Air conditioning Hack

[airgas1998]

also have any of you experienced your a/c on even though the ac button is not lit or auto mode is not engaged. this has happened to me 2-3 times now and of course not always like today. i can't find anyone mentioning this issue. is there such a thing as a hvac reflash that could be done?

 

[Gsmith223]

i think we can confidently confirm that there is no question this is a design flaw. it will never get fixed by fca until the 6th gen comes out, or they somehow can miraculously come up with a band-aid similar to the valve, but then that would point the fingers directly at fca. so my uneducated guess is not a peep from the mouths of fca no tsb, and certainly no recall affecting the entire fleet from the 1st born to the current one. i hope i'm wrong, but i doubt it.

I just had a star case opened they are either going to fix it or buy it back I am tired of messing with it. I want a diagnosis before the just tear into it. I need my truck to tow my bass boat to tournaments coming up. I don’t need it torn apart and waiting on parts for two months.

 

[Gsmith223]

If you are not willing to pull the dash, can you ask them to recalibrate the blend door actuator. I have not heard of any dealer performing this yet. It could be a simple fix.

Man I have had everything done that you can think of. They are at a loss. Recharges TSBs calibrations ect. The dealer tried to give it back to me again and I had to call the case manager. This would be the fourth time they attempted to repair and can’t. They opened a star case. My issue is that I need my truck to tow with I can’t have it apart for two months waiting on parts. What Ram needs to do @RamCares is step up to the plate buy mine back and tear into it. I am wanting out at this point. I have fought blend door issues in Chrysler since the 2000s I am done. I am going to reference this thread in my arbitration. Has anyone went through the buyback process with Ram?

 

[Jack Whitefield]

Man I have had everything done that you can think of. They are at a loss. Recharges TSBs calibrations ect. The dealer tried to give it back to me again and I had to call the case manager. This would be the fourth time they attempted to repair and can’t. They opened a star case. My issue is that I need my truck to tow with I can’t have it apart for two months waiting on parts. What Ram needs to do @RamCares is step up to the plate buy mine back and tear into it. I am wanting out at this point. I have fought blend door issues in Chrysler since the 2000s I am done. I am going to reference this thread in my arbitration. Has anyone went through the buyback process with Ram?

That sucks man, you're not the first person to throw in the 5th gen towel. It seems the poor HVAC and multiple other issues, has gotten the better of several board members.

 

[Kratz87]

I have a 2020 and it is not cold by any means. I haven't checked temps yet, but definitely not as cold as my other vehicles.

I guess I am a little confused by the AC conversation. I am in New Mexico. It was hot the last week. AC has been working fantastically in my 2020 Ram Limited ... no Dodge here (smirk).

 

[Gsmith223]

I guess I am a little confused by the AC conversation. I am in New Mexico. It was hot the last week. AC has been working fantastically in my 2020 Ram Limited ... no Dodge here (smirk).

This has always confused me too, I got a 4th gen as a rental and it was ice cold in seconds. The 5th gen I have now as a rental is subpar but still I’d better than mine. I temped everything out with videos of vent temps. Some people have claimed theres works so I am thinking it was an early build issue or bad batches of parts?

 

[ColoradoCub]

Some people have claimed theres works so I am thinking it was an early build issue or bad batches of parts?

I can only think of one forum member that claims to have good AC that actually put a thermometer in his vents and his temps still weren’t great. The rest I’m speculating think they have good AC but as we have discussed here many times, everyone’s comfort level is different. We have 2 5th gen new body styles and one 2019 classic at my work. The classic blows at least 10 deg colder than my and my buddies 5th gens. My buddy’s limited is worse than my big horn. Both of our trucks were built in Feb and Mar of this year. This is no doubt a wide spread problem in the 5thgen 1500’s as well as 2500’s

 

[ldoh]

I could imagine the new body a/c working fine in the morning, when initially parked in-doors, or someone just drove it for 15 to 20 mins but not for the first 15 mins or more in a hot summer day with a continuous stream of IR penetrating the windows and a convection effect from the already super heated cabin surfaces.

 

[Badelky]

I just pulled the cabin filter and air volume went way up, I'll source another cabin air filter from different manufacturer and see if air flow will help. Not happy on a week old 80k truck, thought maybe this vehicle uses the new Freon but says 134a under hood

 

[Lize]

I just pulled the cabin filter and air volume went way up, I'll source another cabin air filter from different manufacturer and see if air flow will help. Not happy on a week old 80k truck, thought maybe this vehicle uses the new Freon but says 134a under hood

I will be interested in your results, I don't think there's a circulation problem in mine, the air is just not cold enough and turning the fan speed down doesn't seem to make any difference. Be interesting to see what affect it has on yours though and whether it would enable the annoyingly noisy high fan speeds to be turned right down.

 

[rrbhokies]

Finally catching some breaks in the hot weather. Had some cooler mornings and days lately. One bad thing about the HF clamp is that it's all or nothing. When it's clamped, you get cold A/C all the time. There is no heat. I assume that with the valve, you guys are simply adjusting the flow of the valve accordingly as the temperatures are changing, or is it still an all or nothing on/off situation? I'm trying to determine if I should switch to the valve now, or just pull the clamp off now and wait until the spring to do the valve?

 

[ramhead]

Finally catching some breaks in the hot weather. Had some cooler mornings and days lately. One bad thing about the HF clamp is that it's all or nothing. When it's clamped, you get cold A/C all the time. There is no heat. I assume that with the valve, you guys are simply adjusting the flow of the valve accordingly as the temperatures are changing, or is it still an all or nothing on/off situation? I'm trying to determine if I should switch to the valve now, or just pull the clamp off now and wait until the spring to do the valve?

IMO, if you're in a 4 season or northern area state then the clamp is the way to go. Where are you located? I'm in NJ and would only need the clamp really from mid June thru August or so ...maybe 3 months. I didn't do the clamp yet since my A/C works well in hot temps...not great, but well. On 95 -100 degree days I would get 54 degrees at the driver's vents ( tested with thermometer) and with temps 80 - 85 degrees I'm getting 47 degrees at the vent. I was tempted to try the clamp on some of those hot days but didn't get around to it ...and being that I had no real extended driving during those hot days it wasn't really needed. Like I said, A/C was ok - good for me on those hot streaks....it was comfortable in the cab but would have preferred it a bit colder.

If I were living in the southern states I'd definitely would do the valve as it would be needed much more often for a longer time.

 

[Edwards]

Now that the season of opening our hacked valves is approaching, I started looking at how to automate this. That obviously leads to something other than a clamp or manual in-line valve. I can't find a Bluetooth valve anywhere so my idealism is once again shattered. There are no shortage of electrically operated heater valves out there but most are over $140 which is just not sporting.

I dug around a bit and found this solid looking model for $65:

Thermotion. Automotive Heater Control Valve

www.thermotion.com

And then I found this one in the UK for 38 pounds:

ON/OFF Electric Heater Valve 12v & 24v

ON/OFF Electric Heater Valve 12v & 24v

www.t7design.co.uk

That's getting closer and the specs are perfect. Further searching lead me to lots of US offered valves that look identical to the UK version but no specs listed and if it can't handle the appropriate temps then there's no point of even looking further.

Amazon does have something very similar at $54 but no specs however, the document below clearly shows it is intended for automotive applications:

Amazon.com: Vintage Air 461173 Heater Valve: Automotive

Buy Vintage Air 461173 Heater Valve: Heater Control Valves - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

That's what lead me to this installation diagram and this will open up all kinds of wild ideas:

https://www.vintageair.com/instructions_pdf/461171.pdf

Vintage air makes replacement AC parts for all kinds of vintage vehicles but you'll notice that simply wiring in this valve with three wires and a switch is not what they intended but we could certainly do.

Anyone have any experience with this valve or company?

 

[AndreiV]

I am so happy I installed valve. It has been 98-102 all this week and I really enjoyed my ride after work.

 

[Tom488]

Now that the season of opening our hacked valves is approaching, I started looking at how to automate this. That obviously leads to something other than a clamp or manual in-line valve. I can't find a Bluetooth valve anywhere so my idealism is once again shattered. There are no shortage of electrically operated heater valves out there but most are over $140 which is just not sporting.

See this post from last week - $34 and easy hookup:

Air conditioning Hack

Dodge won't admit it as they don't make pickup trucks...RAM does :ROFLMAO: But they have to as the Durango is just as bad. :)

5thgenrams.com

 

[Ellisstrong]

I just pulled the cabin filter and air volume went way up, I'll source another cabin air filter from different manufacturer and see if air flow will help. Not happy on a week old 80k truck, thought maybe this vehicle uses the new Freon but says 134a under hood

I thought the new HDs had the same cab as before but they still redid the AC system?

 

[Edwards]

See this post from last week - $34 and easy hookup:

Air conditioning Hack

Dodge won't admit it as they don't make pickup trucks...RAM does :ROFLMAO: But they have to as the Durango is just as bad. :)

5thgenrams.com

Dang, how'd I miss that?

 

[rrbhokies]

I can only think of one forum member that claims to have good AC that actually put a thermometer in his vents and his temps still weren’t great. The rest I’m speculating think they have good AC but as we have discussed here many times, everyone’s comfort level is different.

It could be 120 degrees outside and the AC blowing 80 degrees through the vent, and my wife would still be wearing a sweater complaining that it's too cold inside the truck......... so yeah................. everyone's comfort level is different

 

[SilverSurfer15]

this has definitely become frustrating at times. Usually my AC is “ok”, but sometimes it seems like it’s just awful. It’s rarely COLD but it does some to fluctuate depending on outside temps.

So you would wire this deal in, and then it’s just on/off? Close it when you need ice cold air, re open after?

 

[Mystyborne]

Installed the Harbor Freight valve clamp today and noticed a significant improvement in comfort. Thank you community for coming up with this modification.