Cabin Air Filter issue

[el_bets]

Hello everyone,
maybe someone has experienced something similar or has an idea of what happened before taking it to a shop.

My 2020 Willys reached 42k miles and it was past due for a cabin air filter change. So I went ahead and got one from Oreilly(WIX cabin Air filter). Since I was going to drive out of town I decided to do it right before I left. An hour after I installed the new one the AC started to fail. The compressor was working, I could hear the fan working but no cold air was coming out. It sounded like the AC was forcing itself. (sounded like a vacuum). It would do that for like 20min and then work for 5min. After an hour of experiencing this, I stopped and removed the filter, and the issue was solved. (or so I thought). After an hour issue started again, now without a filter. This went on for another hour, it would blow regular air for 20 min and work for 5 min. This went on for an hour, after that, it started working, and have had no issues since then for 2 days.

Any idea what happened or what should I check for?

I did notice something odd that I don't know if it's related. When I turned on the jeep for the first time yesterday. The AC turned on and for 1 second it shut off but turned on again. Any info will be much appreciated.

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[Ratbert]

I wouldn't think that the filters are extremely sensitive to air flow direction, but have you tried reversing it?

 

[dragoneggs]

I wouldn't think that the filters are extremely sensitive to air flow direction, but have you tried reversing it?

OP said it happened again without filter installed. My first thought is that it sounds like an electrical issue.

 

[Left Field]

Nothing silly, like a piece of the plastic wrapper sucked inside?
LF

 

[Terrymo]

Arrows on filter should be pointing down toward the floor. Beyond that not sure how to diagnose what happened. Maybe not even directly related to the filter.

 

[dchemphill1]

Just spit ballin....Clogged condensation line? Had that happen in an older car...blew compressed air in the line and it worked good as new.

 

[Ratbert]

OP said it happened again without filter installed.

Good point. Apparently reading comprehension diminishes with age.

 

[dragoneggs]

Good point. Apparently reading comprehension diminishes with age.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the only thing as I am finding out.

 

[el_bets]

Nothing silly, like a piece of the plastic wrapper sucked inside?
LF

It's hard to tell if anything is stuck in the fan but it does not look like it. Today I put the filter back and have had no issue.

 

[RicRecon]

As dchemphill1 alluded to with the condensation lines, it kind of reminds of a vapor lock in the old fuel lines.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Sounds like a blend door actuator issue.

 

[Jeffy56]

It's possible it got iced up. That would cause it to cycle on/off. What's your humidity down there right now? There also will be a condensate (water) drain near where the filter rests. I don't know exactly where, but under the indoor A/C coil. Perhaps a "dirtball" from the old filter has/did plug that drain. There also should be a "drip" tube coming out the body some where underneath all that.

 

[el_bets]

It's possible it got iced up. That would cause it to cycle on/off. What's your humidity down there right now? There also will be a condensate (water) drain near where the filter rests. I don't know exactly where, but under the indoor A/C coil. Perhaps a "dirtball" from the old filter has/did plug that drain. There also should be a "drip" tube coming out the body some where underneath all that.

Dont recall but I'm from South Texas, that specific day we had a heat index of 114. Today, it is lower.......113.

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