A/C cooling problems --

[Ruger]

To clean radiators and condensers I've used Windex Glass & Patio Concentrated Cleaner. You attach the bottle to your garden hose and spray down your cool radiator, wait a few minutes, and then hose it off. Works terrific, but label says not suitable for use on automobiles so protect paint with a tarp or plastic. Alternatively, one might use 409 or Simple Green.

The rubber insulation you can get at Lowes or Home Depot is specifically for HVAC applications - a better choice than the polyurethane water pipe insluation. For the 3/4 inch application under the hood, you need to get the insulation that says 1/2 inch. That's insulation for 1/2" ID pipe, and the insulation itself has an ID of 3/4" which is perfect for what we're concerned about.

 

[Dupo24]

The manual actually states that if you are going to be in slower traffic (city, town) that you should just roll down the windows and not use the A/C. Says the A/C will work better when driving at higher or constant speeds.

I don't think its an issue i just think its by design.

I also have the same issues with it not getting that cold. It takes a while for it to really get cold in the cab while driving. If i am in town, i actually get a little sweaty because it can't ramp up enough to get it cold in there. Highway with recirculate on, works great.

 

[Ruger]

Ford saw fit to "insulate" only about 5 inches of the cold line with a layer of very thin material taped on with a gap along its whole length. I used more than 2 feet of the rubber HVAC insulation from Lowes, and cleaned both the condenser and radiator with 409 followed by a thorough rinsing. The results while driving are very, very noticeable.

 

[6cuda6]

Ford saw fit to "insulate" only about 5 inches of the cold line with a layer of very thin material taped on with a gap along its whole length. I used more than 2 feet of the rubber HVAC insulation from Lowes, and cleaned both the condenser and radiator with 409 followed by a thorough rinsing. The results while driving are very, very noticeable.

Going to give this a shot as my 2011 just plain sucks for AC....funny thing is at one point in my travels I performed a harder than normal right turn onto a side street and it got so cold in the truck I had to turn off the AC....this would suggest to me that either the system is not charged properly or their may be a blend door issue...

Anyone actually have the dealer check the blend door and heater control valve actuation? I will get it checked on mine at my next service but that won't be for at least another 3weeks.....

I also don't know what your dealers are doing with system pressure difference as the most accurate way to deal with R134 is to evacuate, check system recovery weight, vacuum and reload the refrigerant with the proper weight load....no mistakes this way....

 

[ZBoater]

Here's what mine looks like.

 

[Nemesis]

Well I am still having issue with my A/C. I have been to 1 dealer twice and to a second dealer with still no solution.
The first service call they found the compressor to be bad and they replaced it. I figured that I would be back to normal after that. No joy. I cleaned everything and insulated the pipes. still no joy.

One dealer told me that if the air coming out of the vents is 40 degrees lower than outside ambient temps, then the system is working correctly (110 - 40 = 70 degrees out of the vents).
The other dealer told me that if the air is blowing at the outside ambient temp / 2 + 5 degrees then all is good. (so 110/2 + 5 = 60 degrees out of the vents).

This seems like crap to me since all 3 rental cars I got while my truck was in for service were blowing in the low 40's and I was freezing my nuts off (that is a good thing when related to A/C temps).

Both dealerships were able to get about 43 degrees out of the vents in their 85 degree shaded shops. This would be great but I live in Phoenix and if it was 85 degrees outside I would not need the A/C.

The last service also stated that the PID for the evaporator temp was at 37 degrees. They told me to bring it back in when it was closer to 110 degrees to see the issues I am talking about.

On a final note, I get in a 2014 Raptor on the lot that had been baking in the sun and within 5 minutes at idle, the truck got cooler than my truck did on the 30 minute drive to the dealership averaging 50mph.

 

[eby94]

Hey Guys, I am new to this forum and have been reading about the problems with raptor ac's. I have owned a 2014 now for about 5 months and live in Phoenix AZ. Been to two diferent dealers and now have a complaint with ford and was told by ford that everything is within specs. I have to run my fan speed at halfway or less to achieve 48 degrees at the vent. Looking for suggestions or options, I am almost ready to get rid of the truck. Just very disappointed with Ford right now.

 

[Nemesis]

hate to say this, but welcome to the ****** A/C club. I have been to the dealer 3 times and have also worked my way up the service chain to Ford Customer Service that just sent me back to the same dealer.

After my last visit, they must have wiggled something the right way because I am not getting an additional 5 degrees out of my vents down to around 50 degrees with the hot days we have been having here in Phoenix. Keep in mind that is after driving for about 15 minutes.

The other thing I noticed is that when I auto-start the truck, the air out of the vents never gets below 70 degrees.

I even compared my A/C performance to a brand new Raptor on the lot and it was cooler out of the vents at idle then mine was after driving for 30 minutes. I explained this to the service guys and they still said mine was within specs.

Maybe if enough of us bitch something will change but I doubt it.

 

[AZEngineer]

I guess I'm lucky so far. I have a 2013 and live in the Phoenix area. My AC is great, so you should know great is possible. With our other cars I always had to make sure recirculate was on. With the Raptor I just leave it on auto.

My fans run crazy fast whenever the AC is on. Crazy loud fans. We had an early 2000s Yukon Denali with crap AC. GMC ended up with a TSB to add a powerful electric fan to the front of the radiator and the cooling was awesome. The fan on the Denali sucked so much current that the lights would dim at stop lights when you turned the AC on.

Maybe the problem is not with charge but with the dirty condenser or with something wrong on the fan speed. I'd check that for sure.

I will put my AC thermometer in the vent and watch. It's supposed to be 110 tomorrow so it's a good test

 

[eby94]

Well,I took the truck back to Sanderson again. When you crack the front window down either driver or passenger side, I get hot air blowing from underneath the dash by the emergency brake. Service rep has never heard of that. I am having trouble enough trying to stay cool and it does not help with hot air coming from underneath.