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2004 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel It blows cold air on drivers side and warm (probably outside temp) air on the passenger side. Is it the actuator door? If so how do you repair it? How do I access the door or vacuum line controlling it? Is there a A/C filter for the cabin? Is there another diagnostic I can check? Help! it is 98-100 here in Texas.
Optional Information: Year: 2004 Make: Dodge Model: 3500 Ram Engine: Cummings Diesel turbo Already Tried: turning switch to other settings beside Max inside A/C
Hello and welcome to JustAnswer!
If you have it on heat can you control the temperature ok on the passenger side?
On HEAT it blows hot out of both sides (using the dash vent settings) and blows hot out of the floor vent.On DEFROST it blows either hot or cold (depending on the temp i set it on) out of the defrost vents on dash.On A/C (outside air open) it blows cool on drivers side and warm out of passenger side dash vents.On Max A/C (inside circulating air) it blows cold on drivers side and hot (warm) on passenger side dash vents.
You could possibly have more than one thing going on here.
With the way the airflow in the heater box is set up one side of the truck gets air that flows over one side of the a/c evaporator, the other side of the truck gets air from the other side. When a/c system charge gets low it will be able to cool one side of the evaporator better than the other, which leaves the right side of the truck's a/c warmer than the left. The first thing I would recommend is having the system evacuated and recharged to the proper level and see if that takes care of it.
If not, then you have a broken door in the heater box. Even if it's a single zone truck there is still a blend door for left and right, they're just linked together. One door can break and the other will still be driven by the actuator, leaving control over temperature on one side but not the other.
To address the other things you were wondering about, there isn't a cabin filter on this truck and there is no vacuum control to worry about.
Thanks...Can I recharge the system myself? If not, what should I expect to pay for this type of service?If that does not work, How do I access this "blend" door to see if it is broken or not?
You can charge the system yourself with gauges and refrigerant cans, but it's not very accurate. The most accurate way to do it is with a recovery machine, so it can be recovered to see how much is in it and then charged to the exact proper level. The price on this at a shop will vary depending on local pricing and labor rates. At my dealer it runs under $100.
The doors on the heater box are accessed by dropping the steering column and rolling the dash back and laying it across the seats. Some doors can be replaced with the heater box in place, some doors require the removal of the heater box to replace.
One other question, not a/c related On the headliner of my truck is a light and computer center. one of the side light switches is broken (bulb not burned out...the sitchitself is broke). How do I take that center housing down to replace the switch? note: I took the clear plastic cover off without problem, and the is a star screw on each side but still not coming down to get switch out.Any help is appreciated.
After the screws are removed the only thing holding it in is push in clips. They have to be disengaged by pulling down on the overhead console.
I am reading on another blog that if it is a blend door...they can be accessed on some Dodge trucks by takingout the heater fan and reaching in with your arm and removing the door completely, thus avoiding expensive dealer dash removal..Do you know if this will work? or is there a problem if I remove the blend door completely as they suggest?Thanks for your patience with me!! :-)
No, you can't get to a blend door like that. You can remove a recirculation door like that and leave it out, but you can't even install a new recirc door that way. The blend doors, mode door and floor/defrost door are in the center of the heater box and the only way to get at them is by removing the dash.
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