Poor Air Conditioning Performance - not a blend door issue

[Progeny2021]

You're a lot braver than I am. lol I won't even consider going out to the desert shooting until October. But we are a little warmer here than you but not by much. Once its over 110 does it really matter? ?

I experienced Phoenix once at 117F. High 90s and high humidity at home felt hotter.....

Sponsored

 

[AzScorpion]

Only a few of us here know the pain of desert heat sir lol… luckily we had an EZ-up setup and drank a lot of water

Me and my buddy both have an EZ-Up which does help keep the sun from blaring down on top of you. IDK maybe I'm just burned out from living here but it seems like every summer gets harder and harder to deal with the heat. But then again I hate the cold and just put up with the summers as the rest of the year isn't all that bad.

What's funny is when the newbies arrive here and ask "why is there no cold water"? lol

 

[VegasRanger]

Me and my buddy both have an EZ-Up which does help keep the sun from blaring down on top of you. IDK maybe I'm just burned out from living here but it seems like every summer gets harder and harder to deal with the heat. But then again I hate the cold and just put up with the summers as the rest of the year isn't all that bad.

What's funny is when the newbies arrive here and ask "why is there no cold water"? lol

Hahaha yup. When I take showers in the summer I don’t even bother moving it to hot because the “cold” setting is warm water. At least here in Vegas our summers are shorter than yours.

 

[AzScorpion]

I experienced Phoenix once at 117F. High 90s and high humidity at home felt hotter.....

The dry heat is definitely easier to deal with than humidity. I remember flying back to MA one July when I still had both house and when I got off the plane it was nasty humid. It was a lot better here at 108 than it was there at 85 and muggy.

 

[AzScorpion]

Hahaha yup. When I take showers in the summer I don’t even bother moving it to hot because the “cold” setting is warm water. At least here in Vegas our summers are shorter than yours.

Yeah there's nothing worse than coming home from work and wanting a cold shower and having to take a Luke warm one. I can barely turn the dial on and it's already coming out hot. I turn my water heater off around mid March and it's still steaming hot coming out of the tap. Ours are in the garage which I'm sure yours are too. The joys of desert living. lol

 

[TJMarchand]

The dry heat is definitely easier to deal with than humidity. I remember flying back to MA one July when I still had both house and when I got off the plane it was nasty humid. It was a lot better here at 108 than it was there at 85 and muggy.

This actually all started because of that exact weather here in Boston, 85-95 degree days work 60+% humidity. I step outside and sweat before I can get to the truck.

 

[AzScorpion]

This actually all started because of that exact weather here in Boston, 85-95 degree days work 60+% humidity. I step outside and sweat before I can get to the truck.

Oh I remember those days all to well. I worked construction on new houses and it was very rare we had ac so I was soaked from the time I got to work until I left. Here it's mostly dry (10%) humidity but now in July and August it's our Monsoon season and we're having an active one this summer. It's been raining several days a week and the humidity has been mid to upper 60%. The temps are still around 108 so it's pretty nasty here right now. Neither is fun but it is better when it's 110+ and 10% humidity. Funny because while the rest of the country is looking forward to summer most here can't wait until it ends.

 

[rydfree]

i believe he meant engine coolant.
and that does make sense to a point.

the engine wont cool itself as well, and the engine bay gets hotter and with radiant heat, the dash area gets hot too....so how hot was it getting is the question?

I'm just hoping not hot enough to do any damage to the engine or components.

The AC condenser (heat exchanger) is mounted in front of the engine radiator (heat exchanger) . If one gets abnormally hot it will affect the other .

 

[NotBudule]

Yup, $20 jug of coolant is a price I can stomach, wish I had opened my eyes before taking it to the dealer however!

Yup, regular engine coolant. Looked at the reservoir and noticed it was just slightly under the minimum fill line. I filled it in the Auto Zone parking lot, by the time I started driving away the A/C was already actually cool again.

how much coolant did you have to add to top it off ??

 

[TJMarchand]

how much coolant did you have to add to top it off ??

About 1/3 of a gallon I'd guess? Still plenty left in the jug and I spilled a little as I had no funnel.

 

[JimJa]

Couple of things based on experience over the years and outside of the things already discussed.
- First and foremost. Take your vehicle to a speciality A/C shop. With the dealer, HVAC is only a sideline to the many other things done with the vehicles they maintain. An A/C shop deals with just A/C, they've seen it all and are better at A/C repair. Yes, you'll pay for it, but it beats taking your truck in repeatedly.
- Not mentioned is the "misting valve." R134, once returned to a liquid state goes through a misting valve (A/C folks may have another name for it) that "mists" the liquid before your A/C fan blows air over your evaporator inside the heater box. If there is even the slightest bit of dirt in the A/C system the valve can plug (note lack of cooling and frost on the A/C piping under the hood) or limit 134 flow. Replacement of this inexpensive valve is easy but the system must be evacuated. An A/C shop can diagnose this quickly.

 

[Jason B]

Couple of things based on experience over the years and outside of the things already discussed.
- First and foremost. Take your vehicle to a speciality A/C shop. With the dealer, HVAC is only a sideline to the many other things done with the vehicles they maintain. An A/C shop deals with just A/C, they've seen it all and are better at A/C repair. Yes, you'll pay for it, but it beats taking your truck in repeatedly.
- Not mentioned is the "misting valve." R134, once returned to a liquid state goes through a misting valve (A/C folks may have another name for it) that "mists" the liquid before your A/C fan blows air over your evaporator inside the heater box. If there is even the slightest bit of dirt in the A/C system the valve can plug (note lack of cooling and frost on the A/C piping under the hood) or limit 134 flow. Replacement of this inexpensive valve is easy but the system must be evacuated. An A/C shop can diagnose this quickly.

Not an AC guy, but I've heard many call it the expansion valve.

 

[JimJa]

Yeah, "expansion valve" sounds better. Couldn't think of the correct valve so called it a misting valve. Function is important thing tho. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[Progeny2021]

Not an AC guy, but I've heard many call it the expansion valve.

Ford used 'Orifice Tubes' in place of expansion valves at one time. Our very first Ranger, a 1988 XLT, had the fixed orifice tube system, even after it was switched over to R-134. Have no idea what my 2019 Ranger has....

 

[thewhiteranger]

Good afternoon, I'm experiencing a problem where my A/C won't blow under 60 degrees in my 2019 Ranger. I my understanding is that most A/C systems should have temperatures around 30-45 degrees from the vent. I spent a couple of weeks driving around with a thermometer in the vent, and it would only dip below 60 on rare occasion.

I started by replacing the cabin air filter with a regular OEM Motorcraft replacement, which had no affect.
I used a gauge which read there was enough r-1234yf in the system and that it was not under charged.

Next step was to bring it to a dealer. They checked the blend doors and found they are working properly which is a relief. They evacuated the system, pulled out the correct amount of refrigerant and confirmed it was not leaking. They re-filled the system, and told me nothing was wrong. I paid the $290 diagnostic fee and am still warm during this heatwave.

The fan speeds all work, and I can notice a difference selecting all the way from heat to the lowest temperature. I have tried all the different settings, a/c on, off, max a/c, and switching between recirculate and outside air. When I press the a/c button, I can hear what I think is the compressor engaging?

Not sure why I do not have decent temperatures or enough power to cool the cab. Can anyone steer me in the right direction with this?

wish I could help I can tell you its not normal my ac blows ice cold and I live in texas home of 100+ most of the summer. sorry man but something has got to be wrong.. maybe a different dealer?????

Sponsored