Good evening everyone,

I am posting in hopes of getting assistance with finding a fix for my aircondtioing issue with my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4x2.

Here is a quick run down with whats happening. I can turn the truck on and put the A/c to MAX. It will get cold for a minute then blow air that is the same as what ever it is outside. The truck has 76,000 miles on it and I thought I might be able to get away with a quick recharge. So I head down and buy one of those recharge kits with a hose and filler gauge. I start the truck, turn on the A/C and hook up the recharge canister. To my suprise the gauge read that the system was over-filled and the needle on the gauge was in the red. I took it of and hooked it back up with similar results. I confirmed the gauge was not faulty by hooking it up to my GMC.

I also went to Dodge and dropped some cash on a small switch that is threaded on the A/C hardline, thinking thay may fix the problem but it didn't. Anyone have any clue? The A/C will blow cold upon start up and once in a blue moon when I am cruising around town. Need some insight folks.

Thanks in advance!

 

Has your AC condenser fan blown it's fuse?

Put your AC on to de-frost the front windscreen and switch your blower fan onto max.
Your AC fan is behind the condenser to the right of your radiator, if your looking toward the front of the truck, should start to spin.
Keep watching the fan and make sure, that it's pulling a lot of air throught the AC condenser radiator.
You should feel a stiff breeze behind the AC rad.
If the fan isn't spinning from the initial start up, check the fuse to your AC fan in the fab box/power distribution module.
If the fan sarts then after a ahort time peetrs out, the fan motor could be goosed.
Post up your results and let me know.
If the fan's not running, you will get a high pressure build up and your DIY gauges will read high and you won't be able to fill the system with more coolant/gas etc.
Hope this helps???
Al.

 

Well I did as you suggested. The smaller fan off to the right you described does not come on at all....go figure I checked the fuses and they are all good to go. Checked em all with a test light and they all have current. I unplugged the harness connection going to it and hit it with the test light as well. I got fire there too. However, get this one. When I plugged it back in, the fan spun for about 4 seconds and slowly dwindled down to nothing. Could the fan motor be my problem? If so how hard are they to change out?

 

By Jove, I believe you've got it! I hear they're expensive and may require a coolant recharge. Hopefully, you can find a motor assembly at a junk yard. Looks like the manual wants you to evacuate the system and then recharge it after the unit has been replaced. It may be possible to just replace the motor.

 

It's probably the condenser fan like the other guys said...but also make sure the clutch in the compressor is coming on. If the compressor isn't coming on i don't think the system turns the condenser fan on..

Also I don't believe in those freon charges in acan...the proper way to charge the system is to have it vacuumed and charged. All the moisture needs to be out of the system for it to work properly...just my .02

 

Hi MikeHTally.
My fan motor was the same.
If you gently tap it with a screwdriver handle it will spin back up.
It's the motor brushes worn out,
You can remove the fan and shroud assembly without having to discharge/recharge the AC system.
You need to cut away the some of the plastic fan shroud on the top left side where the AC linesfeed into the condenser.
This will not weaken the shroud and will stop the need to discharge the AC system to remove the motor.
Pull the shroud and fan and motor out of the truck by wiggling and pulling gently etc.
You can then either replace the brushes inside the motor as I did and rebuild it, saving hundreds of $'s, at least that's how much it would have cost here in the UK.......$500+, or buy a new AC fan motor.
Reassemble and you will be good to go.
Check what SeVeReDiStOrTiOnsaid about the clutch. Note that the clutchwill engage and disengage a lot more than normal, as the fan isn't cooling down the coolant.
Also, you will notice that the metal AC lines at the bottom of the AC condenser radiator (03 Hemi) will be very hot to the touch after running the AC without the cooling fan workingfor like 5 minutes or so, possibly untouchableand not cold, with water droplets forming on it.
This is a classic tell tale of your condenser fan, not cooling the coolant.
You will also here a LOT of hissing from the front left side of the truck as you look at it from the front. This is the high and low pressure sides of the AC system equalising. It makes a lot more hissing noise than normal,due to the higher temp therefore coolant pressures involved.
That's what initailly alerted me to my probelm fan in the first place.
Don't be afraid to get stuck into removing the fan and shroud. It's a little awkward and the shroud as stated, needs a little trimming and jiggling to get it out, but it's all doable and a satisfying repair saving lot's of $'s if you DIY.
Hope this helps??
Al.

 

Well got a fan motor on order and should be here in a few days. I'll swap it out and get back to you guys. The clutch for the compressor is engagingat this point.

 

had the same problem. i didnt know you could just buy the fan motor.....everywhere i checked..they wanted over $300 for the fan....i went to eba and picked up a brand new fan....fan...housing motor....everything for $60 and $20 to ship it. it works better than the OEM ever did and have not had a problem with it since and its been GREAT! its made by TYC by the way.

 

Reading about the problem helped me decide to change my fan on my 03 Ram 1500. I found out after spending $125.00 that the fan was bad. They quoted $301 to change it out. Like I said, reading the info made me do itself. I found a easy way to install it. I will try to post pictures. I remove the crossmember where the hood latch is located. 5 bolts removed and saved a ton on time. I did modify shroud by cutting away a plastic part where you would have to disconnet the line. Removing that you can slip the shroud over the condenser. All in all, I spent $293 for the shroud,wire pigtail, my inspection sticker(over due) and licence tag. Instead of spending $301 for maintance, I got three things and saved $7. thanks

 

Sorry for the delay.

I installed the new fan motor. It was a tad bit of a PITA but I got it done. I did however kill my poor dremmel though, may it rest in peace

The A/C instanly shoots out super cold air now....it never cooled this well even when we first bought it new off the lot from Dodge.

Thanks everyone for their help. Oh and by the way install time took me about 1.5 hours with no instruction or guide. just had to sit and fiddle with it a bit and got her done.[sm=alcoholic.gif]