2000 Town and Country Rear A/C not cooling

The rear A/C on my 2000 T&C is not blowing cool air.

I had taken it to a local repair shop for the front A/C. He had
mention that there were two systems. The first one they plugged into,
the air would never get cold. After moving to the other input, they
got it down to 42 degrees out of the panel. Took about a pound of
Freon.

Now I'm noticing the rear A/C is not cool. Took it too a different
place, more convenient at the time, and they said there was only one
system, and that there is a flapper valve or an acuator that sends cool
air to the rear.

Regardless of the service I'm getting... My real question is:

Is there two condensers on this system or just one?

I recall at one point that the water would drip towards the rear of the
van, and I no longer see that. Just at the front.

If there is a condenser back there, where is the Freon input for it?

Haven't had the time just yet to look into real good. Just hoping
someone would know off hand.

I tried the calibration technique from another post, pushing the top
rear wiper button and bottom rear washer button at the same time, and
holding down until the LEDs flash. It goes through its calibration
process, but doesn't improve the temperatrure in the rear.

 

One condensor, 2 evaporators, one in the rear and one in the front. If you
had to add freon to the system at one time, theres a leak somewhere and that
could be in the front or rear a/c.
You could have someone add dye to the system and use a black lite to locate
the leak, if i had to guess I would say it is in the evaporator...the front
one. But if the system is low on charge now it will not be very cold out of
the vents.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

The front air remains cold.

I also forgot to mention.. When the front air wasn't very cold, i
heard a sound like air slowly evacuating (or entering) a cylinder.
That's the point where I first took it in and they added Freon.

That same sound is now in the rear instead of the front. And its
loudest in the trunk area where the air return vent is. I'm guessing
the rear evaporator must be in close proximity.

Does that change your diagnosis any?

 

No. Keep in mind if the system is low on charge, the front can still be cold
because the distance from the compressor is closer to the front evaporator
then the rear.
The hissing noise you heard from the front was a low charge. The rear has an
expansion valve which could cause a problem but is very rare, I have never
seen a faulty one yet on that model. There is also a blend air door that
switches the door from heat to a/c in the rear box, that could cause a
problem if the door was out of position or the mode actuator is bad but is
also rare.
The test you did with the buttons on the control panel that I posted on
here before does not do anything for the rear heater or a/c, there are no
self diagnostics test for the rear.
And the fact that you said you had a leak before and never mentioned that a
leak was repaired tells me you still have a leak and the proper fix is to
recover/weigh/recharge with dye and leak test.
My opinion only
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

And the fact that you said you had a leak before and never mentioned that a

Not sure I mentioned a leak, rather just water condensation dripping to
the ground.

Guess I'll take it to the dealer. I have a decent after-market warranty
that should cover it if something is at fault.

Thanks for the advice.

 

You mentioned them having to add refrigerant. Refrigerant doesn't get
used up, it is either full or it leaked out. Do you have any
specialty A/C shops in your area? The dual a/c systems aren't all the
uncommon but they are rare enough that your average joe mechanic might
not have a whole lot of experience iwth them. Maybe you have a
thermo-king in your area? They only do A/C and mostly do big things
like the coolers for the refrigerated haulers.
http://www.thermoking.com/tk/index.asp

Steve B.

 

I'm not sure if they changed the design since 93, but on my 93 Dodger Grand
Caravan, every few years I have to get the metal gasket where the hose from
the front to the rear connect at the H-valve replaced. In the Midwest, the
salt used in the winter corrodes the gasket and is a common source of leaks.
(also was told that the r134a reacts with the metal gasket and breaks down,
that's why they came out with a upgraded, telfon coated gasket) But when
this happens to me, I loose both the front and rear A/C, so it may not be
your problem.

 

=----

Yes they have changed those to o-rings, some connections even use both
o-rings and gaskets together

 

there is 2 evap.coils and one is in the dash and the other is in the bac
but the system as a whoile is only one so you need to have it checked for
leaks because that sounds like what you have going on. the fisrt shop is
not one you want to go bac to
a complete recharge of the system should be done with leak detection dye
added and then checked for leaks bet they find 2