Hello all:

My 99 F150 doesn't seem as cool as previous vehicles so let me run this by you.

At 40 mph, ambient temperature 85F, 65% humidity, max AC, full fan the air at the dash outlet is 51F. The engine cooling fan is working (read as loud noise) so there is lots of air getting by the condenser. I realize that non CFC refrigerants demonstrate different characteristics but my 88 Ranger could produce 39F air to the point where I could see a foggy mist exiting the vent on a warm humid morning. Also the compressor in my 150 never cycles off in AC mode. Is this normal?

Before I go back to the dealer I want to be an informed customer if indeed I have a problem! Thanks for your help.

Peter

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99 F150 SC Short Box, 4.2, 5 speed, dark toredor red, light graphite interior, Westin side tubes, A.R.E. hard top tonneau, bug shield, more to add.

 

How long had you been running the system when you took the temp? You realize that MAX is recirculating the air inside the cab.
Therefore you are recirculating hot air, over and over, until it finally has a chance to start cooling down. Starting off with normal A/C will bring in outside air, which is going to be cooler than the inside regardless of how hot it is outside. Once you get the cabin to start cooling, THEN kick on the max and it will cool down much quicker.
Forgive me for being so obvious. YOu probably already know this. If you are already doing this, then I would have the system looked at.
My system gets cold real quick, and that's down here in Houston, where I know its a lot hotter (up to 95% humidity) than Toronto!

 

Kenster, thanks for the reply. I've done pretty much as you have suggested. I start off in regular AC mode then switch to MAX after 15 min or so. Today at 90 degrees ambient it took 30 min to get down to 52F at the vent. This was on the highway at 60 to 70 mph. Think I'll take it in. Thanks for your input.

Peter

 

I was wondering the same thing and was thinking about taking in it in for service while it is still under warranty. One time I went from San Antonio to Houston about a four hour drive and my A/C did not get cold until I got to Houston. Granted it was August and the tempature outside was around 100 with 98% humidity, but I owned an Eclipse that had an ice cold A/C within 20 minutes no matter what the tempature outside was. Has anyone taken there F150 in for A/C service?

 

I know what you mean about the Ranger's A/C getting cold. Mine would blow 42 degrees on high at idle on a 95 degree day. Ever since I added my electric fan though to my big truck it cools down to the point I have to turn the temp control towards the red zone. It takes about 15 minutes, but after five minutes it is comfortable and my truck is balck! Also keep in mind, if you floor the vehicle or shift the auto trainy into second the A/C clutch disengages. If your not able to get 47 degree or cooler air, I would take it back to the dealership and ask them to check out the amount of freon you have and the operation of the A/C clutch. Just my .02$

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99 4X4 XLT S/C with ORP
5.4L 3.73LS
Flow Master Dual Exhaust
K&N Filter w/ Intake Mod
Flex-a-Lite Black Magic 150 Electric Cooling Fan
Jason "Hugger" Truck Lid

 

You have a problem. I've got a 98 F-150 SC and my AC gets extremely cold. I haven't tested the temp in the summer, but with 75 degrees and 50% humidity. My AC was blowing out 34 degree air. Last summer here in Dallas, we had over 2 months 100+degree days. My truck would sit outside all day long and once I started it, would be cool in 10 minutes. I would even half to turn down the AC during my drive home because it got too cold. Hope this helps, and good luck getting it fixed.

Jim

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1998 F-150 XLT SC 5.4L

 

Back in March on a warm day low 70's I had the air on it got so cold I had to turn it off but now being in the mid 80's it takes awhile to cool things off but once it cools down the interior it stays nice and cool.

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2000 XLT 4x2 reg cab
Oxford White
Grey Interior
cd player
sliding rear window
255/70 16 goodyears
auto trans
3.55 open rear end

 

I agree wholly with JSCott. Mine is the same.

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Mine: FOR SALE SOON...1997 F150, XLT, SC, Oxford white/maroon 60/40 cloth, 4x4 ORP, 4.6L, 3.55LS, 17" ORP wheels w/GY AT/S LT265/70/17, auto, 6 CD,Towing package, alarm, Rhino grill guard w/PICCA lights, dual exhaust. Bought new June '96

Wife: '99Explorer Limited,pearl white/tan leather,4.0L,4:10LS,CD,sunroof,towing pkg.,alarm. Bought new Sept. 1999

Next: 2001 F150 XLT SuperCrew, 5.4L, 4x4,3:55LS,tow pkg. etc.......

Previous: '65 Mustang 289 HiPo, '70 Chevelle SS 396, '70 Vette Conv. 350/350, 72 Datsun PU,'74 Vette TTop, '79 Blazer, '81 F150, '83 Bonneville, '84 Gran Marquis '89 TBird Super Coupe 3.8L SuperCharged, '93 Explorer 4.0L

 

I have an AC question? I noticed that my AC unit is causing a noticable moaning noise that can be heard from inside the cab while it is on. My truck did not make that noise last summer when I used the AC. It drives me crazy hearing this noise, and I kind of thought that I noticed the AC effecting my engine power more than normal. Any comments?

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1997 4.2L F-150 XLT supercab

 

Tinting the windows goes a LONG way toward keeping the truck cool.
I'm running 30% tint (very light) and it made all the difference.
Also get a pair of ventshades and leave the windows cracked while the truck is parked and for the first mile or 2 after driving.
I haven't had to use max A/C yet since I put the tint on.
It's been up to 95 here already.

 

When you live in a hot and humid place like I do, the a/c is very very important. The procedure to cool off a hot truck is to set the a/c on to MAX A/C and open the windows. This lets the hot air out a lot faster. After 30 seconds or so, close the windows and leave the a/c on MAX A/C. Keep the fan set on High, btw. When it gets cold, turn the fan speed down and set the switch to A/C which will open up the outside air intake. You have to give the a/c time to not only extract the heat in the air (relatively fast) but also the heat in the solid materials in the cab (takes a lot longer).

What's happening is you guys are probably running the fan speed on high with the switch set to A/C. The faster the outside air blows over the evap. coils, the warmer it will feel. Not only does it take time for the coils to extract the heat, but there's only so much heat it can take out at a time. If you turned the fan speed down, the air temp coming out of the vents would drop, but the airflow would be too low to make you feel comfortable in a hot truck.

So, remember. Set the a/c to MAX. Open the windows to let the hot air out. Close the windows and let that a/c cool down the interior surfaces. When you feel cool enough, turn the fan speed down and set the control to A/C to start bringing in fresh outside air.

If you really want to test how cold the air is coming out of the vents, set the fan to the lowest speed on MAX. That setting will give you the coldest air.

BTW, the truck can be sitting outside in the hot sun on 90 degree days and it only takes about 5 minutes for the interior to start feeling fairly comfortable. If you follow my procedures and you still don't get cold air after 10 minutes, then get the system checked.


[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited 05-12-2000).]

 

Another problem that I have is when i bought the truck(98 f150 v6 used)a year ago I thought that the way the fan blows changed a couple months later. Tell me if this normal now when I turn the dial to A/C and fan on HIGH it blows faster than when I have it on MAX A/C and the fan on HIGH. It seems to me when I bought the truck the exact opposite was correct.

[This message has been edited by InfiniteMhz (edited 05-12-2000).]

 

Through trial and error over the years, I've ended up doing just what Dennis describes. Unfortunately my wife insists it is better not to open the windows at first. If she drives, she gets to do it her way. Grrr.

 

Infinite MHZ says:
. Tell me if this normal now when I turn the dial to A/C and fan on HIGH it blows faster than when I have it on MAX A/C and the fan on HIGH.
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Didn't sound right to me, so I went out and checked my truck and our Taurus. MAX high blows harder than A/C high. AS far as I can remember, this has always been true on every vehicle I have driven. I am not an A/C guy so I can't tell you what the problem is. Maybe the vent valve that switches inside/outside air is stuck? Good luck.

 

Infinite,

I've also noticed the air velocity seems different between MAX A/C and just A/C. I have a few guesses as to why.

When you're moving down the road and have the setting on normal A/C, fresh air is drawn in from the vent cowling below the windshield wiper arms. Air flowing across the truck also rams down the cowling and into the blower plenum, adding to the air it is already drawing from both outside and the cab.

When you're not moving, but have the setting on outside air, the fan has more than one source to draw air from, hence it seems to produce a greater volume of air.

Everyone else:

Good tips on getting a faster cooldown. I'm sure most know that the R134A refrigerant in newer a/c systems just doesn't have the same punch that good ol' R12 did, but I've found the F-150 systems to perform better than my first experience with the newer refrigerant (in a '93 Nissan...wimpy!)
Even so, I discovered a little trick to getting a faster cooldown during our horrendous heat wave of last summer. First of all, I try to park in the shade when I can (tough feat when everyone else wants the same shady spots). Secondly, windshield sun reflector that's propped up by the sun visors. Thirdly, crack the windows and rear quarter windows (Supercap). Fourth, when I get in to crank up, I put the controls on MAX A/C but the fan on the lowest setting. This allows the evaporator coil to cool down quickly. I run it this way for a minute or so, knowing that even though at the moment I'm sweating my butt off, when I get going down the road, I'll have a rolling deep freeze.
I then crank it up on high, seal the windows, and get moving so the compressor RPM's can get up and more air can move across the condenser/radiator than while sitting.
When it's 105 or so outside, I can have things tolerable by the time I reach my first traffic jam, usually caused by a stalled car, the owner of it having neglected to maintain the radiator properly.

Also, (sorry so long) remember that humidity contains what refrigeration types call "latent heat" (heat you can't feel). This heat must be removed from the water vapor before it will condense on your evap. coil and drain out of the cab. Leaving the setting on normal A/C, which would draw in muggy, humid air, means the system has to extract that heat as well as the "sensible" heat (heat you can feel) from the cab. MAX A/C will recirculate the inside air, extracting whatever moisture is in it, without also having to extract incoming outside air moisture.