Gentlemen,
I've been experiencing A/C issues with my new truck. The A/C vent temps are about50 degrees on a 90 degree day. Meaning the cab never cools down on hot days. I've taken it to the dealer for A/C service twice. 1st time: no problems found. Second time: drained refrigerant and refilled system. Since the dealer refilled the system it's not much cooler.

Hence, my question... After driving 33 highway miles home from work and parking in the driveway, I do NOT see the normal A/C 'water leak' under the truck. I'm accustom to seeing a A/C water drip. Is it normal for my Ford F-150 'NOT' drip water? I appreciate your input.Adios.

 

Yes you should be dripping water, is it humid out? The more humid the more water, mine pours out, what kind of service are they doing, they should be evacuating the system and vacuuming it down for at least 30 minutes, to get the moisture out, are they using new freon or recycled from the machine, did they replace the orifice tube with the correct one, the restriction size goes by color. Some places add ester oil to the system, most of the time it doesnt need it and it stays in the evap or condensor blocking half the cores. i did auto A/C work for ten years so I know the ins and outs. 50* at the vent sucks, there is something wrong, you really shouldnt go by pressure either it must be weighed in on a scale, that why there is a sticker under the hood telling how much to charge the system with. Charging by pressure has to many factors to it, outside temp, engine temp, temp of the garage, how much air the fans are pulling in, open hood effects air flow from the fan. I could go on and on. bring it to someone who knows what he is doing. I can get frost from your vents.

 

I appreciate the info. I figured something is just notright. Getting the Ford dealer to fix the problem under warranty is the hardpart.
I setup another appointment with the dealer. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. Adios.

 

I am by no means an HVAC specialist, but you should see condensation, my trucks pours water, I assume because of the humidity down here. Never seen a vehicle equipped with A/C down here that didn't.

 

You will only have water condensation form when the temperature of the evaporator coil is below the dewpoint, which should be almost all the time. The amount of water produced will be proportional to the humidity level though, and it's entirely possible during periods of low humidity for any condensation to evaporate before it drips down onto the ground.

So no you won't always see a drip of condensation. Most of the time though. And if your air conditioning is cooling to 50° at the vents it's most certainly cooling enough to cause condensation some of the time. A lack of condensation isn't typically an indicator that something's wrong.

 

Jonsey, when you go to the dealer hit the service writer with some info I gave you, that way they dont play games, you only want new 134a refridgerant used in your vehicle, you want the system evacuated and put in a vacuum for at least 30 minutes and you want the orifice tube replaced. Dont put any oil in the system.

 

Thanks David7.3,
This is exactly the type of information that I need. You've been a great help. I have another service appointment at the dealer in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted. Adios.

 

kind of late to the party but one thing i've noticed with mine is that it drips a lot more water when running in normal A/C vs Max A/C.

when running in Max, i've noticed many times that by the time i've gotten where i'm going, there is very little or no condensation dripping out of the coil, whereas in normal A/C there is usually a significant puddle in very short order.

in max it recirculates the air in the cab, and once it pulls most of the moisture out of the cab, there may not be much humidity left for the AC to remove, and very likely you can get the relative humidity low enough where the dew point drops below the coil temp. when pulling in fresh air, you will always be trying to cool much more humid air and will always get a much more noticeable puddle.

mental note: i've got an IR gun at work that gives the dew point and relative humidity ... i should test my theory while it is still AC season... should be easy to prove if i'm on the right track or not.

 

Dumb question here, has anyone checked the cooling fans for proper operation?

 

Or checked the drain for an obstruction? A little compressed air in the drain line just to make sure it is clear.


I agree, David7.3 posted some great info! KD

 

Good info David

 

Regarding evaporator core drain tube ...------------------------------

-click- the pic'
Goth 150
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Howdy,
Took my truck to the dealer for the THIRD time regarding my A/C. The dealer performed the actions below.


The dealer:

• Evacuated 22 oz. of refrigerant
• Replaced the A/C expansion valve
• Filled system with 24 oz. of refrigerant
• A/C core temp 39 degrees
• Dealer reflected a vent temp of 45

Driving home from the dealer 30 highway miles, the outside temperature was 77 degrees. I used my meat thermometer to reflect the lowest vent temp of 43 degrees. At highway speed, there was a constant vent temp fluctuation between 45 and 43 degrees.

Bottom line: The A/C was a little bit better, of course it was NOT HOT outside. So I really will not know how the A/C will perform until next summer when it's hot and humid.

I appreciate everyone's input. Adios.

 

I have the exact same issue on a 2013, less than 1 year old with 16K miles! As long as the ambient temp stays under 90, AC operates OK. Vent temp never sees the bone chilling 39 degrees that my wife and sons Edge and Explorer do. If the stars are aligned correctly, I can sometimes get to 40, but you can feel that the system is not removing the humidity.

I was at the dealer yesterday, 94 degrees out and the low pressure side line was cool, but the high pressure side which is suppose to be warm to hot to touch, was ambient. They said I either had a bad compressor or TXV. I was told our models do not have a fixed orifice valve.

As is now, mine on days above 90 degrees will cool down to about 42 then cycle off to 46 and back on again. I too do not see the large puddles that you would expect under the truck regardless of the outside temps. If it gets higher than 94, you may as well park it.

The evaporator core is suppose to run at 36-38 degrees and they can check this via the PCM. Its odd that some of us have issues while others don't. It has been suggested that these systems may need to be slightly over charged.

There is also a hack on another forum where you use a Potentiometer to trick the computer. You attach it at the evap core sensor probe. Some have done it to resolve there issue, but be for warned, if temps drop you can freeze the coil or do damage to compressor.

Ford changed this model from what I have found to assist fuel economy, hence why the compressor cycles so much!.