I have another minor issue with my dodge. i live in GA and in the summer it is really the "DAWG DAYS OF SUMMER". anyway, i turn on my A/C but it seems to only blow really strong and cold when i'm driving on the interstate but when i'm driving under 40 mph it really isn't too cold. i have never had an A/C issue in my life so i don't know what this really means. obviously it works becuase it does get cold, just only when i'm going 65mph. also most vehicles i have been in, the low setting is sufficient enough but with this ram, it really is kinda weak. any advice? something i can do without taking it to a shop or spending a ton of money on? thanks

 

Freon may be just a little bit low. Have a friend or someone with gauges check the pressure for you.

 

You can check the freon, but it sounds more like the compressor is on it's way out.

 

what helped me was the electric fan now the a/c is cold all the time , now i dont know about the weak air.

 

To get more air flow make certain you have set it to recirculate. Having the outside vents open will give you less air flow and also less cooling.

 

Maybe it's not the same, but mine does behave similar. Usually at highway speeds its fine, but at slower speeds, especially under load, like leaving a stop light or climbing a hill, it's like the a/c and fan speed seems to drop to almost nothing. You can barely feel anything coming from the vents. When you pick up speed, or speed stablizes, it starts working again. My a/c is charged up, battery is good, alternator seems fine, cables & belt good. I'm guessing it has to do with engine vacuum, but where to look is beyond me. I know a lot of time the little doors in the dash have vacuum lines and motors to direct airflow. Maybe a leak in one of the lines or something?

 

after i said this, i guess ia m more concerned with it not blowing really hard. it does get pretty cool and cold after a while. i am just used to the low setting being more powerful even when not driving at highway speeds. also, i don't have a recirculate option..don't know why but i don't. what is another way to tell if compressor is going out? and where exactly is the L side and H side of the a/c? thanks

 

^^ You have to have a recirculation button. Someone else with a 2001 can chime in if I'm wrong, but on my 97 I select the truck emblem which is hollow and has a arrow like a U-turn in side of it. That means to recirculate. If you have a stock dash you must have that setting. If you mean that it wont engage, then your problem if with your vents not the A/C. XXXTINA has the same issue, a vent pressure issue. You have to trace down your leak.

 

My 01 also does not have a recirculate button. I have been told it automatically recirculates on Max A/C but I'm not sure about the other settings. My dash looks just like this one:





xxxtina63 - Sounds like you might have the problem where under load the vents switch to defrost. A search will reveal many with this problem, but for me (and several others) it was the vacuum line over by the battery being damaged. Actually I believe it runs under the battery.

 

I have no recirc button.. So i guess its like the guy above said^^ max A/C automatically recirculates?