Service Trip #4 AC/Vents

[RAM#2]

Dropped the 2019 RAM off for visit #4 yesterday to address the AC / Vent issue. Anxiously awaiting their report.

Trip #3 provided a Technician that actually took the time to listen to my description of what the truck was doing and even took it out with me for a ride. Unfortunately the AC worked flawlessly.... However he did take notes and came up with a few thoughts / ideas that needed to be "run by Chrysler" for approval. I will give him the benefit of the doubt for it was "Chrysler" that called me and asked that I return the truck for their efforts.

During the time between visits I did note during a cool spell while not using my AC that I think that they vents were actually acting up in that they are seeming to be attempting to change state. With the fan on low at times I would hear the sound of the air flow change, as it seemingly got louder, but the limited air flow coming out of the vents actually decreased and was almost nonexistent. This would continue for 20-30 seconds and then the airflow would quiet down and the air flow return. This information was passed along to Chrysler when they reached out to me concerning the need to set up for the current appt.... I pray that they passed it along.

Really am Tiring of this "fun" that I paid a ton of money to have!

I will report the findings as soon as I get them.

Blessings Ya'll!!

 

[TWRam]

What AC/Vent issue are you having? Sounds like you might be describing the "cabin air purge" cycle, as I call it, that most all of us are experiencing. It is easiest to hear at faster speeds. Cruising down the highway, all is quiet, then all of a sudden you hear more wind noise, feel fresh, warm, humid air entering the cab, then all goes back to normal after 20 sec or so. It happens once an hour or more. Is that what you are talking about?

 

[RAM#2]

What AC/Vent issue are you having? Sounds like you might be describing the "cabin air purge" cycle, as I call it, that most all of us are experiencing. It is easiest to hear at faster speeds. Cruising down the highway, all is quiet, then all of a sudden you hear more wind noise, feel fresh, warm, humid air entering the cab, then all goes back to normal after 20 sec or so. It happens once an hour or more. Is that what you are talking about?

This is very similar to what I am experiencing. If it were only once an hour I could handle it. Depending upon the day it could occur 3-4 times an hour or not at all for hours on end. My AC also struggles to get cool / maintain cool when the outside temps are 85+. Some say that the system is designed this way in order to keep fresh air in the cab.... If this were so then all trucks would do this however my truck is the only one that does it out of 4 that I have knowledge of (3 other friends have 2019 RAMs). Also I have never witnessed a AC unit do this for to let in humid outside warm air goes against the primary purpose of the AC.

I do have lots of wheel time in my truck - 4.5 months w/ 12500+ miles. Love the Truck - Tiring of the AC/Vent Issues.

 

[TWRam]

This is very similar to what I am experiencing. If it were only once an hour I could handle it. Depending upon the day it could occur 3-4 times an hour or not at all for hours on end. My AC also struggles to get cool / maintain cool when the outside temps are 85+. Some say that the system is designed this way in order to keep fresh air in the cab.... If this were so then all trucks would do this however my truck is the only one that does it out of 4 that I have knowledge of (3 other friends have 2019 RAMs). Also I have never witnessed a AC unit do this for to let in humid outside warm air goes against the primary purpose of the AC.

I do have lots of wheel time in my truck - 4.5 months w/ 12500+ miles. Love the Truck - Tiring of the AC/Vent Issues.

Interesting. It does seem like an intentional process that the system is going through. Unfortunately, no one outside of FCA engineering knows what the process is or what the strategy entails. My conspiracy theory is that they know that the cab accumulates exhaust fumes under certain conditions and that the HVAC system purges the cabin air, at programmed intervals determined by usage mode, to keep the levels low. Nonsense right? Well, I had a 2015 Explorer that would have significant exhaust odor during moderate to heavy acceleration. I received a recall notice saying they were going to change the manifold as the old one could allow exhaust fumes to enter the cabin at higher throttle positions. Must have been a leaky manifold then right? Well, I got the work done and it was blatantly obvious that they had also changed the programming of the HVAC system. Now, whenever accelerating moderately, the HVAC system would switch from recirc to fresh air, and then back to recirc when done accelerating. My point in providing this example is that their fix wasn't to ensure that the fumes do not enter the cabin; rather, part of their fix was to purge the inevitable fumes out of the cabin. I'm thinking the same thing is going on with the "intentional addition of fresh air" cycle we all experience on our trucks. It would be nice if FCA would tell us what exactly it is doing and why so we can accept it, or not, and they will get far fewer warranty claims for it.

If the dealer has any useful insight to your (our) concern, please let us all know.

If you have the opportunity, leave the system on "Fresh Air" and see if you still experience the same cycling you are now. I am curious if the system only purges the cabin air when it has been on recirculate for some time (accumulation of exhaust) or if it knows that being on "Fresh Air" does not accumulate the exhaust therefore it does not need to purge the air. Let us know if it changes anything.

 

[RAM#2]

TWRAM -

Unfortunately, Fortunately, or however we choose to see it.... The "purge" occurs w/ system has Recirc On or Off, AC on or Off, System in Auto or Manual, Fan on High or Low.... There literally is no rhyme or reason to the event. With that being said - I will share everything that I get from the dealer with the forum.

 

[TWRam]

TWRAM -

Unfortunately, Fortunately, or however we choose to see it.... The "purge" occurs w/ system has Recirc On or Off, AC on or Off, System in Auto or Manual, Fan on High or Low.... There literally is no rhyme or reason to the event. With that being said - I will share everything that I get from the dealer with the forum.

Good to know. Thanks

 

[RAM#2]

Good to know. Thanks

Update - Picked up RAM#2 from the dealer yesterday after Trip #4. I am still waiting on the paperwork to be sent to me concerning the repairs made. However I was told that they evacuated the entire AC and recharged. Don't know what the results will be as of yet. I will say that the AC is cool but it is only 75 degrees outside. Unfortunately it takes a day or two for the vents to start their game. Don;t know why but it does. Anyway I will pass along whatever happens. I pray that the paperwork informs me of everything that was done during the visit AND that the vents are finally fixed. More to follow.....

 

[Firebird]

When traveling, mine does this about every 15 minutes. Gets annoying after awhile.

 

[HoustonTA]

My truck is at the dealership for a few other things, along with this one particular issue... When the wind noise kicks up, turning on/off the recirculation button on the ac appears to close the damper/air flow... I thought there was a know resolution to this issue and a tsb issued for it? I assumed they knew what I was referring to when I dropped it off... I wasn't going to pick it up till I knew it was definitively fixed. It's one of the most annoying issues I've had with this truck.

 

[RAM#2]

UPDATE - Well I received the paperwork from the dealer as to what they did. They evacuated my entire AC System and recharged it..... As always - the system worked well for a few days and then the vents started playing games. With A/C On or Off and Recirculate On or Off the vents will close most of the way causing the "wind" sound as the air is attempting to exit the smaller opening. The resetting of the Recirc button will reset the vent positions.

The problem seems to be in the control of the Vent Box RAM....

 

[AbitaPro]

Fortunately my AC works and keeps the Louisiana Black Ram cool or cold, depending on AC Temperature settings. I do hear the Fresh Air Cycling or Air Vent cycles, as described. But I don’t find it annoying or a problem, if it got stuck in that cycle, surely it would affect the Cab Comfort Level and then would be a problem. The High Technology in our New Trucks takes some getting used to. Good luck getting your AC issue resolved.

 

[Gsmith223]

UPDATE - Well I received the paperwork from the dealer as to what they did. They evacuated my entire AC System and recharged it..... As always - the system worked well for a few days and then the vents started playing games. With A/C On or Off and Recirculate On or Off the vents will close most of the way causing the "wind" sound as the air is attempting to exit the smaller opening. The resetting of the Recirc button will reset the vent positions.

The problem seems to be in the control of the Vent Box RAM....

There is a another AC thread on here will the same issue. I bet if you get a probe and check you own vent temps you will see about a 7-10 degree difference between driver and passenger side. The dealer has worked on mine three times. Each time they say they find a leak and fix it then evac and refill. It works for a few days then sucks again. Good luck its to cold for me to replicate but I have posted several videos. I will be lemon lawing mine if they cant fix it next summer.

 

[Gsmith223]

RAM AC poor performance TWITTER/FACEBOOK

Hi doublenichols, I would like to make sure this is documented so that your experience can be looked into further. Please send our team a private message with your VIN. Alex Ram Social Care Specialist Hi Newguy, In order to look this up in our system, I would need your VIN. Please send our team...

5thgenrams.com

 

[ac1dd]

I would bet that if you have the FCA factory scan tool computer it probably has a toggle to disable this "feature" however that might be a legal liability for the company which they won't allow.

If an owner can gain access it would be interesting to see if this toggle can be found, I'm almost certain it would be there if nothing else a "test mode" which could be enabled for a certain number of key on off cycles.

 

[Fidomac]

What AC/Vent issue are you having? Sounds like you might be describing the "cabin air purge" cycle, as I call it, that most all of us are experiencing. It is easiest to hear at faster speeds. Cruising down the highway, all is quiet, then all of a sudden you hear more wind noise, feel fresh, warm, humid air entering the cab, then all goes back to normal after 20 sec or so. It happens once an hour or more. Is that what you are talking about?

when this happens which is only every hour or two you can hit the AC button and then back on and it will stop it