KcRay
Well-Known Member
Your family will soon be complaining that they are cold.
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Air conditioning Hack
- Thread starter KcRay
- Start date
Bypassing heater cores is how heat used to work on cars back when we had slider controls that just opened and closed the heater core valve. I wish they still controlled water flow to heater core some. There is no reason for that 200 degree water to be inside the cab when the a/c is on. Whether they think they are controlling air flow or not.
2019 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 - Crew Cab/5.7 Bed - 5.7 Hemi - 3.92 - Anti Spin - Level 1 Options - RamBox - BUG
2019 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 - Crew Cab/5.7 Bed - 5.7 Hemi - 3.92 - Anti Spin - Level 1 Options - RamBox - BUG
Le_Slacker
Ram Guru
I’ve had the need for A/C twice so far
First time I was by myself. Wasn’t freeIng but it seemed ‘adequate’ and I thought it needs to be better
I ordered the valve and other parts needed. No chance to install them before the next time we needed a cool truck.
Ran it like the previous time, I thought it was adequate again, but my wife and daughter were also in the truck this time and I thought I’d wait and see what they said/complain. After a while, I asked my daughter I’m back, she said “I’m fine”.... 11 year olds
Don’t care.... and before I could ask my wife, she’s shutting off her vents and telling me she’s cold. And I’m still finding it just adequate....
At some point this week, I’ll do this ‘fix’
First time I was by myself. Wasn’t freeIng but it seemed ‘adequate’ and I thought it needs to be better
I ordered the valve and other parts needed. No chance to install them before the next time we needed a cool truck.
Ran it like the previous time, I thought it was adequate again, but my wife and daughter were also in the truck this time and I thought I’d wait and see what they said/complain. After a while, I asked my daughter I’m back, she said “I’m fine”.... 11 year olds
Don’t care.... and before I could ask my wife, she’s shutting off her vents and telling me she’s cold. And I’m still finding it just adequate....
At some point this week, I’ll do this ‘fix’
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KNGSNK11
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Tried this on my ecodiesel today but used the harbor freight hose clamps. I used a cheesy thermometer from autozone and on my way to HF the temp was reading just under 60* the ambient temp according to the truck was 87* no idea on humidity as I didn't check that.
Made it to HF bought the clamp set and installed it, drove back to my hotel (22miles) and the a/c was down to 50* roughly hard to get an exact reading on this thermometer.
I'm working in the Houston/Baytown area so at the time when I installed it the ambient temp according to the truck was roughly 90* so it helped drop it some but I usually have my auto set at 68-72 in the cab, but that may change now that I'm back in Houston.
Made it to HF bought the clamp set and installed it, drove back to my hotel (22miles) and the a/c was down to 50* roughly hard to get an exact reading on this thermometer.
I'm working in the Houston/Baytown area so at the time when I installed it the ambient temp according to the truck was roughly 90* so it helped drop it some but I usually have my auto set at 68-72 in the cab, but that may change now that I'm back in Houston.
KNGSNK11
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I forgot to add, I also have a 1992 f150 that Ive been working on restoring and when I replaced the whole a/c with new components 3 yrs ago, that a/c would freeze you out, the temps coming out of the vents hung around 38-43 degrees, it is awesome, now if only I could get the same performance out of this truck that would be sweet.
Did you clamp it up by the firewall or by the engine block?
im trying to decide where to install the valve. Seems like it would be more hiddenup behind the engine. My dealer is the worst...so I want it to go unnoticed
im trying to decide where to install the valve. Seems like it would be more hiddenup behind the engine. My dealer is the worst...so I want it to go unnoticed
KNGSNK11
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I put mine about midway. I'm using the clamp for now, I may do the valve thing once I find a valve that looks reliable and useful.
KcRay
Well-Known Member
You for sure that you are clamping off the out put of the water pump, being the top hose "input" of the heater core?
KNGSNK11
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On my eco I have a different hose setup, I clamped the top hose about midway up, it was easy access there.
jdmartin
Ram Guru
Sir, this is excellent. Brilliant idea using the automated solenoid. If I ever do this, I will do it this way.I bought my truck in late December 2019, and had come across this thread and did my research back then on the in case I needed to do this come spring. Here is what I was going to add if needed on my truck, but my a/c is more than fine. I figured I would run a push-button momentary switch to control in cab. My thinking is I wouldn't need to pop the hood in the event I had it closed and the weather called for heat, just push the button and instant heat. You can pick up 5/8" heater hose at any parts store. Can use the fuse tap in F66 inside the cab for power.
1/2" 12V DC Stainless Electric Solenoid Valve
This 1/2" inch stainless steel 12 volt solenoid valve requires 0 pressure to operate and can handle up to 115 PSI. It can handle high temperatures up to 265°F and harsh fluids like diesel fuel. This valve will work with a 12 volt power supply like a typical car battery.www.electricsolenoidvalves.com
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Jordan2929
Well-Known Member
Just installed my automatic solenoid, just flip a switch under the steering wheel and the heater core is shutoff. 
KcRay
Well-Known Member
That is too cool, I love it!
This looks like a different location than what everyone else has done. Could you post some more pics and instructions? How did you get the button inside the can?
Thanks!
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It looks like it is still the engine out heater hose but he choose the location closer to the heater core and the engine "in" hose went above to help with stability.
Jordan2929
Well-Known Member
The valve is brass so it has a little bit of weight in it, I chose that spot because it was right in the middle of two mounts for the heater hose. For the electric part of the install I found a key on power source so my battery won’t drain if I forget to turn it off, then just ran the wires into the cab through the factory wire harness grommet and mounted the switch below the steering wheel near where your knee is.
Nice ingenuity bro. The 300k salaried engineers at FCA should be shaking in their boots with guys like you and kcray who had to come up with ideas to get just normal AC flow into these trucks.
I need confirmation of the correct hose to clamp for the Pentastar V6. The Mopar USB manual doesn't appear to mention heater hoses anywhere. Am I correct to assume that the upper hose covered with a braided material going through the upper firewall on the passenger side is the correct hose? Thanks
KcRay
Well-Known Member
I have not seen the engine bay of your truck, but there is always two ports on a heater core. In is always the top port, out is the bottom. Unless your ports are side by side, you should close off the top port, and yes they have a black mesh around them up near the firewall.
ColoradoCub
Ram Guru
Did the hack on my new 2020 a couple days ago and its amazing that $20 can make such a difference. I went from 51-52 deg AC @89 deg to 43 deg And that 8 or 9 degrees makes such a difference. It would eventually kind of cool off without the valve, but now getting into a hot truck it cools off so much faster and short trips are so much more comfortable.
