Amschick, yes, the replaced the compressor 3 times. The first replacement leaked, second had bad bearings and almost caught on fire, third one was fine. Honestly, I don't think my original compressor was bad. It's just easy to replace. Fortunately I had a service contract.

 

Thank you @michael-in-tx. we have replced the compressors for following reasons.
1. came aprart internally
2. seized
3. bad reed valves
4. Waiting for this one to die.....

@15951a\ - We have not tracked down the issue, however were getting some cinsistency in the problems. Here is an update.

1. In the bay the car blows mid 40's @ 95 degrees ambient @ Idle
2. in the sun, car is blowing mid 70's @ 95 ambient @ Idle
3. going down the freeway in the sun car is blowing high 60's @ 105 ambient @ 2krpm
4. going down the freeway after sunset car is blowing low 50's @ 102 ambient @ 2krpm
5. if ambient is over 100 and in the sun idling after 5-10 minutes if you rev the engine to 1250 rpm the compressor will kick off due to high side pressure. The compressor will not re-engage until you are driving for about a minute.

Right now we are leaning at a malfunctioning Control unit, or a bad sensor that directly affects the Control unit. There is still a possibility that either the new condenser(not likely being that the sun is factoring the temps but the sun could just be coincidence) is defective or we still may have a low side restriction somewhere. I'm waiting on an update from the shop today to find out if the Pressures are making big changes between the sun and bay. If they are not, it is most likely the Control unit or sensor. Ifs so there is something wrong with the condenser or a low side restriction.

 

Your problem sounds exactly like mine did. You didn't buy my Aspen, did you. :-O

The other symptom that my mine had, which the shop refused to acknowledge,j was the musty smell at startup. Yes, that sometimes happens. However, it seemed terribly suspicious that the same car had the musty issue and the temp control issue. The musty smell comes from the evaporator's area of the system, where the air gets cooled. I still wonder if a buildup of mold was inhibiting airflow and evaporation around the evaporator coils and blades.

 

My aspen came from Truckee, NV from original owner not u? Anyways, i did a visual inspection on the Evap and it looks perfect, no signs of airflow restriction or any buildup of any sort. The tech found 3 leaks(most likely due to the high pressure issue) repaired all 3 evac & Charged to spec. He also added a conditioner for Freon flow and compressor performance. Tech said he was getting 62(@100 ambient) at idle in the sun heat soaking for about an hour, and as soon as he drove off it dropped to 48(100 ambient). The tech took it home for the weekend and is gonna put some time/miles on it and see if it stays consistent. Ill have more details Monday.

 

Just had the same thing happen is a expansion valve. Then you may have to replace freon

 

Not me. Phew.

Mine is probably somewhere in central Texas - rust color with awesome aftermarket wheels. It sounds like you had a better tech than the guys at Nyle Maxwell CDJ in Austin. Yep, I'm calling them out for an inability to think beyond their gauges. It's difficult to find a good tech anymore.

 

Okay, update. After fixing numerous TINY leaks. High side service valve, low side service valve and an o-ring at the expansion valve. I think the High Side pressure was causing these leaks to reoccur, not exactly sure. Flushed again, Vacuumed twice, checked oil levels, added Red Angel Leak Stop & Conditioner, recharged and thing blows like a charm. Not exactly sure what is making the difference other then the small leaks(no more then an oz low on a 2.2lb system after a week). The Red Angel causes some nice chemical reactions to oxygen and moisture as well as lubes the compressor a lil better and allows Freon to flow a little more freely in the condenser and evap. This may have been the game changer. Not exactly sure right now what made the biggest difference. We didn't actually replace any parts to make the correction just added the red angel and made sure it was all clear. Maybe there was a restriction somewhere and the last flush, vacuum passed it to the accumulator not exactly sure, tech isn't really sure why all of a sudden this time its going good. The entire time, the gauges were right so it really never made sense...

 

Well, Issues have returned today. Worked fine yesterday, sucks today.

 

Small update, Car is blowing nice n cold at freeway speeds, but not while sitting still(even at 1500 RPM). Also were still getting the High Side pressure buildup sitting still at Idle. There are typically only 2 things to cause this Condenser or Condenser Fan. Gonna toss a fan it it in about a week or so and see what it does. The current fan is spinning and sucking a lot of air and seems to be working correctly. High & Low speeds but just might not be spinning fast enough at each speed. So that's the new starting point. Yesterday, at 90 ambient I was getting 51 degrees at vents between 30-50 mph after about 5 minutes. So it appears to be doing a lot better then it used too. If the Fan doesn't fix it we will probably warranty the condenser again at the off chance it is defective.

 

There is only one TSB for A/C for the 08 Aspen. It may not apply to the OP's specific concerns but I've listed it below as an FYI for any members that may experience this issue.

TSB 24-004-10

SUBJECT:
No A/C Or Evaporator Freeze Up On Long Trips With Blower In Low Speed Position

OVERVIEW:
This bulletin involves adding a resistor 470 ohm resistor in the evaporator temperature sensor signal circuit.

MODELS:
2004 - 2009 (HB) Durango
2007 - 2009 (HG) Aspen

NOTE: This bulletin applies to all HB/HG vehicles with A/C (sales code HAA or HAB
or HAF). This bulletin does not cover the 2009 HG HEV vehicle.

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
The customers may experience poor A/C, little to no A/C operation or reduced airflow from the instrument panel vents. This condition often occurs after a extended drive cycle (greater that 2 hours) with the A/C on and the blower speed is set to the low position. Once the vehicle is shut off or the A/C is turned off for approximately 2 hours the A/C will operate normally.

Adding the resistor to the evaporator temperature sensor signal wire allows the A/C
Compressor to cycle at a higher temperature more frequently to avoid this condition.

Hope this info can be useful to someone. Good luck on resolving your concerns asap!