You can't live without AC in the south....15 seconds and your "drawers" are drenched...and your socks...and your shoes are filling up with sweat...
CK5
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AC Fiasco
- Thread starter Chief Brody
- Start date
I agree if it was this hot and hazy longer,more of the year here, like it is where you live,I'd consider a working A/C system every bit as desireable as a working heater/defroster!...you can freeze to death up here,if your heater quits,but you'll live if your A/C wont cool!...
As I've aged I've noticed I not only gained a few pounds,I sweat easier and more,and driving is easier when your not all slimy and less likely to nod off at night too,when the A/C is blasting and keeping you awake...it does suck that its so costly to get an A/C system working and KEEP it working though...I used to consider A/C a luxury,but as I get older ,the more I want a vehicle with it that works...
As I've aged I've noticed I not only gained a few pounds,I sweat easier and more,and driving is easier when your not all slimy and less likely to nod off at night too,when the A/C is blasting and keeping you awake...it does suck that its so costly to get an A/C system working and KEEP it working though...I used to consider A/C a luxury,but as I get older ,the more I want a vehicle with it that works...
I have found out that my Ranger has a "vacuum ball" like my Blazer does...only they hid it on the Ranger...it's up inside the inner wheel well on the passenger side...apparently you have to take the inner fender off to get to it...I guess I will be looking at that tomorrow...
as soon as I get the Blazer back from paint and get all the interior stuff done...I'm going to think about a newer daily driver...with a frosty air conditioner...
Now I know why everyone over 65 drives one of these....they ride like a cloud and the AC is like a meat locker:
Here's what I can think of:
-Did you purge the hoses as you hooked up and changed cans? You can end up with a lot of air in there.
-How long did you pull vacuum?
-Are both the inlet and outlet of the evap cold? That's actually one way to charge is to keep adding until the whole thing is cold.
-Is the compressor cycling or staying on all the time as you do these measurements? If it turns off before the low side is cold enough, the switch needs adjustment.
-If the evap is getting frosty, the system is fine. Warm vents means your heater is running.
-How is the fan(s)? 300psi makes me wonder if you have enough air through the condenser. The colder you get the condenser, the colder the vents are. Bent fins or full of bugs? Shroud intact? You can try squirting water on it to see if the pressure comes down.
-Did you purge the hoses as you hooked up and changed cans? You can end up with a lot of air in there.
-How long did you pull vacuum?
-Are both the inlet and outlet of the evap cold? That's actually one way to charge is to keep adding until the whole thing is cold.
-Is the compressor cycling or staying on all the time as you do these measurements? If it turns off before the low side is cold enough, the switch needs adjustment.
-If the evap is getting frosty, the system is fine. Warm vents means your heater is running.
-How is the fan(s)? 300psi makes me wonder if you have enough air through the condenser. The colder you get the condenser, the colder the vents are. Bent fins or full of bugs? Shroud intact? You can try squirting water on it to see if the pressure comes down.
black dawg
1/2 ton status
What year ranger??? The mid 90s up stuff is NOTORIOUS for blend door issues. From stripped out blend door motor gears to actual broken blend doors. it happens to all of them.
1999 2.5
OK, newer than I thought. Almost certainly electric, so forget all the vacuum stuff.
I understand why everybody has gone electric, but they just don't seem to hold up like the vacs.
Not sure where the blend door is on that model, but if you can get to it, and get it in the right position and just disconnect the wires, you will stay frosty until winter.
I understand why everybody has gone electric, but they just don't seem to hold up like the vacs.
Not sure where the blend door is on that model, but if you can get to it, and get it in the right position and just disconnect the wires, you will stay frosty until winter.
black dawg
1/2 ton status
If you google 99 ranger blend door, I am sure you will find lots of the same issues.
I found the black ball...not sure if it is bad ...I don't have a vacuum leak that I can find...what I do seem to have is very weak vacuum.
What can you do to boost vacuum?
What can you do to boost vacuum?
check the lines going to and from...they crack & leak over time...
check the lines going to and from...they crack & leak over time...
I can put my finger on the intake port and it just doesn't seem to be where I think it should...usually a vacuum port will tug pretty hard...
Weak vacuum is usually a bad engine..........
Dig around and try to find the main vacuum source off the intake manifold. Make sure its tight, and feel it there.
If you don't have good vacuum there with the engine idling, then you have a bigger problem than the AC.
But, odds are its a leak somewhere.
Wait a minute, are you already checking the main port? If so, you got any idle problems with the engine? May have a bad intake gasket.
Dig around and try to find the main vacuum source off the intake manifold. Make sure its tight, and feel it there.
If you don't have good vacuum there with the engine idling, then you have a bigger problem than the AC.
But, odds are its a leak somewhere.
Wait a minute, are you already checking the main port? If so, you got any idle problems with the engine? May have a bad intake gasket.
black dawg
1/2 ton status
are you sure the blend door is vacuum actuated? I have never seen one in that year range that was not electric motor actuated.
British Slave
1/2 ton status
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Search out a Ranger forum. I did that on my wifes Exploder and found a wealth of help. Just ask the guys there, they have already done what you are experiencing.
I got a vacuum gauge at HF and hooked it to the main port on the intake...it went straight to the green...-27 hg or so at idle. Engine is fine.
I also took the right wheel well out and found that stupid vacuum cannister.
It is broken...that check valve is broken loose and rattling around...this is supposed to be the fix for this problem.
I ordered a Dorman vacuum cannister, will be in Thursday...I actually ordered two...it's the same one for my Blazer
I will wait till it comes in and troubleshoot from there.
If you pull my center dash console out you will see that the only thing that has electrical hooked to it is the fan switch...the temp control that controls the blend door and everything else is a cluster of vacuum lines...7 or 8 of them. They all go to vacuum powered actuators.
I did find that I am not getting vacuum to the Heater control valve...I need to solve that...maybe changing the vacuum ball out will help find that problem.
I also took the right wheel well out and found that stupid vacuum cannister.
It is broken...that check valve is broken loose and rattling around...this is supposed to be the fix for this problem.
I ordered a Dorman vacuum cannister, will be in Thursday...I actually ordered two...it's the same one for my Blazer
I will wait till it comes in and troubleshoot from there.
If you pull my center dash console out you will see that the only thing that has electrical hooked to it is the fan switch...the temp control that controls the blend door and everything else is a cluster of vacuum lines...7 or 8 of them. They all go to vacuum powered actuators.
I did find that I am not getting vacuum to the Heater control valve...I need to solve that...maybe changing the vacuum ball out will help find that problem.
OK, the vacuum ball is a reservoir, like a water tank. The system will work without it.
Its only needed when you romp on the throttle and the vacuum goes away for a few seconds.
You can bypass it to see if it fixes the problem.
If it has two lines, just hook them together.
I had one go bad in 1971 T-bird. When you stomped on the gas on a hot day, it would go from full cool to full heat.
Not fun.
Its only needed when you romp on the throttle and the vacuum goes away for a few seconds.
You can bypass it to see if it fixes the problem.
If it has two lines, just hook them together.
I had one go bad in 1971 T-bird. When you stomped on the gas on a hot day, it would go from full cool to full heat.
Not fun.
That's kind of whats happening...when I accelerate it moves to the defrost vent...when I let off the gas it comes back to the dash.
And at the same time, the HCV is not getting vacuum and is not switching off the hot water
