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Demolition Expert
My 2012 3500 - 2 years ago my A/C evaporator was clogged up with road dirt (sucks not having filter)
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago while coming home from Blountville TN to Charlotte NC towing my travel trailer my A/C was acting like the evaporator clogged again. You could hear the A/C blowing hard inside the dash but VERY little was making it out of the vents. The little bit that was coming through the vents was cold but not enough flow to justify keeping it on. The day after we got home I went to unhook the camper and go to work and the A/C was working like normal.
Now this past Wednesday we leave for a trip from Charlotte to Orlando FL and the A/C does the same thing 3 hours into an 8 hour trip! Here is the thing though....if you let the truck sit for a couple hours the A/C will act normal and work as it should for maybe 1-3 hour then start acting up. I'm at a loss
I plan to bring it in to the shop that cleaned the evaporator last time but don't want to bring it in blindly and pay a couple hundred bucks if that's not the issue. I realize they would likely trouble shoot it first....but that cost money as well. Any ideas of what could cause it to do this on and off ?
My wife believes that maybe some of the debris that is blocking the evaporator is "settling" or falling off the evaporator while it's sitting. And that while at highway speeds it's blowing the debris back onto the evaporator "re-clogging it" I don't completely agree with her theory as this last trip to Florida on the way home when it stopped working we had the A/C off for about 3 hours and the windows down. After a quick bathroom break I decided to turn the A/C back on to see if it works and it did start to blow normal for about another hour or so. In my mind the quick roadside bathroom break wasn't enough time for any debris to fall off the evaporator.
During the 2 "off" non traveling weeks. I mostly did city driving for work with dozens of start and stops during the day. So not the same driving conditions as when i'm hauling the camper when it seems to consistently stop blowing.
Was wondering also if it could be the A/C and heater door actuator failing? Working more or less when it wants to? While it's not blowing strong I did try to go back and forth between heat,A/C,floor,defrost etc... all seemed to work and blow the same quantity (poorly)
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago while coming home from Blountville TN to Charlotte NC towing my travel trailer my A/C was acting like the evaporator clogged again. You could hear the A/C blowing hard inside the dash but VERY little was making it out of the vents. The little bit that was coming through the vents was cold but not enough flow to justify keeping it on. The day after we got home I went to unhook the camper and go to work and the A/C was working like normal.
Now this past Wednesday we leave for a trip from Charlotte to Orlando FL and the A/C does the same thing 3 hours into an 8 hour trip! Here is the thing though....if you let the truck sit for a couple hours the A/C will act normal and work as it should for maybe 1-3 hour then start acting up. I'm at a loss
I plan to bring it in to the shop that cleaned the evaporator last time but don't want to bring it in blindly and pay a couple hundred bucks if that's not the issue. I realize they would likely trouble shoot it first....but that cost money as well. Any ideas of what could cause it to do this on and off ?
My wife believes that maybe some of the debris that is blocking the evaporator is "settling" or falling off the evaporator while it's sitting. And that while at highway speeds it's blowing the debris back onto the evaporator "re-clogging it" I don't completely agree with her theory as this last trip to Florida on the way home when it stopped working we had the A/C off for about 3 hours and the windows down. After a quick bathroom break I decided to turn the A/C back on to see if it works and it did start to blow normal for about another hour or so. In my mind the quick roadside bathroom break wasn't enough time for any debris to fall off the evaporator.
During the 2 "off" non traveling weeks. I mostly did city driving for work with dozens of start and stops during the day. So not the same driving conditions as when i'm hauling the camper when it seems to consistently stop blowing.
Was wondering also if it could be the A/C and heater door actuator failing? Working more or less when it wants to? While it's not blowing strong I did try to go back and forth between heat,A/C,floor,defrost etc... all seemed to work and blow the same quantity (poorly)
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