AC troubleshooting

[Dantheman1540]

Another thing...

Did you get the CORRECT condenser?
Again. Parts are specific whether you have front or front and rear AC.
If you got a condenser for a front only AC system that will be a big problem

God i hope thats not the case for ya.

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Haha so originally I did get the wrong condenser but I noticed Thursday and got ththe correct one for rear air applications.

So let me start off by saying everything works amazing now! Vent gauge in front and rear vent says close to 40* output and its 90*+ ambient.

Ok so the entire problem stemmed from a very odd coincidence. This is an 04 truck and was previously converted to Efans with OEM parts and customer wiring by the PO. Turns out the E fans have not been engaging due to a bad relay that was made in communist China!

I went for a short drive and the air was ice cold came back parked it but left it running while I cleaned up shop a bit only to find it hot again. Immediately checked the condenser and it was scorching hot which tells me either it's not getting airflow. Turned truck back on and noticed the coolant was also getting warmer than usual. Looked at fans and nothing. Traced wires which was a pain because the PO put the 05+ aux fuse box in and did a nice job running all the wires but didn't get the fuse box cover that has the extra little lid that's removable. So I had to pull the whole cover off to find a burnt relay which is a rare sight can't remember the last time I saw a burnt relay like this. Swapped relays fans popped on and at idle the coolant went down to 180s and the ac got ice cold again!

My theory is that the fans quit the day I noticed the air not working. When they quit the condenser got hot and caused pressures to spike in turn making the valve stem leak. Which then led me to believe the ac system was just low due to a leak and down the rabbit hole I went!

Pictures show the method used to add oil and how much smaller the condenser designed without the rear ac system is.

P.S. I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the PO because he did build a badass truck and I probably would have done the same thing with the fuse box if I couldn't find one.

Also shout out to @UmmScott seriously man I owe you for the knowledge. Come to Orlando and I'll buy you lunch sometime.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I may have wasted some money rebuild the entire system but now I know it's new and should last a long time.

 

[UmmScott]

Awesome.

I am GLAD you found the problem.

I had a hunch about your fans not operating correctly.
Good catch and hey.. now you have a like new AC system.
Im very happy that you let it vacuum over an hour and checked that it held for over an hour.
That is very annoying but is a CRUCIAL step.

Kuddos man [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

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[UmmScott]

No wait..

Dan is the man..
[emoji16][emoji16][emoji106][emoji106]

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[Dantheman1540]

No wait..

Dan is the man..
[emoji16][emoji16][emoji106][emoji106]

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My little harbor freight vacuum was getting hot after about 30 minutes of pumping I thought for sure it was gonna catch fire so I was actually misting it and had it in front of a fan! (Yes it had oil.)


It's funny when you build a system from scratch it's easy to check all the boxes. But when your trying to solve an issue and only following the little clues you've been given like a leaky valve stem it's so easy to miss the bigger picture. Just gotta slow down and rethink things sometimes.

Doesn't help that its hotter than a Minneapolis police station this week.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Uhg my ac troubles have returned. Last night AC worked great, this morning AC does not work at all. Heat works fantastic, blower motor works on all speeds front and rear but the compressor does not kick on. I stopped at auto zone on my way to work and swapped the low pressure switch on the drier in 5 minutes hoping that was it but no change. Then used a super ghetto multimeter I happen to have with me and checked the voltage going to the switch and got 3v (The multimeter does not show any decimals it so ghetto).

If the switch is getting power then the controller is ok right?

I also checked the fuse under the hood and no change.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Swapped relay with the Hibeam relay and still nothing.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Found a leak. FML this will be my third time redoing this AC system.

Anyone else ever have this line leak from here?

 

[PG01]

Found a leak. FML this will be my third time redoing this AC system.

Anyone else ever have this line leak from here?

View attachment 259367

Didn’t you pull the head on that side?

 

[Dantheman1540]

Didn’t you pull the head on that side?

Pulled both heads. Pulled compressor to get to the front cover bolt that hides under it. I guess it might have caused a stress fracture but that was almost 3 weeks ago that seems like a long time for it to leak.