'99 Ford Escort - AC not blowing cold air

I have a 1999 Ford Escort and all of a sudden the AC is not blowing cold air. I looked under the hood and felt the lines where the freon goes through and they are SUPER cold. Why isn't the cold air making it into the car? It blows plenty of air but it just isn't cold. I also tried to put more freon in but the gauge said it was full so I didn't put any. Thanks for any help!



~Adriana

Actually it is not supposed to be super-cold until it gets into the evaporator inside your passenger compartment. The most common cause of poor cooling is a low refrigerant charge in the system.

Here's how to determine that. With the A/C on fully place your hand on the evaporator inlet pipe between the orifice tube and the accumulator. Place your other hand on the accumulator housing.. If both surfaces feel about the same temperature and if both feel a little cooler than the surrounding air, the refrigerant level is probably okay.

If the inlet pipe has "FROST" accumulation or "FEELS COOLER" than the accumulator surface, the refrigerant charge is low. Add refrigerant, but........You have checked the charge and it is full so.......
the expansion valve in the evaporator may be plugged up. As the freon loses pressure and expands it causes the cooling effect. You should be able to get the system flushed, pumped down and recharged to solve your problem. Not real expensive. Later, Dave.

Thank you Dave...I will try to get this done :)

Also consider that the mechanism that opens and closes the vents may be broken. If you run the heater, can you tell a difference in heat when you change the temp or is it stuck in one place?

In other words, perhaps the AC is doing what it is supposed to, but although you think you are set on the cool setting, the vent is still allowing some warm air in.

When I put the heater on you can definietly feel a difference in heat. It is a lot warmer. What could this mean?

Thanks,
Adriana!

It means that the heater works!

Your problem will certainly be with the AC system... follow the advice given above.

Hello everyone on the forum.I hope that we will be in good comunication.

I have one item that I've experienced that caused this same problem. Worth checking...make sure your radiator fan is turning on when the a/c system is running. I was driving ,running my air, and felt that room temp air coming out but the temp of the engine was okay....checked it later and noticed the fan wasn't coming on with the a/c. Replaced the fan control relay in the fuse block and resolved both problems...fan worked and a/c got cold again.