Air conditioning Hack

[kevin1914]

My A/C performance improved immensely after I got my windows tinted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gsmith223]

Couple of questions about this for anyone who can opine:

1. Why is the valve only affecting the temps on the driver’s side? Airflow-wise, isn’t the heater core after the evaporator but before the piping splits left/right? I would have thought the effect of the valve would be observed across all vents, not just the drivers side.


2. Why is the effect on the drivers side the same irrespective of whether the valve is open or closed? If we have the valve open then wouldn’t we expect the vent temps to return close to the stock temperature reading?

1.The AC system is cooling working as expected, the issue is with plenum and the blend doors. It seems to me that the drivers side blend door isn't closing all the way allowing warm air in to the drivers side of the box. One way to confirm this is to probe out both the drivers side and passenger side, when the thermostat opens you will see the temps on the drivers side go up but the passenger side is unaffected.

2.They are not opening the valve all the way just enough to let some warm water into the core

 

[Texas Woody]

For those that have used the Harbor Freight hose clamp hack, how long have you been running with it on the hose and are you having any issues with the hose degrading or anything? I want to try this given the current weather down here...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Edwards]

For those that have used the Harbor Freight hose clamp hack, how long have you been running with it on the hose and are you having any issues with the hose degrading or anything? I want to try this given the current weather down here...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Besides hose damage, the other thing to think about is that the HF clamps clearly state they are for temporary use only. Unless you put a lock nut on them there is nothing to keep them tight for all-summer driving. Not to mention that HF is not known for long term quality, although my $2 hammer still drives nails...

 

[kliffy77]

What a shame doing this hack to my 2019 $55.000 Ram 1500 just to get decent AC! Thank you KcRay.

 

[KcRay]

What a shame doing this hack to my 2019 $55.000 Ram 1500 just to get decent AC! Thank you KcRay.

It is kind of a shame, but today I rode home with 40 degree drivers side vent temp, outside temperature on the truck
said 90. A couple of weeks ago my rear passengers asked if I could make the AC not so cold, they even had the rear vents turned off.

 

[ColoradoCub]

Well I am on board with this AC being horrible on these trucks. Today it was 92 and the AC never seemed to really make it cool in my truck. There’s no way that they don’t have to address this problem. I’m lucky that living at 7000 ft it’s only really hot in the afternoons and then cools off in the evening and most of the morning but if I lived in one of states that has hot temperatures for many months at a time this would never fly. It’s cool that you can jimmy rig the AC to work with miscellaneous parts but c’mon , that’s unacceptable.

 

[Ram92131]

1.The AC system is cooling working as expected, the issue is with plenum and the blend doors. It seems to me that the drivers side blend door isn't closing all the way allowing warm air in to the drivers side of the box. One way to confirm this is to probe out both the drivers side and passenger side, when the thermostat opens you will see the temps on the drivers side go up but the passenger side is unaffected.

2.They are not opening the valve all the way just enough to let some warm water into the core

1. Thanks, but I don’t think this is the explanation. Restricting hot water entering the heater core affects all air crossing it, not just what sneaks past one blend door farther downstream. One should see all vents get colder, not just the drivers side.

2. Maybe, but heat is still entering the core when the valve is opened partially. There should still be some change in air temp but none was recorded. Unless this valve has like 12 full turns from open to close this seems implausible.

 

[ac1dd]

Cross Posted in the hope that it will get through to @RamCares


@RamCares
I was just over on the VWVortex forums and I found an interesting aspect that is included in modern VW products. HVAC software which allows for different AC performance via the blend system and compressor! In the Arteon forum
some customers complain that the AC was not cold enough and they live in hotter climes. In the software coding their is
a selection for "cold country" or "hot country" customers reported that when they had concerns the vent temps were registering in the 50s and 60s...in "cold country" setting, when the setting in software was changed to "hot country" the vent temps were consistently around 40 F, and remedied the customer concerns. This option is deeply embedded in the climate control module I'm pretty sure and you need a VW/Audi dedicated scan tool to access and change it.

Considering that many manufacturers have contracted out such software work could it be that Chrysler has as well, and this feature is actually on Chrysler products? It would certainly explain the odd situation were some vehicles are putting out consistent 40 F air without modifications while others do not.

Please contact engineering and ask them if it is possible that in error this feature is being placed or coded in the WRONG
setting. Thanks.

Here is the forum regarding the VW Arteon issue. Link, click below.

VW HVAC software coding for "hot country" or "cold country" affects vent temps. Resulting in vent temps too warm

 

[Viper67]

Besides hose damage, the other thing to think about is that the HF clamps clearly state they are for temporary use only. Unless you put a lock nut on them there is nothing to keep them tight for all-summer driving. Not to mention that HF is not known for long term quality, although my $2 hammer still drives nails...

I used one drop of blue loc tite on the thing you spin on the harbor freight. It’s not gonna loosen up unless I want it off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Gsmith223]

1. Thanks, but I don’t think this is the explanation. Restricting hot water entering the heater core affects all air crossing it, not just what sneaks past one blend door farther downstream. One should see all vents get colder, not just the drivers side.

2. Maybe, but heat is still entering the core when the valve is opened partially. There should still be some change in air temp but none was recorded. Unless this valve has like 12 full turns from open to close this seems implausible.

1. Maybe not, but I have been fixing HVAC in Chrysler for about 20 years now. In the dual climate control you have two blend doors one for each side they close the each side independently that how they work. So one can be sealing off the heat from the heater core and the other letting it by. I am not sure how familiar you are with the plenum on these but that is the only plausible explanation here. They are not checking the temps in the air coming from the core they are checking temps at the vents where the air has already been mixed.

2. Same premise here the heater core works on the volume of coolant flowing through it not the just the temp of the coolant. Plus the valve even all the way open is still a restriction depending on flow rates. Less volume equals less heat. Especially when one of the blend doors is failing to close all the way like I said above.

Now there is some speculation that this is some how software controlled and it is programmed to behave like this. In further testing I have found that if you increase the temps at the controls and keep checking temps the driver side actual becomes cooler than the passenger side. It seems to be around the 72-75 degree mark for me. Try it and see what you get.

 

[_StangPGH]

Another post valve update. Did a 700 mile road trip and stayed comfy cozy in temps ranging from 70F to 88F.

The only thing that didn't work well was Auto mode in the pouring rain, 70F ambient and 99% humidity. The lower windshield and side windows fogged up something fierce. Took me a while to figure out that Auto was pushing air to defrost / lower vents at a moderate fan speed. Switching to dash / lower vents cleared it right up. I didn't realize if you touch the fan/vent select knob it shows you where auto currently has it set first.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ac1dd]

Another post valve update. Did a 700 mile road trip and stayed comfy cozy in temps ranging from 70F to 88F.

The only thing that didn't work well was Auto mode in the pouring rain, 70F ambient and 99% humidity. The lower windshield and side windows fogged up something fierce. Took me a while to figure out that Auto was pushing air to defrost / lower vents at a moderate fan speed. Switching to dash / lower vents cleared it right up. I didn't realize if you touch the fan/vent select knob it shows you where auto currently has it set first.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

What's a shame is that Chrysler won't communicate openly with owners that are not satisfied with the 55-65 F vent temps in
90+ F ambient temps, and provide any explanation as to why this is how the system is set up to work...Their silence
indicates they are afraid of a class action lawsuit regarding this matter. Why not just step up and fix the issue over time and provide some sort of compensation?

I still think this is software related whether erroneous software coding or wrong coding programmed into SOME vehicles.

 

[Drewsky510]

Very easy to bleed the system.

-Let the truck sit overnight
-Open the radiator cap cover right next to the coolant reservoir
- Fill it and start the truck, you will see in about 3-5 minutes bubbles coming out and the coolant level getting lower, continue to add coolant until you see no more bubbles.
-When system reaches 194F close the cover and turn off truck
-Next day remove the radiator tab again when engine cold, if you dont see coolant on the hole add more until you see it, close tab and thats it, no need to start the truck again.

Very important to follow this steps or you might get coolant spill and or burns. Never open the radiator cap while hot.

Dumb question, but what kind of coolant do the 2019 RAM's use? I have literally never had to add coolant to any vehicle before...

 

[ac1dd]

Dumb question, but what kind of coolant do the 2019 RAM's use? I have literally never had to add coolant to any vehicle before...

No dumb questions..It's good you brought it up though!

r1234yf

This is the successor to widely used r134a.

I don't think that is the problem though since the characteristics of r1234yf and r134a are very similar and nearly the same in most aspects which shouldn't hurt efficiency in cooling process.

 

[Drewsky510]

No dumb questions..It's good you brought it up though!

r1234yf

This is the successor to widely used r134a.

I don't think that is the problem though since the characteristics of r1234yf and r134a are very similar and nearly the same in most aspects which shouldn't hurt efficiency in cooling process.

Thank you!

I was more thinking along the lines of which antifreeze to add to the radiator, just in case I lose any when doing the valve.

Amazon.com: Mopar 10 Year/150,000 Mile Coolant 50/50 Premixed: Automotive

Buy Mopar 10 Year/150, 000 Mile Coolant 50/50 Premixed: Antifreezes & Coolants - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I was going to buy this off of Amazon but wasn't sure if this was the right stuff.

 

[_StangPGH]

I lost about half to 3/4 of a quart because my hose was a bear to get off and I was fumbling with it and I'm still at the max mark.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Ram92131]

1. Maybe not, but I have been fixing HVAC in Chrysler for about 20 years now. In the dual climate control you have two blend doors one for each side they close the each side independently that how they work. So one can be sealing off the heat from the heater core and the other letting it by. I am not sure how familiar you are with the plenum on these but that is the only plausible explanation here. They are not checking the temps in the air coming from the core they are checking temps at the vents where the air has already been mixed.

2. Same premise here the heater core works on the volume of coolant flowing through it not the just the temp of the coolant. Plus the valve even all the way open is still a restriction depending on flow rates. Less volume equals less heat. Especially when one of the blend doors is failing to close all the way like I said above.

Now there is some speculation that this is some how software controlled and it is programmed to behave like this. In further testing I have found that if you increase the temps at the controls and keep checking temps the driver side actual becomes cooler than the passenger side. It seems to be around the 72-75 degree mark for me. Try it and see what you get.

That makes more sense, that it would have two separate air streams, one over the AC and the other over the heater core, and those two are blended and directed to driver or passenger separately. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Gsmith223]

That makes more sense, that it would have two separate air streams, one over the AC and the other over the heater core, and those two are blended and directed to driver or passenger separately. Thanks for the explanation.

Dont take it as gospel, I have not studied the design of this system its just an educated guess based on what I have observed in my truck. That is however; how past dual climate controls worked.

 

[jdmartin]

What's a shame is that Chrysler won't communicate openly with owners that are not satisfied with the 55-65 F vent temps in
90+ F ambient temps, and provide any explanation as to why this is how the system is set up to work...Their silence
indicates they are afraid of a class action lawsuit regarding this matter. Why not just step up and fix the issue over time and provide some sort of compensation?

I still think this is software related whether erroneous software coding or wrong coding programmed into SOME vehicles.

I seriously doubt FCA is afraid of a class-action lawsuit over air vent temperatures of say 52 instead of 42. There's no guarantee on how effectively air conditioning works - so long as it it is removing humidity and reducing the cabin temperature relative to that of outside, it is perfectly operational. "Cold" when it comes to AC is largely subjective. The ladies in my office freeze when I have the AC set to 72. I think it's reasonably comfortable. When the sun beats down and the inside temperature rises to 74 or 75, I'm uncomfortable while they are more comfortable. In either case, the temperature outside is 90+ with high humidity.

The one thing I will say is that, all things being equal, the temperatures coming out of the vent in a vehicle should be colder if a compromise has to be made because a vehicle is poorly insulated, a relatively small space that changes temperature rapidly, and has a lot of sun-absorbing metal and glass to combat. So if this was the design all along - and my AC I find acceptable, if not freezing - it was short-sighted relative to the job it has to do.