Forgive me if this is a stupid question but..........is there a setpoint (outside air temperature) where the A/C will NOT work?
It's been hovering at about 36° - 38°F around here lately and I can't get the A/C to kick in, despite the garage having just recharged the system and replacing the condensor (oil leak).
Even if I turn the controls to AC...the compressor will not engage. It was working in September...the only thing I can assume, is that there must be some sort of setting in the computer that won't allow it to come on if the outside air temp is below a certain set point. Does this sound right? I can see it from a safety perspective....

 

Turn on the defroster, it should cycle for dehumidification.

Nathan

 

I'll guess there is a good reason, and it might have to do with the compressor pumping freon and having too low a suction side pressure. That's just a guess, since what Nathan said cycles it. I just don't see the point of wearing out components that aren't needed in cold weather, and I have been known to disconnect the wire at the compressor clutch. Some say it is good for the compressor to cycle year round. I don't buy that, never have.
Every car I have owned cycles the AC in cold weather, when you defrost, and I don't see the benefit. That's just me. It's not that the suction side pressure will be too low to cycle, but that it could be. If, like you said, the system is full of freon and pag oil, that shouldn't happen, but I'd just as soon not have the compressor cycling when it isn't necessary. "They" say, the dealer says, and that's just my opinion.

I'll bet I've had to replace fewer AC parts than many, also.

 

I feel the same way...I've disconnected power to the compressor in other vehicles. "They" say that running the compressor provides some dehumidification during defrost, but older vehicles didn't have this feature and we still managed to defog the windows in the winter time. I don't like running something unless necessary...of course the dealers will tell you differently, but they make their money replacing things that have worn out.
I'll probably disconnect this one now...but I was just curious as to why it won't make COLD air in the winter, yet it will still cycle if I run the defroster.....

 

Don't be surprised if you get a code after you disconnect it.
When you are running in defrost the A/C runs and dehumidifies the warmed air that is already picked up heat from the heater core, when you warm cold air the humidity goes up, it does make a difference in the efficiency of the defroster.

Denny

 

Not wishing to argue, but, which is better, a temporary code, or replacing a compressor or condensor, due to more wear than needed? That code should go away the minute you reconnect the compressor clutch. It's just a trade off between the two. Some people worry over a bit of tech, and others just hate to replace parts they shouldn't have to. Some even say that when moving parts sit through extreme cold weather, parts tend to get sticky and don't work as well when they are restarted. It's a bit of all of the above. Everyone's right.

Actually, the one thing that bothers me, most, is the o ring that goes bad and causes everything else to go bad. I'll still disconnect a clutch, just understanding the risk.
That's just me.

 

Low pressure cutoff switch. Yes, temperature will affect it, even when close to full. I'm an analog guy, and like gauges. The typical A/C tech pushes a button to evacuate or charge an A/C system, nowadays, and not all A/C charging evacuation systems are equal. It could be that the tech who charged the system may have put the wrong weight of freon on his device. That's not a big problem, though. The range freon works in is wide enough for that to not be a problem. Freon should be weighed when charging, but should be measured for high and low side pressures, also.

 

I disconnected it for several weeks last Spring, when the A/C issues first reared their ugly head(s) and never had a single code show up...maybe I was just lucky.
As for the dehumidification, I'm not in such a hurry that I can't wait five to ten minutes for the entire system to come to operating temp....then, there are no issues with defrosting or otherwise...Ford makes GREAT heaters!

 

Railroader nailed it I believe.

 

So here is where I am....
Nice and warm out the other day, so I tested the AC....no cold coming from it UNLESS I turn on the MAX AC button, and even then...it's not as frigid as it should be.
On regular AC all I am getting is ambient air temperature...no cooling at all. Now this is after they had replaced the condenser, claiming it had a hole in it.
Funny thing is....when running the AC, the line from the compressor to condenser is cold to the touch. There is plenty of air movement into the cab, so it isn't a plugged filter or anything like that preventing the cold air from getting to me.

 

Did you ever get this problem fixed?
I must have missed your last post, last year, but it sounds like if you got it fixed, it had something to do with the blend door, and not the condenser, in the end, unless the condenser did have a leak in it, and the tech was chasing symptoms. If the condenser did have a hole in it, it lost pressure and wouldn't cool at all, eventually. Or, it was a mighty tiny leak that he caught before it lost all pressure. Blend door motors go bad, all the time, and in some vehicles they are a pain to replace. I'm not sure whether the F series uses a vacuum motor or an electric one, but that's where I would have looked after your last post. You will have plenty of air flow in the cab, just the wrong blend of air, and on Max AC, it may be cooler. I'm curious what you found, if it is fixed.

 

No...the problem is not "fixed".
That is to say, the issue remains....the only thing I've fixed is that this Shop will never see another penny of mine. I always hate when a decent shop changes hands....in this case from father to son and it has just gone downhill ever since.
They replaced the condensor back in January or February of this year (2022) and as noted, it still didn't work properly. It put out some cool air, but only a few degrees cooler than ambient.
Over the weekend, we were on holidays and I had an issue with a noise under the hood (another issue this same shop was unable to diagnose properly) so I took it to a recommended garage in the town we were staying. Not only did they find/solve the noise issue, but they also told me that this new condensor had a leak and they could see green dye bubbling out.
When I called the original shop, his answer was "must have gotten hit by a rock".....yup....a rock hit precisely on the flange that you guys tightened. Never again....
So now, I'm looking at ANOTHER new condensor and labour. The small-town shop also noted that there might be an issue with the compressor, but since I told him the system had been serviced, they didn't delve any deeper.

So....does anyone have a quick-fix for a leaking condensor, or I am looking at another bill?

 

Looks like I'm going to be forking out another $1000 to fix this problem. Both other shops I took it to said that there IS the possibility that it got hit by a rock...albeit very slight.
Who said retirement wasn't going to be interesting?

 

I wouldn't be relying on any kind of fix on a condensor, unless it is an o ring. If both their answers are that it could have been hit by a rock, they are probably grasping at anything to give you an answer, when all they should have done is show you the leak. I doubt two condensors having the same problem, but some parts are made as junk, nowadays, but the odds are against two in a row.
There are no quick fixes.
If there are no other leaks, like in the evaporator, which would really be problems because of where it is located, and the last condensor came from Rock, Advanced or Autozone, how about using all Ford parts, but yeh, find a real AC repair guy. Someone who is not so invested in BS and does good work, and warrantys his work. And don't tell anyone who works on it, what has been done in the past. Like everything in the auto business, everything has gone through the roof. But do tell them you want the entire system checked, not just the leaky condensor. A good AC guy is hard to find, I guess, but he is out there.
And, after you do that, if it still works poorly, it is the blend door not moving on command.
I'm retired, too. If someone told me it was a rock, I would have gathered up all my toys before he got to doing any work, and just paid him for his "Expert diagnoses" and gone elsewhere.

I took my home condensor cover off, to spray clean all the fins. When I put the cover back on, I put the wrong sized screw into the bottom copper line in the condensor. The guy who fixed that problem brazed a plug over the hole. So, I guess someone could do the same with an auto condensor, but I doubt anyone would do that on a car. I paid around three hundred for that fix, not counting the sweating waiting around for him to come by to do the work. But he works on all kinds of commercial HVAC equipment, and is obviously old school, since commercial usually gets fixed rather than replacing a part. I wouldn't bet on any auto AC guy having that skill, nowadays. The only way I knew of this guy was through my son who sells commercial restaurant equipment, and has a couple of guys who do all the warranty work of that stuff.
Good luck.

 

I guess I should have said that each of the shops said that it was feasible (albeit unlikely) that it got hit by "a rock". The leak was located at the flange, so my guess is that it was originally over-torqued and developed the leak over the course of a few months. Trying to prove this would be as pointless as trying to prove it DID get hit by a rock.
I could see the actual green-stuff at the flange and when I tried to snug it down a bit, it started pissing out in earnest...."farpotshket"....so I've probably lost the entire charge of refrigerant. For what it's worth, the bottom flange is fairly well protected....it would take some real voodoo magic to get a rock to strike it...I haven't been off-road this year, and it would take more than the usual road-gravel to break a flanged fitting.
The guy at the last shop quoted me around $900 to replace and recharge it...and he was giving me "a break" by giving me the wholesale price on the condensor....list at over $500, charging me $420.

It's only money.....