What's the deal with the AC in these cars??

[vicj]

I know that the cabin in the Viper (Gen II) is generally hot anyway, but my AC has NEVER been that good in the car. I have the low restriction CATS which eliminated a good deal of the heat that used to build up inside the car and had my AC recharged just last year-- its NOT leaking and it does work, but it BARELY gets even cool in the car even on full blast.

I'm just wondering if this is just the way it is with these cars? I would think that a 97 would have a decent AC system. What is the general consensus on the AC for these cars--mine is marginal @ best I can tell you.

p.s. this isnt the result ofthe BRUTAL temps we are having now either...... even in 80 degree weather the AC SUX!!

 

[plumcrazy]

mine works fine. even in this horrible heat. cruising on highway, i turn it down slightly once it gets cold enough. and im a fat bastage

 

[PDCjonny]

I would describe the AC in my 97 and 98 as barely adequate for one person.
It was never icy cold, on it's best day marginally cold.
Ok for one person, not enough for two.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

The Gen 2 had poor AC compared to the later Gens anyway. I always thought the fan motor was weak.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

As I recall my 98 worked great...when it worked. Gotta get around to fixing it one of these days.

 

[CEJ]

What is the temperature of the air coming out of the vents?

Have you had your freon level checked recently? An easy test is to let the a/c run for about 4-5 minutes and then see if the a/c drier (silver cylinder on pass side) is very cold to the touch. If not, you need to get your a/c serviced.

 

[Paul Hawker]

My 96 airconditioning was a weak point in the car. It would keep the interior cool on hot days, but really struggled to cool it down once it became really hot.

On humid, hot days it would sometimes freeze up, and you needed to turn it off until the ice on the condenser could melt off. Sometimes it would blow ice crystal out the vents, but still not cool off a hot interior.

When you would put the throttle down, the AC would shut off. Sometimes on long uphills you had no AC due to this. I would often run the car with the AC on full blast from the time I got in, till I shut off the engine.

Still a much better solution to the AC free cobra's and other nanny free sports cars of the time.

The Gen III cars had a much better AC. Would kick the fan up to high to cool off a hot interior, and then progressivly turn down the fan to keep the temp just right.

On the Gen IV the AC seems even better. Not only do I need to turn the fan down after rapid cooling on a hot day but need to turn down the temp dial a couple clicks to keep the interior from getting overly cold.

On Gen III and IV the AC compressor no longer shuts down under heavy throttle application, or on long up hill grades.
In addition these cars do not tend to overheat in any normal or track driving conditions.

 

[NI-KA]

There are couple threads out there regarding enhancements to the heat shielding aimed at better cooling and a reduction in noise levels. I recently replaced the o-rings at the compressor and had the system put under vacuum and added new refrigerant by a local shop. I also put some heat shield wrap around the compressor hoses where they come near the headers. Placed some stick on heat shield on the outside firewall above the header connection heat shields (sloped part of firewall).

try these links: search "o-rings"

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/637955-Gen-II-A-C-went-out

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/645676-A-C-O-rings?highlight=o-rings

A/C cutting out:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/639449-GTS-A-C-question?highlight=o-rings

others:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/625488-Dynamat-under-rear-carpet?highlight=sound+deadening

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...al-Sound-Insulation?highlight=sound+deadening

I couldn't find the thread that discussed about "insulating" the heater and fan box with high temperature reflective heat barrier (which I did).

Note: everything works well now. Cold A/C, my feet don't "burn". Next thing to put heat shielding on will be the transmission tunnel. The only other thing I noticed was that the three exhaust vents in the middle tend to have more air coming out the drivers side than on the passenger side.