[DurmaxPowderHound]

I went on a weekend camping trip a few weeks back. The outside temperatures on the return trip were between 95 and 100. That combined with towing my 3,000 pound travel trailer caused the A/C to stop blowing cold air. It resumed again later in the day once I was done towing and the outside temperature started dropping.

I’m wondering if this is some kind of fail safe shut off, but one would think that these trucks were designed to handle conditions like this. It made for an unpleasant trip home, especially since I was with a friend who has anxiety issues.

 

[oak1971]

Maybe a duty cycle limit switch thing? I dunno, I'v never had AC go out and come back.

 

[splitley]

I went on a weekend camping trip a few weeks back. The outside temperatures on the return trip were between 95 and 100. That combined with towing my 3,000 pound travel trailer caused the A/C to stop blowing cold air. It resumed again later in the day once I was done towing and the outside temperature started dropping.

I’m wondering if this is some kind of fail safe shut off, but one would think that these trucks were designed to handle conditions like this. It made for an unpleasant trip home, especially since I was with a friend who has anxiety issues.

My 2016 Colorado's AC stopped working and I just restated it and it would work for 5 min. then off it would go, wait 5 min turn back on and it would work for 5 min, on and on, ended up needing a new compressor.

 

[terryjm1]

There is another longer post discussing this. I believe, at least in my case, when the ac is in recirculate mode that very high humidity causes the evaporator to ice up. I have found that if you turn it off for a while with the fan pulling in outside air it will thaw and allow normal return of operation but you have to not return it to recirculate mode. In my case it only happens during long trips. If you stop driving and park when it stops working come back in 20 minutes and look for a large puddle of water underneath. This was my first clue the evaporator was iced up. Another clue it is always seemed to occur after driving through Hereford, TX. If you have ever been to Hereford, you know why you don’t want outside air in the cab.

 

[bigoilbob]

terryjm, might Durmax's condensation drip line be plugged? It's happened to me with other vehicles...

 

[terryjm1]

I havent had any problems aside from long trips (hours without stopping) during high temps and high humidity with recirculated air.

 

[Dmax Dan]

@DurmaxPowderHound - Did you lose any coolant? Is the coolant system still pressurized after it cools down over night?
I had the same thing going on, my coolant was being blown out of the reservoir overflow. Truck is in the shop now (not a dealer) because I couldn’t diagnose But believe it to be a blown head gasket. Never ran hot or anything, just blowing coolant and AC wasn’t working when towing. Fingers crossed your problem is easier to find and fix.

 

[terryjm1]

No coolant loss for me, but you just made me want to go check the level.

 

[bigoilbob]

Durmax, IMO, you should figure out how to unplug a blocked drip line, and do so. Might or might not be the problem, but it's very common, and a plugged drip line will ALWAYS give you your problem. Making sure it's clear is free, with the worst case of googling how to free it up on our vehicle, and maybe getting on your back to do so.

 

[4stroke]

I went on a weekend camping trip a few weeks back. The outside temperatures on the return trip were between 95 and 100. That combined with towing my 3,000 pound travel trailer caused the A/C to stop blowing cold air. It resumed again later in the day once I was done towing and the outside temperature started dropping.

I’m wondering if this is some kind of fail safe shut off, but one would think that these trucks were designed to handle conditions like this. It made for an unpleasant trip home, especially since I was with a friend who has anxiety issues.

I have had this happen to me on hot days when towing about 3200 pounds and up hills. It's brief though and then kicks right back on when I am going down the hill or get to flat land. This maybe has happened five times since newly purchased in 2016.

 

[g1987adams]

I have had this happen to me on hot days when towing about 3200 pounds and up hills. It's brief though and then kicks right back on when I am going down the hill or get to flat land. This maybe has happened five times since newly purchased in 2016.

But have you done aircon maintenance lately?

 

[Lotbb 1]

I went on a weekend camping trip a few weeks back. The outside temperatures on the return trip were between 95 and 100. That combined with towing my 3,000 pound travel trailer caused the A/C to stop blowing cold air. It resumed again later in the day once I was done towing and the outside temperature started dropping.

I’m wondering if this is some kind of fail safe shut off, but one would think that these trucks were designed to handle conditions like this. It made for an unpleasant trip home, especially since I was with a friend who has anxiety issues.

My Ram 1500 did the same the last 2 days. Everything is fine for 3. Hours, then not blowing. After arriving at camp ground, idling the ac ok.

 

[SFLTruck]

I've towed with the AC on for 5 to 6 hours without issue in 93 to 96 deg temps with my 6K lb trailer attached. I have had my AC stop about 2 hours into a trip (no trailer attached). I turned it off for about a minute and turned it back on and it's never done that again that was 2 years ago.

 

[Dmax Dan]

Even after replacing the head gasket my truck stops blowing cold on very hot and humid days. Had the dealer evacuate and recharge but it didn’t help. Looking under the hood, it seems my refrigerant lines are freezing up. Running recirculate seems to help but sometimes I just cut the AC off for 10 miles or so and restart. I attribute it to the compressor going bad. I can hear a occasional rattle at idle that stops when I cut the AC off.