Air conditioning Hack

[Timeless]

so, this might have been answered a while back, BUT..

What do you do if you must go in for service? This is a mod you can't really reverse quickly. How do you explain what this is?

Based on experience with most Ram dealerships they would never know or care.

Only time they would even look is if you brought it in with issues regarding the HVAC.

 

[Jordan2929]

Since mine is controlled with the solenoid and I can turn it on and off while driving and I've been keeping the coolant temp on the screen to see what it does. It was 90 today and I was towing my jetski to the lake, I started with the coolant flowing normally and when I got to 65mph the coolant fluctuated between about 208-218, when I closed the valve I saw no noticable change in the temps. I will be removing some of the shutters in the grill to get better flow through the radiator at higher speeds because that's when they're all shut, might take a hit on fuel mileage but my engine will run cooler. Might also put a colder thermostat in.

 

[KcRay]

Since mine is controlled with the solenoid and I can turn it on and off while driving and I've been keeping the coolant temp on the screen to see what it does. It was 90 today and I was towing my jetski to the lake, I started with the coolant flowing normally and when I got to 65mph the coolant fluctuated between about 208-218, when I closed the valve I saw no noticable change in the temps. I will be removing some of the shutters in the grill to get better flow through the radiator at higher speeds because that's when they're all shut, might take a hit on fuel mileage but my engine will run cooler. Might also put a colder thermostat in.

The Challenger and Charger guys are putting 195 degree thermostats in there cars. Just search on YouTube.

 

[User_3336]

Didn't that have some effect on the active grille shutters functioning correctly after that?

The Challenger and Charger guys are putting 195 degree thermostats in there cars. Just search on YouTube.

 

[jdmartin]

Even though this is not really part of the "hack", I noticed something the last couple of days that I thought might be useful.

I have noticed that when I have the AC on max (recirculate), if I run the mix split between the floor and the vents, the temperature coming out of the vents is *noticeably* colder than if I run the mix strictly out of the vents - even if I control for air velocity out of the vents by turning the fan down a bit when it's on vents only. I have found - anecdotally, since I don't have a cabin thermometer - that the cabin gets cooler quicker that way than on vents only. I haven't looked, but where is the intake vents located on recirculate? I suspect it's colder because the cold air coming out of the floor vents is being picked back up on the recirculation. In any case, I have found that this setting definitely cools down the entire cabin faster.

For me, I have no problem with the overall cool-down one way or the other, but I thought I would mention this as some of those who aren't satisfied with the AC levels might want to give it a shot.

 

[User_3336]

You're max a/c recirc from the time you turn on your A/C?

 

[JJRamTX]

Has anyone who did this just turned the handle on their valve so it is about halfway and still got the colder effect but didn't have to switch the valve when a pop up thunderstorm drops the temps 25 degrees with hail included? Seriously thinking of doing this mod just to cool the truck off quicker since it takes about 3-5 minutes now after the S/W flash.

 

[Le_Slacker]

Has anyone who did this just turned the handle on their valve so it is about halfway and still got the colder effect but didn't have to switch the valve when a pop up thunderstorm drops the temps 25 degrees with hail included? Seriously thinking of doing this mod just to cool the truck off quicker since it takes about 3-5 minutes now after the S/W flash.

I have a clamp, but not fully clamped. I’m probably 80-90% clamped and can get a little warmth

 

[Desertrunner]

I’m clamped and at 102F ambient temp, my vent temps are a full 10 degrees cooler than before. Not what I really expected from a $68,000 vehicle, but if it works...

 

[slicktop]

You're max a/c recirc from the time you turn on your A/C?

Is there any other setting? For those of us in the south, the only way to get cool is to roll down your windows for the first 30 seconds to a minute to get the 200 degree cloud out of the cabin, then it’s max AC all the way! I literally never change the thermostat setting in the summer and only adjust the fan speed.

 

[Timeless]

Is there any other setting? For those of us in the south, the only way to get cool is to roll down your windows for the first 30 seconds to a minute to get the 200 degree cloud out of the cabin, then it’s max AC all the way! I literally never change the thermostat setting in the summer and only adjust the fan speed.

Or like I do...remote start for at least 5 mins before getting in truck....10 mins is even better.

 

[slicktop]

it'd be great if the aftermarket would make a switch to fit in our factory switch pod that says "MAX A/C" , that we could wire to a solenoid controlled valve, like has been done in previous posts.

 

[Le_Slacker]

I put a clamp on mine. Couple of times I used it before, I thought it was just adequate. But my wife said she was freezing.
Couple times after the clamp, I thought it was slightly better, but still just adequate.
Clamp is still on, and we’re going through a heat wave in southwest Ontario, and yesterday I was impressed with how cold it was - outside in high 90s, and I kept lowering the fan speed. My daughter eventually put on a sweater.
Will see if it’s still like that today !

 

[Scram1500]

it'd be great if the aftermarket would make a switch to fit in our factory switch pod that says "MAX A/C" , that we could wire to a solenoid controlled valve, like has been done in previous posts.

or a way to tap the factory MAX A/C switch (maybe the indicator light) and wire that to a solenoid

 

[RamLink83]

I feel like some days my truck will cool down and feel colder and then some days it takes a long time to cool down and never really gets all that cold. This is with similar outside temps. I do notice it gets colder when on auto for some reason, but I don't like how auto is only the main vents. When I try to split it to the vents and floor it goes back to manual.

 

[BeauxXL1200]

Is there any other setting? For those of us in the south, the only way to get cool is to roll down your windows for the first 30 seconds to a minute to get the 200 degree cloud out of the cabin, then it’s max AC all the way! I literally never change the thermostat setting in the summer and only adjust the fan speed.

I do the same, Slicktop. Keep the thermostat on Lo and adjust the fan speed accordingly. Here in Central Texas, the highs are now in the mid 90s to 100, and I need all the cool that my clamped off Ac will give me.

 

[BeauxXL1200]

Had to go to our office in Austin for while today. Outside temp on the way was showing 101. Takes me about 25 minutes to get there and back, and I had the AC temp set to Lo, recirculate, and kept the fan on 7 the whole time home.
Here's what my old school HVAC thermometer was reading when I Got home. The hose clamp is doing its job.

 

[PostPremium]

or a way to tap the factory MAX A/C switch (maybe the indicator light) and wire that to a solenoid

OMG. Someone please do this and share the how-to.

 

[User_3336]

OMG. Someone please do this and share the how-to.

You'd still have 208 degree water being pushed thru the heater core.

 

[slicktop]

You'd still have 208 degree water being pushed thru the heater core.

um... No, you wouldn't. That's the entire point. We're talking about a solenoid controlled valve to close off the flow to the heater coil.