Tried Midas. Seeking a 2nd opinion.

[David]

Hello all,

First post on this forum and I'd like to say hi.

Had my 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 for 4 years and the AC has never been cold, let alone cool. After my daily driver took a crap, thought I'd treat myself and finally get the AC fixed. Made the mistake of going to Midas and the AC still doesn't work.

When I drive, it gets a little cool-ish but not enough to lower the cabin temperature and when I slow down or sit at a light, it gets very hot. Midas clocked the vent temperature at 100 degrees when the car is parked. In winter, only the passenger side blows hot air (when I turn on the heater) and the drivers side is cold. Someone told me that I may have a bad blend door? Wondering if this may be the culprit for the AC too? Then again, Midas told me the Low End is Retarded and the High End is 400+psi. Midas doesn't know why that the "system has very high pressure after they replaced the orifice tube". My orifice tube was clean and free of debris and maybe there is a clog somewhere else?

I paid for a diagnostic and they said the orifice tube may be bad so they replaced it and the liquid line (because they couldn't remove the orifice tube from it) and charged me $106 total (which isn't too bad) but that didn't do anything and I'm still back at square 1 and paid for a repair I didn't need. They now think it's the AC pump and I just don't want to buy it, have them instal it and be out another $700. Another option is, they said they would drain the refrigerant, let me to go to the Recycler and buy a used AC Pump, install it myself, and then recharge my system for $160 which isn't too bad of a deal I guess? I'm a little strapped for cash and just wanted to ask members of this forum what they think I should do?

Cheers,
David

[tbirdtbird]

Yikes! Midas!! Sounds like they are guessing.
Stay away!!! else bring a silver cross.
I'll let the others field this one.
But please be aware of the so-called MACS certification. Mobile Air Climate Systems Association.
These guys are highly trained, and 1000% better to help you with your AC than a brake and muffler shop. Mufflers do not have freon inside.
Look for the MACS emblem (which is in a circular form) on a repair shop.
You can also go on the MACS website and do a search for such a shop in your area

[David]

Aaah, great to know. Appreciate the reply.

On a very tight budget and unfortunately looking for the least expensive idea?

Had to close my business down because had zero competition for the two years in business selling on Ebay and Amazon. Once China caught wind, they flooded the market with cheap knockoffs, undercut me by 40% and bye bye income. Working on another venture but don't have any income and reserves are dry and just want to be able to drive in this California heat without having a stroke.

[tbirdtbird]

Hang in there one of the other consultants will be by shortly. Sorry to hear of your situation, that sucks.

[DetroitAC]

Hi David, welcome

Sounds like clogged condenser filter to me, if so the very bottom of the condenser near the outlet fitting will get cold and maybe the pipe coming out of the condenser. Confirm this?

I feel your pain with Chinese competition, I'm full time selling my own products on eBay and Amazon. Chinese guys copy my products, steal my images, undercut my prices. I have a special tool for sale on ebay where I have 50 listing of Chinese copies plus mine, in half of them I can see my own wrenches and hands. They have zero shame, business is war, I'm doing OK against them but it can be frustrating.

[Tim]

I think it is the World we live in. Everyone wants things cheap, and your time has no value to them. Get calls every day from Ebay/Amazon shoppers. How much oil, how do I fix this? Is this the correct part? You ask them for their invoice number, and they say I did not buy from you. Tell them tech support has a cost. They call you names and hang up. It's certainly frustrating. But now and then. Someone will donate to the forum, which reminds me there are still some who understand. Time, effort, and knowledge is valuable.

[JohnHere]

Thanks for joining our Forum...and welcome.

Then again, Midas told me the Low End is Retarded and the High End is 400+psi. Midas doesn't know why that the "system has very high pressure after they replaced the orifice tube". My orifice tube was clean and free of debris and maybe there is a clog somewhere else?

"Retarded" is the first thing in your post that jumped out at me. There is a zone on the low-pressure gauge that says "retard." This means that the LP is so unusually high that the gauge can't accurately measure it. The LP gauge normally "sees" positive pressures in the zero to 40 PSI range or thereabouts. That's what it's designed for. If the LP gauge is indicating in the "retard" zone, it's registering a pressure of more than 300 PSI, which is beyond its full scale. The question is, why is the low side registering such a high pressure?

In addition to what DetroitAC suggested, another reason for such a condition could be that there's no expansion device in the system—in this instance, an Orifice Tube. Thus, the refrigerant circulates unimpeded throughout both the LP and HP sides of the system at whatever pressure the compressor can generate. It's making in excess of 400 PSI as it is, so I don't believe the compressor is faulty.

At this point, I would take it back to the shop, have them recover the refrigerant, and check both the condenser (a filter itself) and for the presence of an OT.

While it's in the shop again, have them check that the blend doors are working properly, which is a separate issue. Heating or cooling on one side but not the other suggests that a blend-door actuator has failed or that it's not receiving the correct signals to open and close.

[tbirdtbird]

Detroit, it is likely we could use your special tool in this shop, assuming it is for AC.
Any chance you can send me a link to my email, or some other hint so I can locate it

Thanks
Have no fear we will not get the Chinese one, their stuff is crap. If only Nixon had not opened the door to that integrity-less place
Dave

EDIT: OK so I removed my email since Tim was nice enough to offer a workaround (next post). Thanks, Tim

[Tim]

Send me the link. and I'll put it up in the General advertising section.

[DetroitAC]

Thanks Tim

David, I also think you have a bad blend door, but it's a separate issue from your AC issues. Could be broken wiring, broken actuator, broken door, stuck door. I'm assuming you have a dual zone HVAC? Driver and passenger have their own temp controls?

I was assuming when you typed retarded, that it was pulling into a vacuum on the low side. If it's as johnHere suggested, a very high pressure on both the high and the low sides, it's a whole different story. Only way i can think of that happening is system is full of air before charging refrigerant, or full of pressurized nitrogen from pressure testing, refrigerant charged into that.