Dodge Ram 1500 TRX4 4.7L Flex Fuel /// 67K miles

Seeing if there are any suggestions out there for this AC issue before I decide to take this to a professional. I bought the vehicle last year and the AC would not get real cool until after driving awhile, but would still be fairly cool upon starting the vehicle.. Last summer there was one occasion where I went on a trip and it was only blowing warm air. However, on the way back home from the trip on the same day it started working again. This was mid summer and I did not have any issues in the following months.

After the winter when I went to use it again last month it no longer works at all, it only blows warm air.

Here is what I have determined at so far:

Fuse is good!

The clutch does engage. Not always immediately, sometimes it seems there is a little bit of a struggle where it will slightly turn over, then stop, then slightly turn over a few times, but it does eventually fully engage.

The 2 aluminum lines coming off the compressor do get extremely hot.

The aluminum line going from the canister back by the firewall into the cab does get extremely cold, ices up and sweats.

The compressor has a gray plug (maybe it is a sensor??) that has three wires coming from it. Not sure what this does, but those wires had a lot of the sleeving fall off where they attach to the plug. I have since cleaned and covered those wires so they are not exposed. The gray plug itself was also moist and caked with a huge mess of black whatever?? I have also dried and cleaned that plug.

I removed the glove box and up in the back right near the firewall is a small filter of sorts that I can flap down and put my hand in, there is only warm air flowing in there. Not sure if this is where the initial cold should feed in, but it sure seems close.

I am not sure what else I should check, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

The compressor cycling would indicate low refrigerant.

 

It'll cycle on any setting other than high.

 

Not quickly.

 

So with low refrigerant would the aluminum line going from the canister back by the firewall into the cab still get extremely cold, ice up and sweat. I am getting zero ac out the vents and they are blowing just fine. Regardless if I set them low or high, there is absolutely no cold air coming out of them, even if I have been driving it for thirty minutes or an hour. If refrigerant is the issue, then this will be an easy fix!!!

 

Low refrigerant will cause icing. If it's icing in the lines you'll need to have the system evacuated, the leak repaired, and the system charged.

It should be pulled under vacuum for a good hour or so to boil any moisture out.

 

Check to make sure your AC condenser fan on the Small radiator is running at ALL times when the AC is selected.
If it's not running or if it's not really strongly pulling air through the condenser radiator, that fan motor is the culprit.
The fan needs to be spinning to aid in the heat exchange process for the AC to work correctly.
Symptoms usually are, warm air at idle or stationary which improves to cooler when trucks moving. Also the two transverse AC pipes running across the front of the truck braving, too hot to touch.
They should be ice cold to touch.

Al.

 

Thanks to everyone who provided additional information on the ac troubleshooting. I checked it all and everything checked out as functioning properly. Went and got refrigerant with the gauge. Sure enough, when I hooked the gauge up I had 0 psi. Filled it up and have ac again!! So glad this worked out as a black truck in Florida in the summer is basically unbearable with no ac....

 

glad you got air now as for the filter thing you was talking about its not a filter behind glove box that is the recirc door its wrapped in foam to help make the seal that's what controls the air flow between max air and fresh air intake and they are bad to break so in future if vents don't seem to blow hard enough like they should chances are the door has broken and feel on blower intake mine has done this

 

Glad to hear the a/c issue is resolved.