Average lowest A/C temp?

[Delta1]

To any A/C experts out there, what is the coldest temp air that should come out of the vents? In my 06 Saturn Ion, 55 F is the lowest I see. The A/C shop I take it to for service verified that everything is working as it should, and if I want it any colder I should consider a new compressor since they get less efficient with age....

 

[bullwinkle]

It would take a gauge set to have an idea what’s going on-could be anything from a plugged condenser, weak fan, overcharged system, bad expansion valve/orifice tube, or even possibly a heater control valve not closing (allowing hot coolant into the heater core). I’ve seen evaporators cold enough to blow snow & fog out of the vents.

 

[ZeeOSix]

To any A/C experts out there, what is the coldest temp air that should come out of the vents? In my 06 Saturn Ion, 55 F is the lowest I see.

What was the outside temperature at that time? If it's really hot out, the A/C condenser won't cool the Freon as well. Also, are the A/C condenser fins clean? If it's blocked some with bugs and road debris it won't cool as well either.

 

[Warstud]

I dont understand why people need there A/C to kick out freezing air in such a small space .

 

[skyactiv]

I dont understand why people need there A/C to kick out freezing air in such a small space .

Your vehicle AC would suck if the air coming out of the vents was 68 degrees.

 

[Snagglefoot]

It’s 95 F here and will be for at least the next 10 days. My AC in my 16 year old Burb is currently putting out at about 50 F as measured by a prong thermometer sitting in the center vent. I find that’s comfortable enough.

 

[Snagglefoot]

To any A/C experts out there, what is the coldest temp air that should come out of the vents? In my 06 Saturn Ion, 55 F is the lowest I see. The A/C shop I take it to for service verified that everything is working as it should, and if I want it any colder I should consider a new compressor since they get less efficient with age....

Did they happen to write down the pressures from the high and low side?

 

[Delta1]

Did they happen to write down the pressures from the high and low side?

No but that's a good idea, I'll ask next time

 

[Delta1]

It would take a gauge set to have an idea what’s going on-could be anything from a plugged condenser, weak fan, overcharged system, bad expansion valve/orifice tube, or even possibly a heater control valve not closing (allowing hot coolant into the heater core). I’ve seen evaporators cold enough to blow snow & fog out of the vents.

I had an 86 Peugeot 505 Turbo, and ya, that thing would blow fog though the vents; I was always turning the temperature 'up' when the a/c was on, even above 90 f outside!

 

[Delta1]

I dont understand why people need there A/C to kick out freezing air in such a small space .

That's just how I roll: I like the heat real hot and the cold super cold!

 

[Chevyc10]

20 degree drop from incoming air temp is maximum to expect. Make sure control set to recirculate, otherwise you are pulling hot outside air.

 

[LenZee]

I'm getting 38f-40f at the front vents in my Sienna. On a 100f day I even have to lower it after a few minutes because it's freezing me out.

 

[Warstud]

I'm getting 38f-40f at the front vents in my Sienna. On a 100f day I even have to lower it after a few minutes because it's freezing me out.

 

[atikovi]

I dont understand why people need there A/C to kick out freezing air in such a small space .

Says the man from the tropics of Michigan.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Ambient temperature plays a crucial role here. When it's in the 70s, I've measured temperatures as low as 33°F, but when its over 115°F I've never seen it drop below 55°F. Over 125°F, it's generally between 62°F - 65°F. This is on a rigorously serviced unit, including weekly cleaning of the condenser coils to remove extremely fine particles of dust and sand.

 

[JimPghPA]

I bought a smal digital indoor outdoor thermometer on amazon, and velcroed it to the center of my dash. Pulled a vent output and gorilla duct-taped the outdoor probe inside the air out duct. Now I can read cabin temp at the dash and duct output temp. What I look at is the differance (delta) between cabin and output.

If I get in my vehicle on a hot day when it is parked in the sun the inside may be 138 F. I open all the windows because even 95 F ambient is colder and the AC takes a few minutes to cool the evaporator and duct work. When the air out drops into the 70's I close the windows and run the AC in recirculate mode. When it's really hot like that and the vehicle is moving so there is more air through the condenser and the engine rpms are up so the compressor is turning fast, I often see a Delta of 60 to 65. When the inside of the vehicle cools some the Delta becomes less. Once the inside cools to the 90's F the Delta is in the 40's. Once the output gets around 50 F it is hard for the AC to maintain a high Delta because, as I said in another post, the evaporator surfaces ice up at 32 F and it takes a Delta between that evaporator surfaces and the air it is cooling of around 15 F to get a good transfer of a lot of heat. 32 + 15 = 47 so anytime the output is near 47 the system is doing good. If it can provide a Delta of 60 or more when the inside of the vehicle is very hot, the vehicle is moving, and the engine rpms are above idle, and it has been running long enough to cool the ductwork, while running in recirculate mode, then it's working pretty good.

Note, even thought initially when in recirculate the cabin air that it is drawing in may be hotter than outside, in a brief time that cabin air gets it's humidity reduced by the AC. You end up in less humid air, and it is easier for the AC to cool the air that is less humid than outside air.

I hose the condenser at the beginning of the summer to clean it. Be carefull to have the water hit the fins straight on and not hard. You don't want to bend over the fins and block air flow.

Humidity plays a crucial role in how low the output can get. If it's very humid, a lot of the cooling capacity of the system gets used to phase change the gas moisture in the air into liquid water, and also the evaporator can ice up.

If you live in extremely dry ambient air, you might see the output get below 47 F because the evaporator can be below 32 F and not ice up.

 

[dogememe]

AC on Bolty is cold enough to freeze me to death if I set it to as low temp as it goes even when it’s 100* out. If I use “auto” mode it’s not nearly as cold. I like it cold so I never use auto.

 

[Nick1994]

In 110* I can get down to 37* in the Genesis.

41* in my ‘96 Jeep Cherokee.

 

[SHOZ]

Mine runs off the evap temp sensor and cycles 36F-40F on the Gen Coupe.

 

[Donald]

To any A/C experts out there, what is the coldest temp air that should come out of the vents? In my 06 Saturn Ion, 55 F is the lowest I see. The A/C shop I take it to for service verified that everything is working as it should, and if I want it any colder I should consider a new compressor since they get less efficient with age....

It's typically xx degrees below the outside temp. And needs to be measured with kind of a meat thermometer that sticks a probe a few inches into the air vent.