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I'm hoping that 98DAKAZ is around and can comment, but anybody else is welcome as well.
A few years ago, the A/C evaporator failed (leak). I found the leak, replaced the evaporator, vacuumed down the system, and charged it up with R134A. Since then, I've been chasing leaks, one after another, and replacing things as I found the next leak. Since this is over a few years, and at one point I had the entire A/C system propped up on milk crates in my garage to pressure test it, things get a little fuzzy in my memory.
One leak I found was at the high pressure port. I had the port design where they didn't use a standard schraeder valve, they used a screw in valve that works like a schraeder, but can't be replaced by any standard parts, and the valve itself is no longer available. The fix for this is replacing the entire hard line between the evaporator and condensor, complete with the orifice tube. So I did that. The replacement has a standard schraeder valve in it.
Now, the high side port is leaking again. I attempted to remove the standard schraeder valve to replace it, but the shoulders broke off, so now it's stuck.
So, off to the junkyard I went, looking for parts. I found a Dakota of similar age and design (might have been an '00) and removed the line. I still have the original one I pulled off of my truck. And the one that's on there now. I seem to be collecting hard lines.
This is where my confusion starts. I got home, looked at the line (new) that is on my truck now, and noticed that the junkyard one doesn't have the high side pressure transducer, but the new one does. And it's plugged in to the harness. Then I looked at the old one, that was OEM on my truck in the first place, and it also doesn't have the transducer.
1. OEM hard line removed from my truck - no pressure transducer - but has wiring harness plug for transducer
2. New hard line from Mopar dealer - has transducer
3. OEM hard line removed from junkyard truck - no pressure transducer
Unlike the thread referenced above, I do have the low pressure sensor on the accumulator. I've seen other Dakotas with a low side transducer near the compressor, but I do not have one of those either.
The factory service manual says that my truck has a transducer. Looking at pictures of the "liquid" lines on-line from various sellers, it looks like the '00 line and '01 line are very similar, but the '00 has no transducer port, and the '01 does.
So, with all that said, do I need the high side pressure transducer for anything? Or will the A/C system run without it? It seems like it should, given that my original setup as it came from Dodge didn't have one. But having support for it in the wiring harness makes me wonder if the computer is going to be looking for the sensor and refuse to run the A/C if it doesn't see it. It did work before the leak in the evaporator that started all of this.
Looks like this the yes is were you remove it the no is dont try to remove its part of the tube its a schrader in a mount is all the yes part the high side port.
Looks like this the yes is were you remove it the no is dont try to remove its part of the tube its a schrader in a mount is all the yes part the high side port.
Right. I think.
Here’s the line I removed from my truck. As far as I can tell, it’s factory original.
The high side port comes apart, like this.
Note the lack of a pressure transducer port.
Here is the “new” line, currently in my truck, with transducer plugged in to the wiring harness.
And here is the line liberated from the local junkyard on Saturday.
2001 is a very finicky year on HVAC. Almost like it was an experiment.
Yeah. Everything I find for reference says that the line without the transducer port is ‘00, with the port is ‘01. Maybe they were still using up ‘00 parts when mine was built or something. My truck has an unusual set of features, and was almost certainly a special order.
3.9l V6, extended cab, 4WD with 5 speed and LSD. Manual locks and window cranks.
OK if first your Dakota had no transducer then keep it that way the transducer was a strange change they made on 2002 and up Dakotas.
My 98 had a connection around that area also but I think it was for other things than a transducer I believe it was for an outside temp sensor for the high end model Dakota's.
OK I'm confused so what do you need sorry I didn't see this?
Thanks. I was hoping to find out if the 01 requires the transducer. I can now report that it does. I put the junkyard tube in, and without the transducer connected, the compressor clutch will not engage. I plugged the transducer in, and the compressor fired right up.
i charged the system, 4x12 oz cans, got about 50 PSI low, 130 PSI high, then watched as the high side slowly dropped to 50 PSI and stayed there. So now it looks like my compressor is dead.
i have three high side tubes here now. Two 00 style, without the transducer port, one with. The 01 leaked at the schraeder, which self destructed when I tried to remove it. I got the remains out with an easy out, but that buggered up the aluminum threads. I might be able to save it.
The only thing I can think of is that I must have had a 4th liquid line. The one I thought was from my truck must be a junkyard find, and my actual OEM line had the transducer port. I must have pitched it, since the port leaked and could not be replaced. Wish I had it now, maybe one of these two junkyard ports don’t leak and could be used to replace the one that does,
So at this point, it looks like I need a compressor, an accumulator, yet another liquid line (with transducer port), four more cans of r134, and probably yet another schraeder for the low side port, since they seem to leak every 2nd use.
I tell everybody to replace both schrader valves they are notorious leakers. Replacing your O-rings is a good practice also they shrink with age both are cheap insurance.
So originally it had a transducer but had been swapped out?
An option is to cut off the transducer port and get an A/C shop to weld it on a line that doesn't have a transducer port for them its easy I had it done. Just drill a proper size hole in the donor line were its needed and weld the port on. Option #2 cut off the bad high side port and weld a good port on you have extra by now correct.
A good A/C shop can make you anything you want custom they can make custom soft or hard lines and install any ports needed.
Trying to make sense of '01 Dakota A/C
