Up here in MN, we finally got some weather that was warm enough to use the AC on my truck. When I run the AC, I hear a loud click every 8 to 10 seconds. It is extremely annoying. Is this normal?

MJS

 

hi used to have a 98 lariat that used to do that, when i had it checked, there was a leak at the evaporator, they replaced & it was great. although mine was loosing cooling power, w/c was obvious since I am in the tropics. hope you get to enjoy your ac..this one of the things I truly appreciate bout this truck no matter how hot the ac gets the truck cool & keeps it cool. my ac is on all the time we use the truck

 

normaly when it cycles like that your low on freon. You may have a small leak or just low. On my f 250 they forgot to add freon from the factory. So being low is very posible.

 

cycleing of the a/c is normal it depends on the temp. outside and inside the truck as long as your liquid line isnt freezeing up and you output air temp is around 50-55 deg you should be fine

 

I agree with JCC here. Down here, it's all A/C, all the time. I had mine checked for some pretty regular cycling, and it was full on freon and blowing in the 40s. I then checked it myself (ya can't just trust the dealer, can ya?!) and got nearly the same results.

I'm left with the presumption that perhaps the unit is somewhat underpowered and has to cycle more often.

 

its not under powered the hotter the outside air temp is the less efficient your a/c will be and you pressure will go up and that will change you output temp in the truck

 

It's normal and extremely irritating (One of the many)

 

Mine was clicking a lot and not blowing cold so I took it in.

I had bad o-rings and the A/C was leaking freon. They replaced the bad seals and recharged the system and it's not as noticable, tho I'm convinced it still isn't cold enough.

 

I have the auto climate control. No clicking here...Runs real quiet.

 

The answer is: It may be normal, and it may not.

The AC will do this under two different conditions. One is under low load conditions (i.e. Minnesota instead of Arizona.) The compressor switches on and off to prevent the evaporator (the inside part) from freezing solid with condensation. The other condition that causes it to cycle is being low on freon. It's easy to tell the two conditions apart though. Stick a thermometer in the vent. If it is close to the outside temperature, the system is low on freon. If it's close to freezing (like high 30's to mid 40's) it is running just fine.

A higher vent temperature can still be normal, but not if the compressor is cycling.

 

I, like MANY others on the board, had the same problem. I added a can of "Sub-Zero" freon to it and it not only cycles far less but cools so much better. I checked it before I put the freon in and it was on the low side of acceptable pressure...now its toward the middle of the acceptable range.

My advice is to add a can of freon and see if that doesnt solve the problem.

 

I'm having the same thing on my new truck. I heard a clicking when I was driving and couldn't figure out what it was and then when I had it in the carport standing outside the clicking was easy to hear.

I'm going to have the dealership take a look at it though

 

Most likely the dealership will say its in the acceptable range and do nothing about it. Acceptable means it works ok....maybe not as good as it could but it works up to set standards. From what I understand almost all of these trucks come "low" on freon from the factory.

 

cycleing is normall on all vehicles , overcharging it wont solve the problem it all works on pressure if you over charge it your output temp will increase and head presure will go up

 

OVER-cycling (clicking on and off too much) is not normal....its a clear sign of low freon. There is an acceptable range for the amount of freon in the system...if its on the low side and you add a can and its in the middle then its not over charging it at all. And I can garentee you its hot down here in south GA and my AC works a lot better now than it did before I added the can. I am not suggesting over charging it by no means, what I am suggesting is putting enough freon it that it opperates at its peak performance level.

I know quite a few people on here have added a can of freon to their trucks and its really helped theirs as well.