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Fellas,
Purchased my 2013 Ford F150 in December. Meaning, until recently I have not turned on the A/C. Recirculating while on Max A/C the air does not get cold. It's cool, but not cold. Last week I took it into the dealer. The dealer told me all is well and the system is working as designed.
Anyone else experience this issue? I appreciate the information. Adios.
Check the condenser coil at the radiator to ensure it's clean or not blocked. Air needs to flow freely through this coil to give up heat to the to the air. If the system has the right charge, many times it's just an airflow issue. Clean the bugs and dirt with a nylon brush and some soapy water. If you use a pressure washer, don't bend the fins. If this doesn't do it, have the system rechecked at another dealer.
Sorry the 134A just doesn't compare to the old R22, and it's worst idle or slow speed driving, sometimes you can play with the charge and get it a little better but unless your system was doing great, than stopped performing like it did, The dealer might be right. The 134A just doesn't give its heat off enough, that why there running bigger condensors, locking fan clutches just trying to get the A/C cool enough. I f your system cranks, dont touch it. It will never be the same. Since we stopped burning a hole in our atmosphere with all the hair spray, freon and everything else, Now we are sealing it so thick we got global warming, simple, lets go back to CFC's great freon and we can enjoy big hair and cold A/C. Al Gore should agree.
Sorry the 134A just doesn't compare to the old R22, and it's worst idle or slow speed driving, sometimes you can play with the charge and get it a little better but unless your system was doing great, than stopped performing like it did, The dealer might be right. The 134A just doesn't give its heat off enough, that why there running bigger condensors, locking fan clutches just trying to get the A/C cool enough. I f your system cranks, dont touch it. It will never be the same. Since we stopped burning a hole in our atmosphere with all the hair spray, freon and everything else, Now we are sealing it so thick we got global warming, simple, lets go back to CFC's great freon and we can enjoy big hair and cold A/C. Al Gore should agree.
I like your dig at Gore. That old wind bag just needs to go away. Too bad about the old R22 systems. The R134 should work better than it does. My last old truck that had R22 , I swear I could hang meat in it.
My 13 eco works pretty good on a hot day but I'll agree it does cool way better when you can get it out on a highway and get some air blowing thru it.
Howdy,
My trucks A/C is average at best. As per Firedaniel's suggestion(great post by the way!), I added the foam to my A/C line. Sure can't hurt anything.
The summer time temps near me have been cooler than normal. Hence, I won't be able to tell much of a difference until it gets hot again. I'll keep you guys posted. Adios.
Since the ecoboost engine has an intercooler. Which would cause more interference to the airflow across the condenser coil. Poor airflow across the condenser will directly affect the performance and the ability for the system to cool down the cab.
Does this poor a/c performance seem to be more a problem for the ecoboost trucks than the 5.0 trucks?
I have an ecoboost and it seems to work OK. But I live in central Alberta and not Florida or New Mexico. So mine doesn't have to work nearly as hard.
I have a good friend who is an Hvac mechanic. Air conditioning systems basically all work the same way.
Refrigerant is compressed and forced thru an orifice at high pressure. As the gas passes through the orifice it expands into the evaporator coil and that expansion creates the cooling effect. That gas continues on to the compressor and and the evaporator. When the gas is compressed it creates heat that needs to be released into the surrounding air.
If the condensing coil cannot shed that heat from compression then the system will not perform well.
Has anyone tried an additional cooling fan in front of the condensor coil mounted at the intercooler.
Might be worth a try. Sorry for the long post.
Good Grief ............. I live in Dallas, it is normal to be around 100 at any time, and the AC works fine, with 134, and the old systems did not use R22 they used R12, r22 is used in home systems. if your r134 system is evacuated/charged as it should be you will get 40-45 out of the duct at max air. all that hype about air flow........... the people at ford that designed that system know a tad bit more than we do. this man has a 2013, and I am pretty sure he has not clogged up the air flow unless he is driving thru corn or maze fields daily, that's just ridiculous. now, he could have a fan clutch that failed, then at an idle he would have issues, head pressure raising. there is no way to determine what is happening with his truck without gauge readings, know the facts. shots in the dark are just that............. shots in the dark.
I was just throwing some ideas out. The Op is looking for some ideas. A condensing coil that has some dirt and bugs clogging it will reduce its efficiency. You don't have bugs in Dallas? Besides, how hard is it to take a minute and wash it out with a hose to see if it helps the problem.
He said he took it to the dealer, they checked the system and supposedly it has the correct charge. So maybe we offer some other ideas. What's the big deal.
get an actual thermometer, not an IR gun, and stick it in the vents to see what it's reading. low 40's should be achievable at idle. once running down the freeway, it should drop some more to 35-37. then you'll know if there's actually an issue. also make sure you cabin air filter, if you have, is clean. a lack of fan speed might make it feel like it's not cooling enough
not exactly the same combo, but some scientific data for you to go by.
2010 f150 5.4
Pic #1: engine idling, 85° outside with air conditioning set to full cold and blower to maximum -- Not in the "max A/C" setting, Not set to recirculate inside air. pretty consistent with 62° vent temps
Pic #2: engine idling, same temps outside but with the A/C set to "max A/C". pretty consistent at 47° vent temps.
these two pictures were actually shot in reverse order. i let it get as cold as it would at idle in the Max A/C setting, then set it to cool the outside air and the the vent temps stabilize. then, because i started getting hot, i turned it back to "max A/C" and the vent temps came back down to 47° within a minute or so.
must shut the water off to the heater core in "max" ... can't think of any reason why you would get nearly a 20° drop in vent temps otherwise.
while driving the vent temps did get down to about 43° in "max" but i didn't get a picture, because ... well ... i was driving.
don't know if it would help or not .. but there ya go. that's what my work truck does.
Max A/C just closes the fresh air door, recirculating the air. It's easier on the system to cool air at 62 degrees than it is at 85 degrees. That's why you get better cooling. I don't think anything gets shut off to the heater core or anything
It's cool, but not cold. Last week I took it into the dealer. The dealer told me all is well and the system is working as designed. 
