Auto Climate Control Fan Speed - Not accounting for engine temp

[jdmartin]

I'm not even sure I know how to use auto climate control So far I just enjoy that I can have cold air and my wife can have hot air!

 

[Chris]

Just a little note for everyone, it's important that you MUST be using the auto setting (I'm hoping this is obvious). Using the defrost, mix, or custom fan speed overrides this feature. When its super cold but I want my defrost on, I get in the truck and push the front defrost button and then push the auto again, it sets the system to auto defrost instead of the regular blast your face off defrost.

I need to test this, but it seems like every time I hit "auto" from "defrost", it goes back to the previous auto setting (which is minimal windshield air, mostly cabin air); it acts as if I never hit defrost at all.

 

[riccnick]

I need to test this, but it seems like every time I hit "auto" from "defrost", it goes back to the previous auto setting (which is minimal windshield air, mostly cabin air); it acts as if I never hit defrost at all.

Do you hit auto twice, or just once? Mine runs a mix with front defrost for an unspecified amount of time, not sure if it's done with humidity sensing or with just a straight time out of the defrost function before it reverts back to full auto.

 

[Chris]

Do you hit auto twice, or just once? Mine runs a mix with front defrost for an unspecified amount of time, not sure if it's done with humidity sensing or with just a straight time out of the defrost function before it reverts back to full auto.

Just once; I believe twice deactivates auto mode and restores previous mode.
Mine always has a small amount coming out the defrost even before I select defrost mode, then the cabin air either speeds up and shifts more to dash or slows down and shifts more to feet based on the temperature setpoint and current cabin temp.

 

[RamCares]

I don't have nav on my 8.4 so I don't think it can even get OTA updates. I'll have to mention an update to the dealer on my 1,234,568,699 trip to the service department. As much as I hate to admit my mistakes buying a very early build truck from FCA was not a good idea at all. I knew I'd have to deal with some stuff but the patience wears thin after a dozen trips. Some of it is out of their control but wow did the law of averages screw me on this one...

Hi silverbullet,
We're sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your climate control system. If this continues to happen and you would like your dealer to look into this, please send us a private message and we will gladly look into this for you.
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[SLMinATX]

Hi silverbullet,
We're sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your climate control system. If this continues to happen and you would like your dealer to look into this, please send us a private message and we will gladly look into this for you.
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist

My truck is at dealer now, I reported this issue and they said they checked other vehicles on the lot and they do the same thing so this is apparently ‘normal’. No it’s not! An automatic climate control system should not blast cold air on you while the engine warms up. Come on FCA, get it together with this stuff, these trucks are too expensive to have to deal with these kinds of things.

 

[bonebro]

My truck sat outside in single digit temps for the last three days. I fired it up via remote start about 30 seconds before getting into the truck. When I opened the door, the fan was blowing fairly high (which is correct operation). When I pressed the start button to exit remote start mode, the fan speed slowed, but not near enough. I went to the climate screen on my 12” and pressed the fan speed down button so I could get it off auto mode and see if the current fan speed was as low as it goes (I read that someone thought the fan on low was much higher than 4th gen trucks on low). The fan speed was on 3! I turned the fan to 1 and immediately knew this is where the fan speed should be and very comparable to low speed on my 4th gen. Auto mode in the 5th gen is incorrectly programmed for sure. Hopefully the recent TSB for the HVAC system will fix this.

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

Mid December build, my auto climate blows the perfect amount of air. If I have the defroster on, I will cook me inside out

 

[Ellisstrong]

It’s crazy because I was talking to my wife about this the other day! Even my 2003 Lincoln town car barely blows any air until the engine warms up in auto. Mine definitely blows on about 3-4 even with ice cold air

 

[Rich]

Yes the HVAC needs work!

Here are some issues I found:

Remote start doesn't run the windshield defroster long enough to help to melt ice buildup. I checked it by being in the vehicle when it was cold, and then used the remote start, climate was in "Auto" mode. Note that the rear defrost comes on, heated wheel and seat come on. Initially the front windshield defrost seems to blow cold air onto the windshield, but before the engine warms enough to provide any warm/hot hair, the system changes the airflow to the floor, removing the possibility of any windshield defrosting action. As soon as I unlock the doors and open the drivers door, the climate fan speed slows down considerably. This is before pressing the 'start' button to end the remote start and continue to drive the vehicle.

Windshield defroster only seems to blow strong air in the center of the windshield, but not all along the defrost ports. The area immediately in front of the driver's position (and possibly the passenger) received significantly reduced airflow so that ice buildup in front of the driver's view is not cleared sufficiently. If there is ice buildup on the windshield, you can obviously see the center portion clear (directly below the rearview mirror) much faster than in front of the driver's view! This is a safety concern under heavy icing weather conditions.

If it's desired to raise the cabin temperature by setting the temperatures on HI (or 84 degrees) when in climate control auto mode, the fan doesn't go to a high enough speed to bring temperature up quickly enough even when engine is at normal running temperature. This makes it difficult to raise the cab temperature quickly without using the manual fan speed settings. In Auto, the fan speed should vary a bit depending on how much of a temperature change is needed, especially on a large crew cab.

I have the 8.4 with Nav.

My dealer says the same thing "other trucks on our lot do the same thing so yours is ok".

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Not to make light of the apparent defrost issues but this thread makes me happy to be a Florida resident. My auto a/c is operating great. We've been in the high 80's for more than a week.

 

[RamCares]

My truck is at dealer now, I reported this issue and they said they checked other vehicles on the lot and they do the same thing so this is apparently ‘normal’. No it’s not! An automatic climate control system should not blast cold air on you while the engine warms up. Come on FCA, get it together with this stuff, these trucks are too expensive to have to deal with these kinds of things.

Hi SLMinATX,
We understand why this is frustrating. We're happy to have this documented. Feel free to send us a private message if you would like further assistance.
Alex
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[2wd]

This happens for me as well. I have 8.4 Nav that is on the latest software. When I remote start, fans are blowing full blast (no problem with this). They do slow once the driver's door is open (it's noticeable).

Ignoring remote start, the fans blow cold air while the engine is warming up which should not be happening. Other autoclimate cars wait until the engine is warmed up to blow warm air.

They need a simple software update to tell the HVAC to keep the fan speed on 1 until the engine is warm enough to supply warm air.

 

[RBRK]

Exactly, wonder why it has taken over 8 months and they can't fix that?

 

[echristi]

It seems like maybe they have never used any other car with an "auto" climate control setting? I wonder if all FCA cars behave the same, but I agree, it does suck. I have disabled auto because of this issue...

 

[RBRK]

The Gen 4 trucks worked fine, barely was on when cold, then ramped up after a few minutes of engine warmup.

 

[NDanecker]

My truck is at dealer now, I reported this issue and they said they checked other vehicles on the lot and they do the same thing so this is apparently ‘normal’. No it’s not! An automatic climate control system should not blast cold air on you while the engine warms up. Come on FCA, get it together with this stuff, these trucks are too expensive to have to deal with these kinds of things.

I am 100% certain that on cold mornings the fan would not blow hard until the truck warmed up. A few weeks ago I noticed that it started to blow hard no mater what the temp was (especially when cold). I shrugged it off as a setting I may have inadvertently changed, but after reading the UConnect update comment, and remembering I had to reset all my preset stations a few weeks ago I realized UConnect may have updated itself.

Now I'm frustrated and cold. Great. LOL

Hopefully it fixes itself just how it broke itself.

 

[Rich]

I am 100% certain that on cold mornings the fan would not blow hard until the truck warmed up. A few weeks ago I noticed that it started to blow hard no mater what the temp was (especially when cold). I shrugged it off as a setting I may have inadvertently changed, but after reading the UConnect update comment, and remembering I had to reset all my preset stations a few weeks ago I realized UConnect may have updated itself.

Now I'm frustrated and cold. Great. LOL

Hopefully it fixes itself just how it broke itself.

Mine blows cold. I sat in the truck and remote started it and witnessed it blow hard cold air.

It started to blow cold air on the windshield as a defrost, but before the engine was warm enough for any warm air to start, it switched to the floor vents and continued to blow cold air there.

After warm up and running, if you dial the temperature to HI, it won't put the fans on high enough to warm the cab quickly when in auto mode. You are forced to use the manual fan speed.

It seems to me that the auto climate control needs a lot of work to function as expected. My other brands auto function works great with at cold start and when making adjustments when fast heat is needed.

 

[Old Ray]

Now I'm frustrated and cold. Great. LOL Hopefully it fixes itself just how it broke itself.

Just another (of many) FCA / Ram new model screw-up's, get used to it,... and of course it is all our fault.

But what really came to mind and made me smile was "frustrated and cold", .... my first thought was yep,..... just like being married ?

 

[NDanecker]

But what really came to mind and made me smile was "frustrated and cold", .... my first thought was yep,..... just like being married ?

Exactly.