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A/C not cooling
2021 E450 motorhome.
7.3L gas V8.

Purchased May 2021.

I'm assuming I'm out of warranty?

This is way too soon to be messing up. Ugh.

ON EDIT
This is the engine compartment cab A/C

2021 Mid Bath

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #1
I’d not like that situation either.   One would hope we’d get more value and quality out of expensive components. 

If the air conditioner has to be replaced, we’d be interested if you find a quiet unit.  We keep wishing that eventually there’s a non-ducted unit that is quiet. 

When we’re in the lounge of our midbath with the air conditioner running, we’ll open the bathroom door and the closet door closest to the lounge.  It reduces the noise substantially. 

Best of luck with this frustrating repair.

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #2
Cab A/C or rooftop? The documents with purchase should indicate responsible party, though with both Ford and Dometic (?) probably no warranty any more. For help here, more info needed.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #3
Cab A/C or rooftop? The documents with purchase should indicate responsible party, though with both Ford and Dometic (?) probably no warranty any more. For help here, more info needed.

Steve

Sorry.
Cab A/C
2021 Mid Bath

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #4
Locate the compressor - when clutched in to cool, the pulley will be engaged, you will see it spinning - if so then the system may have lost freon. If the outer part of the clutch is stationary, the compressor is not working, so that would be an issue with the controls. Others may have more suggestions to try.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #5
Ed & Margee,
"If the air conditioner has to be replaced, we’d be interested if you find a quiet unit.  We keep wishing that eventually there’s a non-ducted unit that is quiet"

Last December our Dometic started leaking water from somewhere inside the unit. It finally quit working and I said 'Enough' with Dometic and ordered the RecPro Houghton RP-AC3800 15K btu non-ducted to replace the Dometic. So far that was a good decision as it was relatively easy to install. It is controlled with a wireless remote so the only wiring hookup is connecting the AC wires to the unit. It did require a little (1/8") widening of the 14" X 14" roof opening. Below are the installation & operation manual web site.
The inside blower fan has several speeds which are all quieter than lowest Dometic fan speed. The outside fan has it's own motor. It heats and cools very well.
 
I bought it directly from RecPro:    RecPro | RV Parts | Restore Your RV

https://www.recpro.com/content/RP-AC3500%20RP-AC3800%2013.5k%2015k%20AC%20Heat%20Pump%20Combined.pdf

2010 RB "Monty"  & currently: 2021 RB "Villa Verde"
2004 Born Free 26'
1998 Beaver Patriot 33'
1992 Barth Breakaway 28'
1982 Fleetwood Jamboree 23'
1982 Dolphin/Toyota 22'

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #6
Locate the compressor - when clutched in to cool, the pulley will be engaged, you will see it spinning - if so then the system may have lost freon. If the outer part of the clutch is stationary, the compressor is not working, so that would be an issue with the controls. Others may have more suggestions to try.

Steve

It's the compressor. It's not engaging.
I have an appointment September 4th to take it into the dealer. Hopefully they'll work a deal with me since we're only about 3 months out of warranty.
2021 Mid Bath

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #7
Hi Ted;  You could do simple things like looking for blown fuses, disconnected wires (rat damage, etc.) Knowing more about the situation never hurts, even if you can't fix it. The 2021 chassis' are very 'computerized'. Are there any error messages on the dash?  RonB
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #8
Hi Ted;  You could do simple things like looking for blown fuses, disconnected wires (rat damage, etc.) Knowing more about the situation never hurts, even if you can't fix it. The 2021 chassis' are very 'computerized'. Are there any error messages on the dash?  RonB

No error messages.
No sign of rodent foul play. 🐁
I looked for a fuse that mentioned "A/C" but couldn't find it. I'll look again.
2021 Mid Bath

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #9
Hi Ted;  More information about symptoms will help here.  Do you have fan air coming out of your dash vents?  Does the air flow increase and decrease with selected fan speed?  Does the heat function work, so you can adjust the temperature of air coming out of the dash vents.  Does air come out of the air vents up against the front window, when you select defrost?  Floor vents under the dash when the floor is selected?  This is to check the operation of the different air mixing flaps internal to the ducting.
    Modern car air conditioners are almost always operating to prevent internal fogging up of the windshield while driving and the default position of the air direction flaps is to 'defrost'.  The flaps are controlled by engine vacuum and that is often a target of rodents. So proper operation of the flaps means that the vacuum is getting to where it needs to be.
    I can hear when my A/C engine driven compressor engages. The extra drag on the engine will result in the engine computer giving a little extra air into the intake manifold, causing more gasoline to be injected, and a resulting 'bump' in RPM.  You should be able to detect this increase/decrease in RPM.  Newer vehicles with the horsepower of your V8, and better soundproofing, may be more subtle. Operator selection of 'maximum cold' and internal recirculation of the cab air, will result in maximum cooling.
   As Steve said a gradual loss of Freon, below a certain threshold , will prevent the compressor clutch from coming on.  It takes my LD about 12 years to leak out enough Freon to prevent A/C operation.    RonB

edit:  I found a youtube video that specifies the A/C clutch fuse as #46 under the hood as 10A.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F04KndJXIY4 , 37 seconds in.
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #10
Hi Ted;  More information about symptoms will help here.  Do you have fan air coming out of your dash vents?  Does the air flow increase and decrease with selected fan speed?  Does the heat function work, so you can adjust the temperature of air coming out of the dash vents.  Does air come out of the air vents up against the front window, when you select defrost?  Floor vents under the dash when the floor is selected?  This is to check the operation of the different air mixing flaps internal to the ducting.
    Modern car air conditioners are almost always operating to prevent internal fogging up of the windshield while driving and the default position of the air direction flaps is to 'defrost'.  The flaps are controlled by engine vacuum and that is often a target of rodents. So proper operation of the flaps means that the vacuum is getting to where it needs to be.
    I can hear when my A/C engine driven compressor engages. The extra drag on the engine will result in the engine computer giving a little extra air into the intake manifold, causing more gasoline to be injected, and a resulting 'bump' in RPM.  You should be able to detect this increase/decrease in RPM.  Newer vehicles with the horsepower of your V8, and better soundproofing, may be more subtle. Operator selection of 'maximum cold' and internal recirculation of the cab air, will result in maximum cooling.
   As Steve said a gradual loss of Freon, below a certain threshold , will prevent the compressor clutch from coming on.  It takes my LD about 12 years to leak out enough Freon to prevent A/C operation.    RonB

edit:  I found a youtube video that specifies the A/C clutch fuse as #46 under the hood as 10A.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F04KndJXIY4 , 37 seconds in.

Thank you I went back and checked and all the flaps work the heater works and the fuse is good.
2021 Mid Bath

Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #11
Okay here's the latest.

The dealer is going to recharge the system and add dye because it was out of freon.

The bill is up to $440 right now.

I'm just wondering how in the heck could all the freon be lost.

This is a 2021 and I've never had an AC go out this quick.

Could it be improper installation when it was made? The vehicle has less than 13,000 miles on it and I haven't had a rodent problem or anything.

I think I'm going to have to contact corporate offices of Ford and see if we can get this resolved even though it's 5 months out of warranty.

😡
2021 Mid Bath

 
Re: A/C not cooling
Reply #12
Here is a thought for you Ted, look things over and particularly look for any signs of fresh oil. Especially around the compressor seal, then check all the hoses and the connections once again fresh oil. Just follow all the exposed lines looking for oil. Look in through the grill and make sure something hasn't poked a hole in the condenser. Last but not least, tell the guy working on it to buy a leak detector and deep six the dye. I think one of the biggest leaks sources is compressor seals AC units need exercise to lube the seals.

Jon
1994 MB