Hey guys, few questions for you all:

It can get nice and toasty inside my truck here in NC in the middle of the day now, and though I love to drive with my windows down sometimes it would be nice to escape the roar of the straight pipe for a while...

My A/C has barely worked since I got the truck. Most importantly, it isn't cold at all. When its cool outside and I turn the A/C on, it will cool the air a little bit, but not much. When its hot, it just blows luke-warm air. I really don't know much about how air condition systems in these '96s work, is it something like I can run down to the NAPA and get a recharge kit and fix the problem or is it a much bigger issue?

Second, but not super important, my dash vents don't work. The selector will change the output to all the other vents, the floor vents, the defrost, etc. But the main A/C vents on the dash don't work. From what I recall reading this may be a bit of a challenge to fix, but I don't really care as long as I can get cold air to come out somewhere inside my truck.

Thanks guys!

DFO

 

need to put some guages on it check low and high side, might be low on 134

 

just get a recharge kit for r134 and you probably have a vac. leak thats why vents arent workin

 

the recharge kit may be a waste of money if there is a leak. the air may only work for a short time. i have this problem, and unfortunatly i think the only way its going to work agian is if i pony up and take it to a shop. needless to say, i use the other factory-installed air system known as the 2/65.

 

You might try pm'ing Jim_Lane out in Southern CA. He's very knowledgeable about Ram A/C(and prol'ly everthin else!). He reports very good results with his ideas. Hello?? "Calling Jim_Lane, please pick up the white courtesy phone..." ;-)

 

As was mentioned, the probable cause of the poor cooling is a low charge. I don't believe it's possible to simply buy a recharge kit anymore. Up here anyway, you must have HVAC certification to buy or handle the stuff, due to the environmental concerns.

On a 96, the vent problem is likely a failed mode door actuator, due to migration of engine oil from the vacuum pump into the HVAC system, which eventually destroyed the diaphragm in that actuator. Replace the actuator (one of the two on the left side of the HVAC housing) and hose out the vacuum lines with brakeclean and compressed air and you should be OK.

 

Buy the kit they are relatively cheap. And get the one with the gage included in the hose. They come with instructions and you will be able to know what the status of you a/c is.