Hey all,

I took my 2005 2500 in 800 miles/3weeks ago for a freon recharge as this is the first summer I've owned it. Dealer said it was only half full and topped it off to the proper amount as well as adding some dye. It worked fine until yesterday, when I suddenly lost all cool air to the passenger side and the driver side warmed significantly. At an ambient temperature of 108, the passenger side was 85 and driver side was at 77 so i took it back to my dealer. Same problem as 3 weeks ago, freon was only 50% to capacity and the crazy part is neither myself nor the dealership could find the leak. They had my truck over 24 hours and no success, no dye to be seen anywhere. Sorry to be so lengthy, my question is has anyone gone through this? The system loses charge suddenly and with no warning, yet no one can find the leak! Where should I be looking? Thanks for any help, its hot here in Phoenix and I certainly appreciate any help I can get!

 

i got a friend with the same problem on his 05 but he has the 1500 it wont keep freeon and wont blow on the passenger side either if we ever figure it out ill let you know but i thought he was the only one with this problem

 

Even with a sniffer they can't find a leak? Sometimes they're tricky to find, but start with the obvious - schrader valves, o-rings, condenser/evaporator, compressor...

If it was holding freon and not working, I'd suspect a thermistor. If it blew cold on one side but not the other, then a blend door.

 

Thanks Ramcrazy I'd certainly appreciate it. I'll do likewise. As far as what testing or instruments they've used am not sure, just that its been in 3 times now for the same problem. I actually have a case in with Chrysler corporate right now, they seem interested in helping me so at least that is looking good. I'll keep you updated.

 

ight man see when i buddy got his truck it had a salvaged title so we keep thinkin that might play a big part in this but if you got the same deal them gotta start back from ground one and cheak it peace by peace lol ill keep you posted

 

Refilled the system today and went for a drive. I noticed as I got on the freeway that my ac suddenly went warm again (much to my dismay) so I pulled over. Once I popped the hood I noticed a puddle of freon right under my accumulator that was coming out of my orifice tube. It was dripping down right under my coolant expansion tank onto the fender. FYI freon evaporates QUICK and within 10 minutes the fender was dry with no trace of anything ever having been there. It looks like I may have found the problem, I will replace the orifice tube on Tuesday. Ramcrazy you might check out your buddies orifice tube. After finding mine leaking I did a little googling and it seems to be a common failure, although it looks like it gets plugged up more often than it leaks. My understanding is that if its plugged both hi and low side should read below recommended pressure, although I could be mistaken. I hope that replacing this along with my recirc door will take care of it, so tired of trying to diagnose the problem and poor dealer service.

 

Someone somewhere along the line should have injected some dye into the system to make it easier to spot - you'll see the neon yellow/green dye even after it dries. Get a black light to make it really pop.


Good job spotting the leak.