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1995brave's avatar
1995brave
Nomad
Jun 12, 2018

It's too hot! AC quit.

2012 Ram went to work Friday morning AC working great. Got out of work 9 hours later (98 degrees out) started up the truck, turned on the AC knew it would take a little while to cool down, drove all the way home and it never cooled down. Picked up one of the recharge kits with low pressure gauge. Followed directions, compressor turning on, gauge shows in the green, high side line getting very hot, not getting cold. Picking up full set of gauges tomorrow from HF to check out high side pressure. Any ideas on what could be stopping it from working? Did a google search with no real help everything was for Gen 2 and 4 Rams, mine is Gen 4.
Tow Vehicles
  • Cummins12V98's avatar
    Cummins12V98
    Explorer III
    Jun 14, 2018
    Good deal, who in the he!! would want to drive a KIA when you could be stylin in a RAM !!!
  • patperry2766's avatar
    patperry2766
    Explorer II
    Jun 15, 2018
    Cummins12V98 wrote:
    Good deal, who in the he!! would want to drive a KIA when you could be stylin in a RAM !!!


    Someone who lives in Texas and can swallow their pride for a few days for a car that has cold AC. It was 110 on Monday in West Texas. I'd temporarily drive a Yugo with AC vs my F-150 if the AC didn't work when it's that friggin miserable :B
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jun 16, 2018
    My advice? Having done this a few times is to replace EVERYTHING!

    If you try to flush parts, it can be impossible to be sure that you got all of the flush out. Flush is a solvent. Any left in the system will soon cause it to fail.

    You need everything, including the evaporator and condenser.

    Do it right, or do it twice.
  • transamz9's avatar
    transamz9
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2018
    Huntindog wrote:
    My advice? Having done this a few times is to replace EVERYTHING!

    If you try to flush parts, it can be impossible to be sure that you got all of the flush out. Flush is a solvent. Any left in the system will soon cause it to fail.

    You need everything, including the evaporator and condenser.

    Do it right, or do it twice.


    I've never had a problem flushing the Evap.
  • Charlie_D_'s avatar
    Charlie_D_
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2018
    Buddy had his AC go out. Compressor failed and put debris throughout the system. AC shop replaced everything, said they flushed it. Worked for a few days, failed again. More debris. After the third failure took it to another place. Said residual debris that can not be gotten out caused the failure. They replaced everything. Works fine after a year. Could be that he was unlucky? I do know of many home AC units that have failed and a flush and repair that has led to long term service. Internals are different.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jun 17, 2018
    transamz9 wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    My advice? Having done this a few times is to replace EVERYTHING!

    If you try to flush parts, it can be impossible to be sure that you got all of the flush out. Flush is a solvent. Any left in the system will soon cause it to fail.

    You need everything, including the evaporator and condenser.

    Do it right, or do it twice.


    I've never had a problem flushing the Evap.
    Every time you do it, you are rolling the dice.
    It is impossible to know for sure if it is clean, or if there is ..... stuff still in it.
    It is a high stakes decision, as the price of being wrong can be astronomical.
  • 1995brave's avatar
    1995brave
    Nomad
    Jun 18, 2018
    Truck is cold again!
    Got all the parts in Saturday afternoon. Replaced the condenser and compressor. Since I could not replace the evaporator and expansion valve without removing the dash(over 5 hours)I flushed them and all the hoses. Put a vacuum on it and let it pull for 30 minutes. Shut it off and let it sit for another 30 minutes vacuum never changed. Started charging up the system took 1 and 3/4 cans of Freon (22ozs). How's that song go "Cold as Ice" The compressor blew an internal seal.
  • falconbrother's avatar
    falconbrother
    Explorer II
    Jun 18, 2018
    Just as a side note.. I had a buddy who's son was a poor college kid. The compressor quit in his sons car so he drove down there (Wilmington NC) and replaced that compressor in the rain. He didn't draw it down or anything, just added refrigerant. The new compressor lasted one year almost to the day.
  • transamz9's avatar
    transamz9
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2018
    Huntindog wrote:
    transamz9 wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    My advice? Having done this a few times is to replace EVERYTHING!

    If you try to flush parts, it can be impossible to be sure that you got all of the flush out. Flush is a solvent. Any left in the system will soon cause it to fail.

    You need everything, including the evaporator and condenser.

    Do it right, or do it twice.


    I've never had a problem flushing the Evap.
    Every time you do it, you are rolling the dice.
    It is impossible to know for sure if it is clean, or if there is ..... stuff still in it.
    It is a high stakes decision, as the price of being wrong can be astronomical.


    Evap is not hard. I have a flush can that you pressurize and use a/c flush. It's a lot better than taking the dash all the way to the fire wall and then having to take the HVAC box completely apart to just get to the evap to replace. I've done it because of evap leaking but if it's not leaking I'm not changing it out.10 years of doing this with zero issues.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2018
    transamz9 wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    transamz9 wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    My advice? Having done this a few times is to replace EVERYTHING!

    If you try to flush parts, it can be impossible to be sure that you got all of the flush out. Flush is a solvent. Any left in the system will soon cause it to fail.

    You need everything, including the evaporator and condenser.

    Do it right, or do it twice.


    I've never had a problem flushing the Evap.
    Every time you do it, you are rolling the dice.
    It is impossible to know for sure if it is clean, or if there is ..... stuff still in it.
    It is a high stakes decision, as the price of being wrong can be astronomical.


    Evap is not hard. I have a flush can that you pressurize and use a/c flush. It's a lot better than taking the dash all the way to the fire wall and then having to take the HVAC box completely apart to just get to the evap to replace. I've done it because of evap leaking but if it's not leaking I'm not changing it out.10 years of doing this with zero issues.

    I have flushed some as well with mixed results.
    Often you can still smell the flush, even after running 60 psi shop air thru it for an hour. If you have ever cut open an evaporator, it is obvious as to why it can never be flushed with 100% certainty. There are many passages the flush, or refrigerant can take. If a passage has restriction, it will simply use another passage..... leaving bad stuff in the evaporator. Once the system is up and running, the debri and or leftover flush contaminates the entire system causing a compressor failure, and requiring all parts to be replaced again.

    As I said before, it is a roll of the dice. I no longer take that bet. The price of the evaporator is usually less than 200.00, and the labor is whatever it takes.

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