We had a class 8 truck here at the shop, new compressor, dryer and expansion valve and the son of a gun was blowing 15deg on a day it was 97 ambient air outside.
Talk about cold
Talk about cold
Is my air conditioning blowing cold enough?
- Thread starter bobbyo
- Start date
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Although I had good results with my former 2000 TJ using the DIY "recharge in a can" method, I decided to have my current 2005 TJ professionally checked after I bought it prox 5 wks ago. At that time, very little cooling was felt inside driving home from 100+ ambient temps. Good thing I did, since that included a system pressure check, which revealed a leaky Schrader valve. Had I proceeded with DIY, unlikely that fault would have been discovered with $$ wasted. It's now blowing quite cold, to the point I need to deflect dash vents to avoid cold knuckles!
You did it right
AC is an area I always bring my vehicles to a shop because I dont have the machines to suck out the freon, hold a vacuum check, and refill properly
those cans are bandaids imo, its low for a reason
Gotta isolate the reason
Yesterday was brutal for us desert dwellers, and will be ~116 today in my neck of the cacti. Recently put a good $900 into my AC system and yesterday TJ was barely blowing 60 degrees around 3pm. Granted that was after sitting in direct sun all day and I only measured for 20 min. High pressure line was ice cold.
I want to say that's all I should expect honestly.
I want to say that's all I should expect honestly.
We had a class 8 truck here at the shop, new compressor, dryer and expansion valve and the son of a gun was blowing 15deg on a day it was 97 ambient air outside.
Talk about cold
An 82 degree delta T is wild ! I hope the EXP. valve has the thermo bulb on the evaporator . Maybe that's too old school , they likely use an electronic T-stat on the evaporator to prevent freeze up.
Don't know for sure, it's still working and blowing ice cubes
Yesterday was brutal for us desert dwellers, and will be ~116 today in my neck of the cacti. Recently put a good $900 into my AC system and yesterday TJ was barely blowing 60 degrees around 3pm. Granted that was after sitting in direct sun all day and I only measured for 20 min. High pressure line was ice cold.
I want to say that's all I should expect honestly.
Just remember it's a dry heat! My wife and I were in the Phoenix area a number of years ago and at 10 in the evening it was still like 110 degrees outside. Brutal.
KennethS
TJ Addict
Yesterday was brutal for us desert dwellers, and will be ~116 today in my neck of the cacti. Recently put a good $900 into my AC system and yesterday TJ was barely blowing 60 degrees around 3pm. Granted that was after sitting in direct sun all day and I only measured for 20 min. High pressure line was ice cold.
I want to say that's all I should expect honestly.
Sounds similar to mine. After sitting in the sun all day at work, the thermometer in the center vent reads 125+ degrees (and that's with the windows halfway down and a sunshade in the windshield). The vent temp comes down to around 60 fairly quickly, but it takes a while of driving with the AC on MAX (recirculation mode) for the temperature to get below 50.
If you do this, please make sure to buy the refrigerant without any stop leak additives. You can find the cans with just R134a usually at Walmart.
Short answer from me....my 2005 Jeep TJ blow cold, I would say very cold. I'm in Central Texas...and it's face of the sun hot a lot and sometimes Houston, face of the sun hot with Sauna steam blowing at you at all times. Soft Top up, like if I need to go to the airport to travel....I'm feeling very cold air by the time I'm out of my section of neighbor hood, and the cabin is cool, no issues.
Top off, I can actually feel the cold air at stops. I don't normally have it on with top off, but some days it's helpful, ha.
Lot of great info, not arguing any of it, but I agree with one person on AC, I don't have the best equipment, so I take this to a shop to check and top up, just had no luck with those cans etc from auto parts store.
ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
Running AC with the top off will destroy your AC. This is why you close the windows in your home when you run the AC. It makes the AC work too hard.
I'm going that route as well. I looked into the can and decided it's best to take it to my mechanic to make sure everything's functioning properly.
Quick question, in my home the intakes are always indoors, so you're cooling ambient air.
So, if you don't have the "recirculate" picked...then you're cooling outside air, and it's blowing into the Jeep. I cannot see any logical way in which a car AC is working harder if the top is down.
It's not comparable to a home AC.....at home you have a thermostat that turns it off. If you have all the doors and windows open, it works longer, never shuts off, ever, then the coils freeze.
In my Jeep, top on or off, but let's say top on....it's 105 degrees here in Texas, I set it to cold as it will go, and the highest fan setting. It never shuts off, never at all, in any way, it runs at the same speed, doing the same thing, non stop. If I don't have recirculate set, then it's taking outside air, 105 + and cooling and blowing it in. If I do recirculate it, it's blowing colder, but still working the same amount.
Not trying to argue, but I see zero logical sense in your statement.
You Jeep AC doesn't know or care if the top is up or down. It's working the same either way based off your dash setting.
I have to note that going to a shop is almost useless unless you have deep pockets. There are so many pieces to an AC system that seemingly must work together in order to function properly. I've been in and out of the shop and each visit is just a check off the box on what my issue could be.
I'm now at vacuum tubes hoping this doesn't lead to an evaporator finale.
I'm now at vacuum tubes hoping this doesn't lead to an evaporator finale.
I pretty much use the A/C on hot day around town on hot days, top or no top. It is a given on hot humid days.
i recently was trying to iron out some bugs with my AC and mine was a well-functioning system with an aftermarket low pressure switch that wouldn't allow the compressor to run for very long. the pressure range for off and on wasn't matched well for the system, and it would shut the compressor off far too quickly.
I eventually put an adjustable pressure switch with better values that i can actually adjust, and my system is frigid now. i can regularly see 38-44Âş out of the vents depending on ambient temp here in southeast texas. we easily get 90-95Âş this time of the year with high humidity.
my thread if you're curious.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...ompressor-switch-need-correct-oem-spec.85536/
I eventually put an adjustable pressure switch with better values that i can actually adjust, and my system is frigid now. i can regularly see 38-44Âş out of the vents depending on ambient temp here in southeast texas. we easily get 90-95Âş this time of the year with high humidity.
my thread if you're curious.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...ompressor-switch-need-correct-oem-spec.85536/
ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
You can argue if you want. People thought the same thing about never turning off their computer. The heat a computer constantly generates, wears it out and parts fry. It is the same principle with AC. Hoses crack, leaks occur, compressors fail, compressor clutch wears out and fails, evaporators wear out and fail. Cranking up your Car AC to full with the windows down, compared to being able to turn it down, when the interior is cooled and the windows rolled up, or being able to turn it off completely, effects the toll on the AC and longevity of the AC.
Also, the drag caused by the windows rolled down, plus the extra work caused on the engine by the AC will consume much more gas, dramatically effecting fuel efficiency.
Imagine the toll on your AC driving through a dusty area like a desert with the windows rolled down and the AC on blast. The AC also has to work much harder trying to constantly replace the hot air with cool air, plus the dust has a negative effect on the AC components.
Just Google "Why close the windows in your car when running the AC". I take care of my Jeep. This is why I've had it, looking gorgeous and running great for 28 years. But, I can't force people to accept common sense. Best to you.
KennethS
TJ Addict
I disagree completely.
The AC doesn’t “work harder”, because there are no components that change operation. Someone running the system with the windows down in a 90 degree environment is no different than me running it with the windows up on a 118 degree Phoenix summer day. The compressor turns, the orifice tube meters liquid refrigerant into the evaporator, the liquid refrigerant boils, the gas changes back into liquid in the condenser, and the cycle repeats. It does not change when you “turn it down” as that is just reducing the fan speed.
I really don’t know why you’re worrying about running the AC. Mine has been heavily used for 27 years in summers that are 110 and above for 3 solid months and 100 and above for 5 months, and this afternoon on the drive home in rush hour traffic and 108 degree temperatures it was blowing 40 degree air.
Your computer analogy is not applicable to an AC system. Computers typically fail due to electrolytic capacitors, which have a known operational lifetime. Think of the refrigeration system in your refrigerator or freezer. Those run non-stop, 24/7/365 for 20-30-40 years or more. It’s the exact same system operation as an automotive AC.
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