Air conditioning performance

[SpeedyV]

The amount of freon for a charge is largely determined by the overall volume of the system. This includes how much plumbing it takes to route the coolant and the size of the evaporator and condenser. You can't compare the weight of the freon between *insert vehicle here* and expect it to mean anything.

Yes, and it’s even a different refrigerant type than older vehicles. Lots of variables to consider.

 

[ColoradoCub]

Everyone here brainstorming all these genius ideas about volume of air, pounds of refrigerant , type of refrigerant, duct design, etc clearly haven’t done the AC hack mod. Once you do that there are no issues with the AC functioning as expected. The AC should blow in the low 40’s on BOTH sides of the dash like most vehicles do. Trying to come up with solutions to an AC system blowing 52-59 degrees at idle is futile! My AC works like a champ in both 70 deg ambient temps as well as 100 deg ambient temps now that I’ve stopped the warm air from blending with the cold air. All FCA has to do is rip apart one of the heater boxes on a truck with these warm temps and see what’s not closing correctly and they’ll have a fix.

 

[Gman]

I'm not finding that I need the hack at all.

Would be nice to have a system that can exceed in both directions whatever design target FCA was using. Personal preference and geography can vary widely. Maybe it's as simple as a software update for controlling the blend door?

 

[ColoradoCub]

I'm not finding that I need the hack at all.

Would be nice to have a system that can exceed in both directions whatever design target FCA was using. Personal preference and geography can vary widely. Maybe it's as simple as a software update for controlling the blend door?

I agree but I’m pretty sure they are aware of the AC, or shall I say the lack of AC in these new trucks, there have been soooo many complaints about it. If a flash program were the fix that would be easy and I suspect it would have already been done. I fear that it’s gonna be much more complicated as well as much more expensive for them to fix this problem. Not to mention in addition to the cost of the repair there will be added costs in repairs when techs break additional things in the process of disassembling the dash. I’m sure that’s why there hasn’t been any movement on this issue as far as a TSB.

Remember it’s FCA’s own words in advertising this 5th gen Ram truck that they have a much improved cooling system and much more advanced HVAC system, they really blew it in that benchmark.

 

[Gman]

Yet what you're talking about would be a systemic design problem that would affect every single truck. If that were the case, I doubt Ram would be selling so many of them. There is also a tendency for people having issues with anything to seek a place to discuss the issue, like this forum. Happy customers tend to blissfully enjoy their product.

Could this be more of an intermittent initial model year quality issue?

 

[ColoradoCub]

Yet what you're talking about would be a systemic design problem that would affect every single truck. If that were the case, I doubt Ram would be selling so many of them. There is also a tendency for people having issues with anything to seek a place to discuss the issue, like this forum. Happy customers tend to blissfully enjoy their product.

Could this be more of an intermittent initial model year quality issue?

I do believe that there are variables that affect how many people see this as a problem. Temperature comfort levels are subjective from one person to another. One person might like it really cold in their vehicle where as the next might set their AC temp to say 74 deg and feel that’s perfectly fine. It also obviously depends on where you live. If you live in hotter climates of course you are going to be affected more than someone who lives in a milder temp area. I also believe some trucks are blowing colder temps out of the vents than others, the numbers people have posted here reflects that. I’ve seen guys say that their drivers center vent blows 47 at 95 degrees where as in my truck at 95 degrees I’m well above 55 deg at idle. Mine won’t blow 47 in 60 deg ambient temps. So it’s definitely a mystery, but clearly many are affected. If there’s anything that Internet forums do, it is to identify trends in defects no matter the product. If only three people here were complaining about their AC it would be questionable but there are dozens and dozens of posts from people that noticed the AC is lacking compared to what they traded in and or other vehicles they own. And they have actually gone through the effort of sticking a thermometer in the vents to confirm that their AC is sub par and or comparing said temps to other vehicles. For example I can’t even imagine living in say Houston Texas, wearing a suit to work and having to get in my truck at lunch or at the end of the day in peak heat and having the AC in my truck try to cool me down. I’d be so pissed I wouldn’t be able to see straight!

 

[ram1991]

Agr

I do believe that there are variables that affect how many people see this as a problem. Temperature comfort levels are subjective from one person to another. One person might like it really cold in their vehicle where as the next might set their AC temp to say 74 deg and feel that’s perfectly fine. It also obviously depends on where you live. If you live in hotter climates of course you are going to be affected more than someone who lives in a milder temp area. I also believe some trucks are blowing colder temps out of the vents than others, the numbers people have posted here reflects that. I’ve seen guys say that their drivers center vent blows 47 at 95 degrees where as in my truck at 95 degrees I’m well above 55 deg at idle. Mine won’t blow 47 in 60 deg ambient temps. So it’s definitely a mystery, but clearly many are affected. If there’s anything that Internet forums do, it is to identify trends in defects no matter the product. If only three people here were complaining about their AC it would be questionable but there are dozens and dozens of posts from people that noticed the AC is lacking compared to what they traded in and or other vehicles they own. And they have actually gone through the effort of sticking a thermometer in the vents to confirm that their AC is sub par and or comparing said temps to other vehicles. For example I can’t even imagine living in say Houston Texas, wearing a suit to work and having to get in my truck at lunch or at the end of the day in peak heat and having the AC in my truck try to cool me down. I’d be so pissed I wouldn’t be able to see straight!

Agreed. Well said. Bottom line is that the ac is subpar and validated by lots of people. First thing I noticed when I picked up my truck on a mild 80 degree day. My AC stays on max and recirculate with blower on no less than 2 if it’s on. That would have frozen me out on any other car I’ve owned

 

[Edwards]

Just got mine back and they flashed the FW with numbers I've not seen before. WO states, "Flashing from current part number 68277068AG to targeted part number 68277068AI. A/C is now blowing as intended."

It blew comfortably cold on the way home. I'll break out the thermometer to see if this affects the blend door at all.

Drove a bit over lunch today and got 59* on the center driver's side and 55* on the passenger center. Virtually the same as before. It was only 87* out while driving (in the middle of a TX cool front which is fantastic) and it felt plenty cool today. I can't tell any difference with the new FW but maybe it fixes the winter-time blow cold for 10 minutes before checking to see what temp it's blowing issue?

 

[SpeedyV]

Drove a bit over lunch today and got 59* on the center driver's side and 55* on the passenger center. Virtually the same as before. It was only 87* out while driving (in the middle of a TX cool front which is fantastic) and it felt plenty cool today. I can't tell any difference with the new FW but maybe it fixes the winter-time blow cold for 10 minutes before checking to see what temp it's blowing issue?

If it does that, it will absolutely be worth the hassle of a service visit.

 

[ldoh]

Yet what you're talking about would be a systemic design problem that would affect every single truck. If that were the case, I doubt Ram would be selling so many of them. There is also a tendency for people having issues with anything to seek a place to discuss the issue, like this forum. Happy customers tend to blissfully enjoy their product.

There's a price point for everything and 15% to 30% off MSRP has a way of moving product even in the middle of summer. I questioned the a/c vent temps when I test drove mine. I had just met the maintenance team and asked the sales guy if we could borrow a thermometer from the service dept. He declined. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about the a/c issue. In any event, I had a great offer and just bit the bullet.

It could be a systemic problem and could effect every single pickup but that doesn't mean every single pickup is running in challenging environments. There's enough quirkiness with the Gen 5 A/C design (warmer vent output temps, strange on/off behaviors, odd max a/c light illumination, etc) to say FCA's HVAC team had the proverbial head deep in the backside.

 

[ColoradoCub]

See the other thread regarding poor AC in the interior forum. I’m telling you a recall or TSB is coming, they have to be well aware of the problem.

A/C Performance

I was told by a service tech at a Dodge dealership yesterday that they expect a recall on several 2019 Dodge Ram 1500s because of inadequate AC. We shall see I guess......

5thgenrams.com

 

[ColoradoCub]

Today I opened the valve on my AC mod and it was 66 deg outside and you see what the temp was on my vent, that’s ridiculous. Max AC with fan two clicks right of top dead center doing 65 mph down the road. With the valve closed blocking coolant it blows 39 degrees at the same ambient temp. That’s a 15 degree difference.

 

[jimk hunt]

See the other thread regarding poor AC in the interior forum. I’m telling you a recall or TSB is coming, they have to be well aware of the problem.

A/C Performance

I was told by a service tech at a Dodge dealership yesterday that they expect a recall on several 2019 Dodge Ram 1500s because of inadequate AC. We shall see I guess......

5thgenrams.com

Man I would be real happy but also very surprised if they issue a TSB for this. Members here have done enough research to point FCA to a blend door problem. That doesn't mean it affects all Ram's but enough to say they have a legit issue. Could be a small part that fails at a high rate, a plastic part that was not formed right, or a number of other things. It is not a software or refrigerant level issue! But a blend door issue means the dash has to be torn apart and that would be very expensive for FCA and time consuming as well. I for one am not sure I would let a dealer disassemble my dash to fix it. I think I'd rather keep the clamp than risk more issues such as scratches and rattles from the 'fix'. I just don't think they will TSB the 2019's but would bet a paycheck that the 20's perform as expected. We'll see...........

 

[ColoradoCub]

Man I would be real happy but also very surprised if they issue a TSB for this. Members here have done enough research to point FCA to a blend door problem. That doesn't mean it affects all Ram's but enough to say they have a legit issue. Could be a small part that fails at a high rate, a plastic part that was not formed right, or a number of other things. It is not a software or refrigerant level issue! But a blend door issue means the dash has to be torn apart and that would be very expensive for FCA and time consuming as well. I for one am not sure I would let a dealer disassemble my dash to fix it. I think I'd rather keep the clamp than risk more issues such as scratches and rattles from the 'fix'. I just don't think they will TSB the 2019's but would bet a paycheck that the 20's perform as expected. We'll see...........

I agree with you 1000%! I do not want the average tech to remove the dash in my truck, that can be a nightmare and create a slew of new problems. I’d almost stick with the ghetto valve before I allowed them to do something like that. The best solution would be a valve that’s electronically controlled by the AC head unit that does exactly what the mod does when you select the coldest settings but still allows coolant flow to the core when you select a warmer setting. If this can be done with the current equipment is the big question.

 

[Zeronet]

It is not a software or refrigerant level issue! But a blend door issue means the dash has to be torn apart and that would be very expensive for FCA and time consuming as well.

Maybe the dash doesn’t need to come out. Since we know that many members here have solved the issue with a manual valve, what’s to say that Ram doesn’t fix the problem with an electrically operated valve and a software update. Probably would cost them a lot less than pulling out dashboards. It’s not like these valves haven’t been used in the past.

 

[DraKhen99]

I had my truck at the dealer this week to realign the driver's side rear door (it stuck out about 1/8th of an inch and didn't make the same noise when closing as the rest of the doors), and when I got in the truck to drive home, my A/C was colder. The truck sat outside all day in the 88-90 degree heat, so it was heat soaked, and I had the A/C on fan speed 6, dash and floor vents on, no recirc, temp set at 69. Felt colder than before, so I called this morning to see if they had done a software update. The service writer said they DID do an update, and the details will be in my email when he finishes the paperwork for my visit. I noticed when I got in the truck yesterday that someone had changed my A/C temp from 69 to LO, so that may have been the tech testing the A/C system?

This morning it was only 82 degrees out, but it was icy cold. Heck, I turned down the seat fans to LOW because my back was too cold.

Maybe this is the mystery firmware/TSB/software reflash some have talked about? I didn't ask them to do anything but fix the door and do the airbag recall.

-John

 

[tdeperte]

2019 Laramie with dual zone climate control. 103 degrees outside, heat soaked truck. Temp readings after 15 minutes of operation.

Drivers side set to LO, passenger side set to 75. Fan on speed 6. All air coming from dash vents. Drivers side outlet temp 57 degrees, passenger outlet temp 44.

If it weren't for the ventilated seats this truck would be intolerable. They don't call them cooled seats anymore because that is a misnomer. All the seats have is a fan, no refrigeration of any type.

FCA will never step up and fix this. There eventually will be a class action that will result in millions for the attorneys and a hundred bucks for us sweating saps.

It's a shame. Except for the AC, this is by far the best truck I have ever owned. It is the smoothest, quietest, best riding, best mpg, truck I have ever owned. Never thought to take a thermometer on my test drive before purchase.

 

[pinkerton]

I always use Auto as well, general have it set at 70, or within a degree of it. Usually bump the seat fan up to high on hotter days. No A/C hack done to mine.

I'm the same as you guys - Auto @ 72. I don't believe the auto system works properly though. (too much cold air in the morning, and takes too long to max out when it's hot)

 

[jimk hunt]

I had my truck at the dealer this week to realign the driver's side rear door (it stuck out about 1/8th of an inch and didn't make the same noise when closing as the rest of the doors), and when I got in the truck to drive home, my A/C was colder. The truck sat outside all day in the 88-90 degree heat, so it was heat soaked, and I had the A/C on fan speed 6, dash and floor vents on, no recirc, temp set at 69. Felt colder than before, so I called this morning to see if they had done a software update. The service writer said they DID do an update, and the details will be in my email when he finishes the paperwork for my visit. I noticed when I got in the truck yesterday that someone had changed my A/C temp from 69 to LO, so that may have been the tech testing the A/C system?

This morning it was only 82 degrees out, but it was icy cold. Heck, I turned down the seat fans to LOW because my back was too cold.

Maybe this is the mystery firmware/TSB/software reflash some have talked about? I didn't ask them to do anything but fix the door and do the airbag recall.

-John

What are your vent temps now?

 

[Netmaster]

Is there a 12v variable valve that you can control remotely? I would like to able to control how much flow is restricted without having to pop the hood.