I have a 4x4 v8 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. A couple of months ago, I noticed a vinegary smell coming from my A/C when I first started the truck. It would eventually go away though. A couple of weeks ago, that smell stopped occurring when I started the truck, but I noticed that my A/C wouldn't blow out cold air when I was parked or stopped at a red light/stop sign. The only thing that I know is that the A/C condenser fan fuse isn't blown. Also, I noticed that when I was stopped, it blew not only hot air, it was really moist. My steering wheel would get drips of water on it because it was blowing out such moist air.

Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like the condenser fan is out...the smell was the enamel on the windings melting away.

Unplug the fan, start the engine and turn on the a/c...you should have 12-14 vdc on the pig tail. Plug fan back in...if it dont spin, its bad.

Be careful when ever poking around under the hood of a running engine...lots of belts and spinning parts, and dont forget...other fans may start automatically without warning.

Good luck,
-Chris

 

Check the fuse for the condenser fan, then check the fan itself as described above. A replacement fan motor is $200+ from the dealer, so I recommend going to a pick n pull and getting a fan from a wrecked Ram.

 

If the above tests don't fix it, your compressor needs replacing.

 

Thanks guys. It turns out that I need to replace the motor for the fan. I'll be going to the junkyard later today too see if I can find one.

 

Ah, thats not quite true. There are a number of things beside the above mentioned, before dismissing the pump. In fact, modern a/c pumps fail rarely...they are protected by a pressure switch that will disengage the clutch if the Freon goes low (Freon carries the lubrication oil).

Lets let him check the fan, then go from there.

-Chris

 

Also, any odor from the motor windings failing would not enter the cabin through the refrigerant lines.

 

????!

 

I've got the same problem. I just bought the truck and tried to top off my lines with Freon. As soon as I did that the clutch started smoking like a train and now there is a terrible noise coming from under the hood when I try to run the air. I've got at least one new compressor/condensor/clutch coming to me later this week. Hope I can get my problem fixed. I'm going to replace the part and have a shop recharge my system and check it over. Hopefully it'll be A.O.K.!