Is it normal for temps to rise during a long idle?

[AN292]

It was like 90-95 today. I had the AC on after a drive and was sitting in my car for about 20-30 minutes waiting for a friend. AC on.

After 20-30 minutes the AC was a little warmer and my gauge barely started creeping past 210.

I went around the block and brought it back down, AC cooled off again. Coolant is full, no leaks

Is this normal based on the amount of time I was sitting there not moving?

Truck has a new fan clutch (a week old), water pump (1.5 years), thermostat (1.5 years), radiator (1 month), and orange coolant (1 month)

Every single part is OEM.

 

[rockola1971]

Not unusual for temp to rise while sitting at idle in that high of outside temps. Especially if the vehicle is sitting on Asphalt. Im not sure what a "little warmer" means on the a/c so I cant speculate. You should see atleast a 20 delta between the outside temp and the air coming from the vents temp(A/C). How do you know the refrigerant is full and no leaks? Do you have pressure readings?

 

[AN292]

As far as no leaks I was refrrring to the coolant from the reservoir, water pump, hoses, thermostat. I don’t have pressure readings. But yeah I was on asphalt and I guess the idling fan doesn’t push enough air on a hot day just sitting around for that long. I took a trip around the block at maybe 10-15 mph and that did it

 

[Fless]

I'd say that's normal with a clutch fan, which is why some do the electric fan conversion. Could also be that some aftermarket fan clutches don't work as good as the OE ones. You could try to idle it faster for a few minutes to see if the temps come down.

I assume the fan shroud got put back in its proper place.

 

[OR VietVet]

OEM parts is a good call. I would check the air flow across the radiator and anything in front of it. If you live in remote or field areas you can have a lot of dirt/debris in there that needs blown out. If can, remove the upper cover and reach in there with a long bent at end tube and air pressure from backside will help blow out. I can really tell the difference from my 02 fan clutch rig and my 05 electric fans rig. See my recent trip info in my Build thread. I was in 100+ degrees temps and high humidity and accel up passes and temp never climbed over 200 degrees.

 

[mattbta]

I just had my AC repaired yesterday -- when moving it hits 38* out of the vent. I sat in a Floor & Decor parking lot today waiting on the boneheads with the fork lift to get a vanity we ordered for about 15 minutes. Outside temp read 108* on the mirror. Vent temps hit 60*. Coolant was steady, but would rise if we waited any longer. Clutch fan is OEM only a year old. I've got electric fans waiting to go in when I can get motivated to work on it....that should help the AC and probably even the idle or low speed coolant temps.

A couple years back, we were in Hill Country, TX. Drove through one of those wildlife nature preserves. Slow moving lines, 110* ambient. I knew my cooling system at the time was weak and I watched it creep up. - had to rev it a few times to help it out. I'd be curious with e-fans and my new WP how it would do.

Sometimes, it's just too damned hot for anything.

 

[RAMurphy]

Absolutely normal. One of the main reasons I installed high performance electric fans and a high performance alternator on my 2002 Tahoe. I'm getting old and I need to stay cool.

 

[OR VietVet]

As noted in my build thread, I did all OE water pump, thermostat, high output alternator, radiator, hoses, belts and tensioners and idlers, coolant reservoir and verified correct electric fans operation and replaced all related sensors and relays. Was any of it bad, no.... I replaced because I am keeping the rig and did not want to piece meal any of it. I have replaced many complete SYSTEMS on my rig. The a/c, front and rear, already worked great with cold temps. Still does and the 5500+ trip I just took explains how I put all systems to their limits in intense heat conditions. I hate "system works good enough".

 

[rockola1971]

Just an FYI concerning the AC outlet temps. With a correctly charged system and all else in the system working fine you should see ATLEAST 20 degree temp drop below the outside ambient temp. The key word is atleast. It might be right on the money or usually even much lower. But the temp coming out of your vent is VERY dependent on the outside ambient temp. The higher the temp gets outside the higher the temp will be coming out of your AC vents. Thats just how the refrigeration cycle is designed at the mercy of the ambient temp. You could say that any AC refrigeration/cooling looses efficiency as the temp goes up outside(where the condenser is located).

 

[OR VietVet]

I also believe that the higher the humidity, the harder the system works to keep up with keeping the inside cooler. High desert temps are easier on the system than high humidity temps in say....Louisiana. Correct?