Dakota air conditioning issue

Tiny
SLADE25
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 DODGE DAKOTA
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130 MILES
97 Dakota 3.9L auto. AC issue
Recently I put a full can of 134A refrigerant into my a/c system. Took the full can, no leakage, all seemed good. Prior to this the refrigerant reservoir had been empty for some time so there was no cooling if I selected a/c. Didn't really need it. This year with hotter temps coming I thought I might need it. So I decided to put some refrigerant back into it. It took the can nicely, got up to about 120psi while putting it in (followed manufacturers directions totally). As it was going in the compressor started to activate, this was a first for me (not orig owner). Afterwards I did (and do) have cooler a/c when selecting a/c.

However now when I select any other of the non a/c venting the compressors continues on, as if it thinks it is in the a/c mode. There are no fault codes coming up. So in a nutshell, I have a/c but I have the compressor working when it is not in a/c mode, which it never did prior to putting new refrigerant into the system. Any ideas what is causing this? Anything I can check or do to stop this from happening?
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 AT 7:48 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,757 POSTS
That is normal. They are wired to run most of the time because it removes moisture from the air.
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Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 AT 8:28 PM
Tiny
SLADE25
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Are you sure about that Wrench? It never did that ever before?

I thought the compressor is only supposed to come on when the A/C is being accessed. It should not be coming on when selecting the non A/C venting. I've not experienced that with other vehicles.
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011 AT 1:42 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
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In your case it runs in both A/C and defrost modes. Some other vehicles run it most all the time.
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011 AT 1:47 AM
Tiny
SLADE25
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OK, didn't realize that, sounds a little weird. Any idea why compressor is only coming on now for the non A/C selections?
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011 AT 9:27 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
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That would be determined by the mode selector in the control head.
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011 AT 9:52 AM

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