AC Problems

[fifferaz]

I have a 2003 XLT with the Dual AC's. The problem i am having is that it takes a long time to cool off, especially in the front vents. The back vents seem to cool off faster but the front it seems like they take almost 10 mins or so. Is my R-134 low or what could be causing this. If it is just low coolant, where is the low port on the AC lines under the hood.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Curtis]

before you take it anywhere to be fixed, go to autozone or your local parts store and buy a can of Ice Cold AC refrigerant. Or what ever brand you want. They come with hose and attachment and directions are pretty easy. less than $10-15 usually.

Put the whole can in or as much as will go in.
If it gets cold fast now, your coolant was low. see how long it takes for it to get slow at cooling again. You probably do have a leak somewhere.

I put a can of that stuff in my 96 explorer back in Jan, and its been great since. I guess it does leak a little all the time, no system is 100% sealed. Hopefully thats your case and adding a can will fix your problem.

 

[aldive]

What are the pressures?

 

[fifferaz]

I checked the pressure and it is fine. I think it is one of the gates that is broken and isn't blocking heater core. If anyone knows which gate it would be that would be great.

thanks

 

[aldive]

What were the pressures?

 

[dford]

It sounds like the "max ac" fresh air intake door may have come off and fallen down onto the top of the blower motor. This happened to my 03. You would notice a significant reduction in air flow from the front dash vents because it is now blocking the flow from the fan, but it would still be cold.

 

[jgaweda]

Does anyone have any pictures or a resource to get pictures of this repair? I am getting cold air in one front vent and warm in the other front vents when I am hoping for all cold on Hi AC. I believe this could be my problem as well. I have the repair manual but the pictures are poor.

 

[drliu]

Same problem with my 02 XLT -- Passenger side vents have much warmer air than the vents on the passenger side when a/c is on. WHat could cause the problem? How to fix it?

 

[drliu]

I checked the pressure and it is fine. I think it is one of the gates that is broken and isn't blocking heater core. If anyone knows which gate it would be that would be great.

thanks

Problem with my 02 XLT -- Passenger side vents have much warmer air than the vents on the passenger side when a/c is on. What could cause the problem? How to fix it?

Checked the a/c pressure (low pressure end) and I think it's fine (at 38).

 

[tower]

What RPM was the truck at? You have to have it at 2000rpm or so to get a reading, it may read fine at idle but will drop as rpm goes up.

 

[EasyRhino]

I would not put in a can of refrigerant without knowing the pressures. If the system is fully charged, adding a can can result in over-pressurizing the system, which rarely has good results. If the problem is with the evaporator/heater core plenum doors, you most certainly do not want to add any refrigerant.

These Explorers have issues with the heater/AC blend door actuators far more often that leaky refrigerant systems.

Given that your rear AC seems okay, I would bet money that your refrigerant charge is not the problem. The front and rear evaporators are on the same system, hence a good charge that works for the rear is also good for the front, it just sounds like it's not getting to you.

I have not had problems with my front blend plenum/actuator (did with the rear, though), so I am no help with your problem. Good luck.

 

[drliu]

Started the car and checked the pressure. Did not pay attention to RPM. Shall I make sure that RPM is around 2000 to have a good read of the pressure?

Yes, the rear a/c is okay blowing cold air. The vents on the driver's side blow cold air, too. It's just the two vents on the passenger's side blowing warmer air. I had the infamous clicking problem with rear a/c blend door and fixed by following the instructions found here in the forum. Got a new blender door from napa and simply replaced the old broken one.

Some one in another thread said it could be the fresh air door that came loose and fell on top of the blower motor. I want to check that, but don't know where the fresh air door is located. If some one can point to the location of the fresh door, or post a picture of it, it would be much appreciated.

 

[EasyRhino]

I had the rear blend door actuator door failure (constant annoying clicking) too, and also replaced it with help from this forum.

It sounds like your refrigerant levels are okay, since your rear unit and front side vents are blowing cold.

I am sorry to say that I am no help with your problem, though, not having been into my front unit (yet). Perhaps someone will come along that has had this problem. Good Luck.