Air Conditioner question

[okaussie]

What is the vent air temperature when the outside air temp is 102? I have the A/C running on Max with the blower at 4 and the temp is around 75. Is this normal??

I like things cold and this doesn't seem to be it. I thought the vent temp should be around 50 or below. Maybe I am mistaken and this is the best it will do.

I have dark film on all four windows to help it.

TIA

Bill

[HenryJ]

I can usually get the AC to read well below 50 degrees F close to the evaporator.

My first suggestion would be to clean the condenser and the space between it and the radiator.

[okaussie]

When I take it to the carwash I usually pressure wash the front of the truck including the grille. This temp problem has been a problem for several years and every place I take it to says everything is fine. I know in my house the temp in the vents are around 50 and in my wife's 2002 Chrysler Sebring it too is around 50. Why is it, then, nobody thinks there is a problem with mine at 75 except me??

TiA

Bill

[HenryJ]

As long as this is a crew cab truck and has the original R134a based system, 75 would not be acceptable to me.

Pop the cover off the top and look in between the condenser and radiator. Pull the grille off too. No matter how careful debris seems to build up in there. If the refrigerant can not efficiently get rid of the heat, there is no way to cool things down inside. The condenser is always the first place to start.

At 75 , I still think that you have an issue. If the pressures are correct , the condenser clean-clean and the evaporator not plugged, then it may be time to replace the filter dryer (dehydrator) , orifice tube and refrigerant.

There are a couple things you can do to improve it, beyond the "normal" system. Adding a heater control valve will stop the flow of coolant through the heater core and improve cooling. You do want to make sure all the doors are operating correctly and that the temperature control door is working properly.
On max AC the cowl vent door should close and the air recirculate. Make sure it is operating correctly too.
The Hot Foot Fix is nice. I don't know that it will improve the AC function, but it does help when the AC is off.

[saab9k]

low around 33 to 35 when cyckling on idle, high 2.5 times outside temp.
I go by the low in most cases.
Could be office tube filter clocked.

I do have a recover unit, have found replace the tube, drier helps, sometimes add a little oil if compresser makes more noise than usual.

[roadrunner]

Clean your radiator and condenser as Brule indicated above. Mine gets full of leaves, bugs, and whatever else can be sucked up in the area between the two. I wash mine at the car wash too but junk still ends up there. I usually blow out all the junk I can with the top shield off and grille out with high pressure air. After that's done I take a garden hose with good pressure and a good nozzle and wash till I can't see any dirty areas with a light behind the radiator when viewed from the front. Makes a lot of difference on fan noise as well as running temps and AC output air temp. One telltale sign on mine is the fan starts to howl louder than usual on initial take off before engine is warm enough to engage it and really gets noisy when warm enough to engage clutch fan.

[okaussie]

My actuators in the cab all work fine. I like the idea of stopping the water from the radiatior going into the heater. Downside is no defrost if you need it before winter. The valve is a good idea. I have replaced the fan clutch six months ago. As to the junk between the radior and condenser, I will check into that the next time I am off.

It has already got to 100 here this year and not looking forward to August if I still have problems like this.

Thanks guys,,

Bill

[HenryJ]

I like the idea of stopping the water from the radiatior going into the heater. Downside is no defrost if you need it before winter. The valve is a good idea.

A simple inline valve under the hood can be used. I had mine set up with a vacuum controlled valve and a switch on the dash to operate it. Worked great.

[okaussie]

I bought a set of gauges from Harbor Freight the other day and slapped them on my 2002 CC this morning. This is what I have got:

Engine not running with air temp at 90
lo side 15 high side 90.

Engine running, windows down, vent temp in the center of the dash 80
lo side 20 high side 150 with the compressor on

Then it kicks off:

lo side 70 then drops until the compressor kicks back on.

High side 125.

What next??

Bill

[saab9k]

engine running, compressor cyckling, low side 35 up to max 38. High side 2.5 times outside temp, in the Shadow.

Temp in car, truck depends on system condition.

[okaussie]

I get all that. The compressor does cycle. It does not stay on all of the time.

I know the pressures are off. I just need to know if adding freon will take care of it.

I don't want to take it to the shop for that. I do not have the tools and vacuum pump to do the repairs myself if that is what it is.

I can add the freon and that is about it.

So, will that take care of my problem to get the temp in the vents down to an acceptable level or am I just wasting my time.

Bill

[saab9k]

Common sense is having the right amount of freon in system, if not cool / cold then would be to find the problem. That what i do when working on it, i do have a recover unit/ re-cycler /charger.

[okaussie]

The question now is, how do you know if and when you have enough freon in your system?? How do you tell?
By the manifold gauges? By the vent temp? by condensation on the receiver/dryer? What??

I am not belittling the situation but if it is something I can fix, I would much rather do that than take it in.

Just last week my radiator sprung a leak on the driver's side upper corner in the plastic and I changed it and both water hoses without any difficulty so there are some things without special tools that I can do myself. It just makes me one with my CC.


Bill

[saab9k]

engine running, compressor cyckling, low side 35 up to max 38. High side 2.5 times outside temp

[okaussie]

The next time I am off I will get some Freon and add it and see if I can get those types of pressures,

Probably Tuesday.

TIA

Bill

[hootz]

I bought a set of gauges from Harbor Freight the other day and slapped them on my 2002 CC this morning. This is what I have got:

Engine not running with air temp at 90
lo side 15 high side 90.

Engine running, windows down, vent temp in the center of the dash 80
lo side 20 high side 150 with the compressor on

Then it kicks off:

lo side 70 then drops until the compressor kicks back on.

High side 125.

What next??

Bill

Your gauge reading results are confusing; when the compressor is not running the pressures should almost be equal. If the vehicle was not running for 10 minutes and the readings with the engine off are low side 15 high side 90 this could indicate a restriction in the system somewhere. The orifice tube has a fine screen in it and any particles flowing through the system will plug this screen up. This would be the first place to look for a suspected restriction.
Low side 20 high side 150 could very well be a low refrigerant indication. Previous posts are right, I like to see the low side 35 to 38.
When the compressor kicks off the low side pressure should rise; when the compressor kicks back on the low side pressure will decrease until the low pressure switch turns the compressor off.
When testing your temp output you will get the coldest temp with the blower at low speed and normal a/c instead of max and in a shaded area. At 102 degrees in the shade you might see an output of about 65 degrees or lower. You didn't mention if your measurement of 75 degrees was in the direct sun or in the shade.

[okaussie]

Yesterday was another hot one 103. Set another record. Added two cans of R134. Got the pressure consistent at 50 and 250. Advance Auto Parts where I buy my parts told me that between 45-50 should be good for here since it gets so hot here. So that is what I did. The clutch stays engaged all the time now. The vent temp in the center vent was rock solid at 60. With the windows down. fan on 4 and under a tree on the driveway. I don't know how people get the temp in the cab so low. Mine won't go lower than 60. It is better now with the added refrigerant but I would still like it at meat locker temperature.

As I stated above, I cleaned the condenser when I replaced the radiator a couple of weeks ago so I don't think that is a problem.

What's next?? A trip to my local A/C shop??

Bill

[raven2510]

It still sounds to me you need to replace the accumulator/dryer & orifice tube. Your low & high sides should be nearly equal with the engine off after like 10min.

Guessing that your S10 is like 7-10 years old, I would say they are worn out/clogged.

I just replaced the dryer/acc. & orifice tube on my 1999 4 weeks ago. I now have 50* air in the center vent when the outside temp is around 85*+.

[saab9k]

your tube filter is most likely full of dirt, low should be 35 max 38 , with compressor cyckling.

don't forget the dryer, flush with a 1/4 of cleaner for air con systems.

[okaussie]

IT was as high as 108 today and the vent temp was still at 60. The wife says it cools better now. By the way it is a 2002 with 150K and a one owner. Bought it new in June 2002.

As to the Cleaner question. Will that fix it without having to replace anything??

I just spent $60 on three cans of R134a and put in it. Don't want to have to take it in and have these parts replaced and get charged again for the refrigerant..

Bill