Anyone know what the A/c temperature out of the vents "should" be for a 98 Durnago. I've heard that the A/c for the Durangos SUCKS... What is the "ideal" temperature I should be getting out of the vents if everything in OK??? Currently I'm at 50 degrees (seems kind of warm......)

 

Its going to be different depending on outside temp. On hot summer days , a fully charges a/c should be
aprox...42-48 degrees out the vents. On not so hot days, aprox...39-44 degrees.
I would do the obvious first, and check the condensor( in front of the radiator) for debri.
If its clean, make sure the fan, fan-clutch is working properly. If all is good, check the charge
amount of freon in the system , and check for leaks.

It sounds like your A/C could be just a little low on freon... Good luck.

 

Had this problem on our's to. The dealer tried to make it better but couldn't. I'm goin' with Dixi on this'n. But it also doesn't hurt to ask the dealer to. Might need a charge to.

 

I am a MVAC Tech and by EPA regulations the A/C system only has to blow 20 degrees cooler air than the outdoor ambient temperature to work properly. In vehicles it should be able to drop lower than this when the RPM's are raised. At an idle, the air temp will be warmer.

 

If that is the way to diag the a/c, then in my area where it gets 105 degrees for weeks on end, the a/c would be blowing out the vents at 85 degrees. Thats not cool!.

To correctly check the temp out of the outlets, you should have the a/c on Max, fan on High. This puts the Hvac mode in recirculate, which uses the air in the cab to recool through the evap. The air in the cab cools and is easier to recool even colder.
With Recirc... off, the air is coming from the outside, when its not as hot out and the demand for cold are is less. The compressor may cycle more often also. its like Econo mode...

hope this helps

 

My A/C on my 2000 model was not cooling too well, it cools, but not as cold as most other cars I have driven. When my heater core went out and the mechanic replaced it, he readjusted the vent baffle doors between the A/C coil and heater core. Since then, my A/C is freezing cold!

Just FYI,

Dodge Durangos, there is no heater valve that shuts off the flow of antifreeze to the heater core. So hot antifreeze is continuously flowing thru the core at all times. They instead use a insulated vent baffle door to mix the air coming from the heater core and A/C core. If this baffle door is not aligned well and provide a airtight seal between these cores, the A/C side may not get COLD because it is mixed with some hot air from the heater core side.

A good way to test this theory without going in and tearing down your dash to access the vent box, just buy yourself a heater hose coupler. I think the size of the hose is 5/8" inches. Remove both heater hoses going to to the core (located at the firewall) and attach both hoses to the coupler. This will totally bypass your heater core. Then drive your durango around time with the A/C on and see if you notice a difference in cooling temperature.


Living in the Dallas / Fort Worth area where summer temperatures stay in the 3 digit range and have very high humidity, I used to have to keep the A/C on max and high speed, now I can just use max setting and set it on low or 2nd to low speed. I don't use normal A/C as the air quality outside is bad and when stuck in traffic, I don't want to suck in other people's car exhaust fumes into the interior cabin!. Attached some temp probes on the air outlet and averaging around 45-50 degrees on the hottest day. This temp is when engine is idling.

Another big benefit to help the A/C to cool down your Durango is to go out and buy yourself a custom fit dashboard cover! I noticed an easy 20-30 degree cooler difference in my cabin if my durango parks outside in direct sunlight. Also, having a dash cover, the A/C can cool down your interior much faster.

 

If you notice in my first post, I did not say that A/C system only works at 20 degrees less than ambient, I said according to EPA regulations it only has to be 20 less to be considered working properly. If you look at the rest of my first post, the part you did not quote, I said in vehicles it can be cooler than the 20 degree difference. Being that his truck is a newer truck (uses 134a refridgerant), this gas is not as dense as the old R-12 that use to be used and without any tale-tale signs of a leak, 134a will leak out of the refridgerant hoses over time. This doesn't mean the hose is bad unless you can see oil all over the hose too. All vehicles do this at some point or another and just need taken in and serviced. FYI, the fan does not have to be on high for recirculate mode either. If you have a R-134a manifold or even single guage, you can check the charge yourself. Idling you want it as close as possible, but no higher than 45 lbs on the suction side. (Note, this doesnt mean put 45 lbs of 134a in your system.) There is also a proper and improper way to add refridgerant to your system. If you don't know how, you shouldn't do it. You'll only mess your system up. For those of you that like to call it freon, you'll notice I do not because freon actually is a refridgerant just like R-12 and R-134a. Is there anything else you'd like to challenge me on my job about? I have no problems explaining it to you and sorry if I seem rude in this post. I do not mean to be. People see that they can buy there own recharge kits and think that A/C systems are really simple pieces of equipment, but there not. That is why they are regulated by the EPA and people have to be certified by the EPA to work on them, besides also going to school to learn how to work on them correctly.

 

Thanks everyone! It sounds like if I'm in the low 40's I'm in good shape.... I'll wait for a warm day in the Pacific northwest(June ) and I'll see where I'm at... One question on the "damper door allignment".... I assume that's something that can only be done while the Dash in gone...? Could I run the vehicle a while and turn to cold (not a/c) and see if I get warm air....? Would that indicate a problem..... ?

Thanks all!

 

I noticed you said "according to EPA regulations " I just mean , if thats the way to diag it , then it wont be fixed.
I did not say the fan has to be on high to be in recirc...I said.... To correctly check the temp out of the outlets, you should have the a/c on Max, fan on High

 

I am not saying any of this stuff to **** you off or anything like that. Everyone is entitled to there opinion and I am curious about yours.

It's nice to see that low temp coming out the vent, but no, it isn't the proper way to diagnose what the problem is with the A/C. All it will tell you is if it is putting out cold air or not. The guages on the manifold hooked up to the refridgerant lines will tell you exactly what is wrong by it's pressure reading, or at least where to look for the problem at. From what pradesj asked, there is NO set temp for any vehicle that should come out the vents. It depends on the charge and all components working properly. It is a combonation of proper pressure, equipment function and ambient temp (whether setting are on recirculate or not) it makes a difference on what the temp coming out of the vents is. And in all actuality, the temp directly out of the vent would be colder with a lower dan setting then with a higher. To prove this, imagine if a fan was not blowing air across the evaporator, do you know what would happen? The evaporator would freeze solid because the lack of air. Frozen is colder than not. In a vehicle it doesn't feel cooler by your hand at lower temp rather than high temp because of lack of insulation and amount of windows compared to a house. Do you understand now why it is not the correct way to check the temp out of the vents by A/C on recirc and fan on high. You can check the temp all day long on any setting out of those vents and it will give you a temp reading, whether it is hot or cool. What the actual temp is depends on how well the equipment is working.

As for "correctly checking the temp out of the outlets," as you said Digi. Please tell me how this is the correct way to check the temp. It is a way to check the temp, but what makes it the correct way and all others incorrect?