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Air conditioning Hack

ColoradoCub said:
If you let any hot coolant into the HVAC box then you will not get the results of colder AC form the hack. I have tested it with my valve by closing it all the way and then cracking it and as soon as I let any coolant past the valve the AC suffers. There’s a blend door issue for sure and the only way to not let the hot air blend with the cold on the drivers side is to block all coolant flow.
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In my experience you're incorrect. Yes, allowing any coolant to flow will reduce just how cold the AC gets. But minimal coolant flow is still colder AC than stock. Plus you need some heated coolant for the HVAC system to still function properly otherwise you're getting cold air all the time (might be fine in the middle of summer, but I'm at the point we're getting hot days and cool nights). It takes 5-10 minutes for the coolant to get warm in the core with minimal flow, so you get really cold AC from the get-go when you need it most. Not only that, but I don't think having stagnant coolant in the heater core for months is a good idea.

barakutha said:
Gave this hack a shot.. it's freezing cold!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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You can use the smaller 1 inch clamp instead of the huge one.
 
So to update I heard back from the dealer that it was fixed, went to pick it up and all they did was replace a line again that they said was leaking. Even though they and Chrysler agreed that issue was in the plenum they refused to try to do the repair. When I went to pick it up the AC was worse then before I took it in. The general manager tried to tell me my temp probe was off which I assumed was true but only by a few degrees. When I showed them it was only getting down to 65 degrees and asked if the tech was retarded or what the problem was the general manager told me to take it somewhere else then. When I played the voicemail of the corporate case manager telling that they were not going to replace the line and that they were to pull the dash the dealership said the case manager was lying. I think @RamCares doesnt care about or AC issues at all. This sucks tremendously
 
392DCGC said:
In my experience you're incorrect. Yes, allowing any coolant to flow will reduce just how cold the AC gets. But minimal coolant flow is still colder AC than stock. Plus you need some heated coolant for the HVAC system to still function properly otherwise you're getting cold air all the time (might be fine in the middle of summer, but I'm at the point we're getting hot days and cool nights). It takes 5-10 minutes for the coolant to get warm in the core with minimal flow, so you get really cold AC from the get-go when you need it most. Not only that, but I don't think having stagnant coolant in the heater core for months is a good idea.


You can use the smaller 1 inch clamp instead of the huge one.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying as to what you need, I too am at the time of year where the nights are finally cooling off so it’s 50’s in the mornings and have cracked my valve open to be able to get a little heat. All I was saying is if you are in 100 deg Texas or Arizona and you don’t have 50 deg mornings , keeping the valve closed all the way or clamped all the way is the only way to go. For me in my testing as soon as I alllow the 220 deg coolant into the heater box even a little bit with the valve , my mid 40’s AC temps go away and it’s back to blowing low to mid 50’s. YMMV.
 
Gsmith223 said:
So to update I heard back from the dealer that it was fixed, went to pick it up and all they did was replace a line again that they said was leaking. Even though they and Chrysler agreed that issue was in the plenum they refused to try to do the repair. When I went to pick it up the AC was worse then before I took it in. The general manager tried to tell me my temp probe was off which I assumed was true but only by a few degrees. When I showed them it was only getting down to 65 degrees and asked if the tech was retarded or what the problem was the general manager told me to take it somewhere else then. When I played the voicemail of the corporate case manager telling that they were not going to replace the line and that they were to pull the dash the dealership said the case manager was lying. I think @RamCares doesnt care about or AC issues at all. This sucks tremendously
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Wow, some of these services managers are complete wack jobs, and incompetent!
 
So no resolutions from Ram still. After the hack worked for me I checked out. It's been months but really sad to see we are still exactly where I left off. The good news is my AC is killer with the hack.
 
While the hack has worked great for getting the air cold, Im still disappointed overall. In the morning s here in south Florida, the humid mixed air fogs up the windshield at dawn so bad I can’t see at all. So I cracked the clamp slightly open which allows some heat and makes the windshield moderately safe to view out of now the ac In the dead of day heat is back to unacceptable. Not quite as bad as stock but still pisses me off.

I can’t believe such a great truck can have such a big flaw. And we love it so much, we put up with it. Perhaps class action is in order.
 
Good luck with that.......(class action lawsuit)

reggiejp3 said:
While the hack has worked great for getting the air cold, Im still disappointed overall. Not quite as bad as stock but still pisses me off.
I can’t believe such a great truck can have such a big flaw. And we love it so much, we put up with it. Perhaps class action is in order.
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brian42 said:
I thinks it's R-1234yf and that's what has been in the RAMs for a few years now.

I'm pretty sure I could pull off to the side of the road and drink it if I got thirsty. ;)
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I don't know if you're just joking but the hack proves the new 1234yf is not the problem. I have the hack in my truck and where I live in California, when I go into the desert with temps of 115 degrees without the hack my AC blows 53 degrees...with the hack it blows 40 degrees almost instantly and can get down to 38 degrees. Hack vs. no hack is like driving two different trucks. The freon is NOT the issue. Also, someone else asked about the 1234yf being flammable, and YES it is flammable. As a fact, Mercedes stopped using the 1234yf just because of this flammable issue, and stated the potential safety issues. But again, the freon is not the issue for our trucks not getting good consistent cold air. I'd like to thank KcRay again for the brilliant solution to our AC issue - at the very least helps to show Ram there is in fact an issue and it also helps to eliminate a lot of things so it can be rectified once and for all. Thanks KcRay!!!!!!!!!!
 
Since I’ve owned my truck and been on this forum (which I was also looking thru pretty heavily before getting my truck), I’ve always thought my A/C wasn’t as good as other vehicles I’ve owned. Got my windows tinted to include a light tint on the windshield with hopes of helping keep the cab cooler so the a/c didn’t feel as bad. I’ll admit it did help and my truck does cool down much quicker. But today I was out getting some pizza for the family and stopped at the local autozone as it was right across the street and got a temp gauge. All I’m going to say is I am definitely going to do the a/c modification now. It was low to mid 90s here in Central Valley, ca and I was getting 60* sitting and idling, and about 50* cruising at 72-74mph. I’m kind of ashamed of the performance. Almost makes me want to take it in to at least check and see if the system is full or not. But regardless, for less than $20, I can get much (and dare I say proper) performance of my climate control system.
 
Harder to find the clamps here in Canada but ended up getting some off eBay from China. Quality of them is to be expected (chrome flaking off in the package...) but they do clamp which is all I needed. Didn't close the hose completely as I do need heat the odd morning for the windshield but am happy. Noticed the change right away and still have a bit of heat for the mornings. Cooler weather is making more rattles apparent but that's another issue to worry about later. With the clamps I'll be ready for next summer now!
 
MQQSE said:
The freon is NOT the issue.
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I agree.

My last truck was a Ford F-250 that had the same flowpath (constant flow through the heater core except for MAX A/C). Cooling was worse on that truck than on these. I installed a ball valve on the heater return line to regulate flow and improve A/C performance on that truck years ago but refuse to do that on this one. I had enough manual modifications on my last one that I almost needed a pre-flight checklist. While it made the A/C a lot better it became annoying to deal with that every time I drove (and sometimes during if the temp changed enough during the drive).

I'm not hip enough on the different HVAC designs that auto manufacturers use (that seem to be more effective) but I don't see how you design the flow out of the heater core in any setting. How would you accomplish dual zone climate control (one side hot and one side cold)?
 
Zeronet said:
I think those clamps are too small. I used 7/8-1”. The hose inside diameter is 5/8 but the outside of the hose is much larger.
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I ended up just ordering the valve off amazon as it’s $2 cheaper, and I don’t need 6’ of hose and that many clamps. Thanks for heads up tho, I’ll be sure to get a big enough clamp for the hose.
 
Ready to install, not including the harbor freight clamp to stop coolant flow for install I spent about $12. Plus I went a little extra and high temp painted the valve body. Also, for anyone who hasn’t tried to find out, the valve has 11 full turns from full close to full open.4CEC38FF-7BA6-45B5-9D07-E9BA1C3AFE21.jpeg
 
Cross88 said:
Ready to install, not including the harbor freight clamp to stop coolant flow for install I spent about $12. Plus I went a little extra and high temp painted the valve body. Also, for anyone who hasn’t tried to find out, the valve has 11 full turns from full close to full open.View attachment 36002
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Thanks Cross88, these 32 pages and 500+ posts show that not only did FCA mess up big-time by not admitting and fixing the issue but that the forum is an invaluable tool for owners. Things like this as well as other fixes really are a positive for your and other's ingenuity. Your pics and hopefully soon to be posted results (hint) are great!
 
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