user twiddly knobs but on max settings your legs and arms feel like they are literally freezing within a couple of minutes, almost too good!

 

[Tom488]

Roger this. I have my hose clamped off and the center vent, drivers side air will now get down to about 44 degrees on a ninety degree day. Before installing the clamp, the coldest it would blow was 52 - 53 degrees.

I've been seeing 44°F out of the driver's side center vent consistently here, and I have not yet bypassed my heater core. Granted, it's only been around 85°F here in NJ, so it's not a true stress test. Once the temps come up more, I'm planning on doing the bypass if the vent temps rise accordingly.

 

[brewdad]

Was in mid to upper 90's most days last month here in L. A. (Lower Alabama). My son's August 18 Laramie build is as cold as any vehicle I have driven and I started driving in 1960. Getting into a vehicle that has been in hot sun you should always crack a window a couple inches for first few minutes---it will cool off much faster. It's hard to believe someone would change their mind about buying a Ram from just reading a thread of complaining owners. I am just waiting for the split tailgate option to open and I will be ordering my 2020 Rebel.

 

[BeauxXL1200]

Was in mid to upper 90's most days last month here in L. A. (Lower Alabama). My son's August 18 Laramie build is as cold as any vehicle I have driven and I started driving in 1960. Getting into a vehicle that has been in hot sun you should always crack a window a couple inches for first few minutes---it will cool off much faster. It's hard to believe someone would change their mind about buying a Ram from just reading a thread of complaining owners. I am just waiting for the split tailgate option to open and I will be ordering my 2020 Rebel.

Glad to hear your Son’s not having any issues with his AC, Brewdad. Have you guys measured the temp coming out of the center vents when the AC is on its lowest setting? Without clamping the hose, the lowest mine will get to is 52 - 53 degrees. Clamped, it’s getting down to about 44 degrees. While 52 - 53 degrees is not horrible if the outside temp is not too hot, we’re already getting 90 to 95 degree days here in Central Texas, and the 100 plus days will be here soon. I’m just curious as to how cold a properly functioning Ram AC wii get down to.

Thanks.

 

[gpbst3]

I just came out of a 14 Tundra. The Tundra I believe only had 5 fan speed settings. I rarely had to have the fan above level 2 after the initial cool off. The Ram has 7 or 8 fan settings. I have only had the Ram for about a month and regularly have the fan between 2-4. Initially I thought it seemed weaker but the addition of the extra speed setting makes the Tundra fan 2 setting equal to the Ram fan 4 setting. I have not measured the actual temp from the vent. I have not had full summer heat yet so its still difficult to tell.

 

[Maestro]

I've been seeing 44°F out of the driver's side center vent consistently here, and I have not yet bypassed my heater core. Granted, it's only been around 85°F here in NJ, so it's not a true stress test. Once the temps come up more, I'm planning on doing the bypass if the vent temps rise accordingly.

On a 81°F day I was only getting 64°F out of the driver's center vent (DCV). Basically same as what I get on a 93°F day. I think that just means the cabin is insulated well, not that the system is unstressed. I suspect your 44°F will be consistent right on through the summer. To be clear, my truck is the worst performing one I have read about on this forum: I doubt I'd even be hre if I could get into the mid-50s with the DCV.

 

[Willwork4truck]

A couple threads below yours is this one:
RAM AC poor performance TWITTER/FACEBOOK
Maybe look at it for info.

One member posted a hack to the AC that he said removed the mixing of warm coolant/air from the system, at least I think that's what he said the issue was. (edit - see Tom488 above, it was bypassing the heater core) He was getting readings in the 30's I believe.
You can probably find it or maybe Speedy down in Tx knows which one it was.

Is your interior black? That or sitting awhile sure heat soaks the padding and carpet.

 

[parnine]

MODERATOR - AC threads should be combined and the documents in the other and now here, should be a 'sticky'.

Per Jhill, https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/air-conditioning-hack.10150/page-2, posting of the Service troubleshooting guide for AC, and reposted for this thread, it seems the AC is 'working as designed' for most people who are posting and it is not designed to blow 30 degree temps, thus the 'hack' to bypass the heater core or adjust hot water flow through the core as this increased the air temp.

Personally, I think blowing 55 degree air when it is 90-100 degrees outside is not a very good design, and at these ambient temperatures it should be blowing in the low 40s as most trucks/cars do.

But it is not a question of something 'not working', rather a question of 'design'.

In playing around with the AC yesterday, Sunny 95 degrees, I found that using the 'AC' on with 'recirculate' active, and temp at the lowest setting (not using AUTO) produced the coldest air - which made no sense since 'Max AC' I thought was in essence the same thing - but this was not a very scientific test.

 

[BeauxXL1200]

MODERATOR - AC threads should be combined and the documents in the other and now here, should be a 'sticky'.

Per Jhill, https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/air-conditioning-hack.10150/page-2, posting of the Service troubleshooting guide for AC, and reposted for this thread, it seems the AC is 'working as designed' for most people who are posting and it is not designed to blow 30 degree temps, thus the 'hack' to bypass the heater core or adjust hot water flow through the core as this increased the air temp.

Personally, I think blowing 55 degree air when it is 90-100 degrees outside is not a very good design, and at these ambient temperatures it should be blowing in the low 40s as most trucks/cars do.

But it is not a question of something 'not working', rather a question of 'design'.

In playing around with the AC yesterday, Sunny 95 degrees, I found that using the 'AC' on with 'recirculate' active, and temp at the lowest setting (not using AUTO) produced the coldest air - which made no sense since 'Max AC' I thought was in essence the same thing - but this was not a very scientific test.

It always seemed to me, in the many vehicles that I’ve owned, that Max AC is nothing more than the system going down to it’s lowest temp setting and the fan going up to its highest setting. i.e. no real change in the temp.

 

[runamuck]

the air coming out of mine does not seem really cold like the 2017 sierra I had but it moves a lot of air thru the seats and having air registers for the back seat area helps cool the cabin down pretty quick.

 

[Vespid]

I find my AC to work exceptionally well. Had record heat here last week with temps in the high 90s everyday, no problems getting the ambient temp in the cabin down to the low 70s in short order. September 18 build.

 

[Rampat]

Mine is black on black and I live in south Florida where the midday highs have been around 92-94 lately. It takes maybe 5 mins to get comfortable and then I raise the Auto temp to between 72-74 most days. I have no problems with that.

 

[Edwards]

I've been following all the AC posts because a good working AC system is a must in TX. I've had no complaints with how mine has operated but today I broke out the infrared thermometer to check the vent temps after it had cooled off. With fan on low, temp lo, and recirc on it was only making 63 on the driver's center stack and 53 on the passenger's. Looks like I'm right in line with the others. I guess I just don't park in places where the truck gets heat soaked.

I am looking for a cooler air fix though. Heck's it's just barely June.