Need Auto Help

[Guest clsutton21]

My girlfriend drives an '03 Toyota Celica and her A/C quit working. It's not the compressor or fans or anything, this happens every summer and sometimes fixes itself. The A/C light blinks and blinks and the air runs hot. Her A/C lines are hot where they should be cold(if anything like a house) so we believe we need to charge the A/C. I hook up the gauge and it reads waaay over 100 psi and it's supposed to be 30-45. I'm sure this is the problem, right?

Also she had to in-cabin air filter for about 2 years due to her dad's negligence, so I picked her up one of those today.

Any help on the A/C? I'm sure I had the low-pressure side. It's like the freon isn't moving or something.

[Guest jackdm3]

PM "Jeremey" and "MemphisMechanic" if you don't get answers.

[Guest clsutton21]

New discovery.

While the lines on the A/C under the hood are warm. The ones behind the glove box inside are hot enough to melt thumb prints off.

[Garufa]

Roll down the windows.

[Guest clsutton21]

Roll down the windows.

Cute.

[strickj]

ASE cert A\C guy here

When you say the light blinks and the air cuts off, do you mean it goes from cold to hot, or just cuts off completely?

[strickj]

New discovery.

While the lines on the A/C under the hood are warm. The ones behind the glove box inside are hot enough to melt thumb prints off.

Just noticed this post...

The lines on the compressor will be hot.

The line going into your evap should be cold.

The line exiting the evap should be warm.(see diagram)

If both lines are warm\hot then you probably have a problem with your expansion valve.

Edited April 14, 2010 by strickj

[Guest manofsteel]

automotive ac has a filter in line, this filter hardly ever gets changed by anyone. this can stop up and cause the simptoms you are describing. when i do a service i always change the filter and install a new expansion valve and clean the system before recharging. people dont understand why ac service cost so much but the tech doesnt make much just on the service

[Guest clsutton21]

The light comes on solid at first, like it's supposed to, but then starts blinking and the compressor shuts off.

[TGO David]

Swap the horn relay for the magnetic clutch relay (they are the same on those cars) and see if the problem goes away. The magnetic clutch relay is under the hood. If so, bad relay. If not, it may be the compressor itself.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Expansion valve or orifice tube clogged, whichever type it uses, sounds like the problem.

Accumulator/Drier should always be changed if the system is opened. The freon isn't flowing. I'm not sure about Toyotas but if it uses an orifice tube, like Fords do and it is stopped up or stopping up, you will end up with other components bad, like a compressor failure. It's best to get it fixed before you try to use it again. Be glad the light is working,

[strickj]

automotive ac has a filter in line, this filter hardly ever gets changed by anyone. this can stop up and cause the simptoms you are describing. when i do a service i always change the filter and install a new expansion valve and clean the system before recharging. people dont understand why ac service cost so much but the tech doesnt make much just on the service

The in line filter you refer to is an orifice tube and his car uses an expansion valve.

Also, the only reason it would stop up is if the compressor is going bad.

The light comes on solid at first, like it's supposed to, but then starts blinking and the compressor shuts off.

The expansion valve will have a copper tube running to the evaporator that senses temperature.

If that is working improperly then it will close causing you to loose cold air.

Now, when you say the comp shuts off, how do you know?

Are you seeing the clutch disengage or are you just assuming it's shutting off because you're loosing your air?

Accumulator/Drier should always be changed if the system is opened.

That's a big yup, with a big maybe.

It should never be changed unless you can evacuate the system completely.

Reason being, the Accumulator/Drier retains oil and there's no way to know how much oil is in the one you remove.

When you install a new dry one, you will end up putting in either too much oil or not enough oil.

That in turn will cause your comp to fail.

Edited April 14, 2010 by strickj

[Guest ADAM]

That's a big yup, with a big maybe.

It should never be changed unless you can evacuate the system completely.

Reason being, the Accumulator/Drier retains oil and there's no way to know how much oil is in the one you remove.

When you install a new dry one, you will end up putting in either too much oil or not enough oil.

That in turn will cause your comp to fail.

CORRECT SIR

[Guest walkingdeadman]

Roll down the windows.

Seen that coming.

[Guest clsutton21]

Now, when you say the comp shuts off, how do you know?

Are you seeing the clutch disengage or are you just assuming it's shutting off because you're loosing your air?

Her car has a 1.8 in it, I'm assuming that's what's I hear shutting off as the motor turns easier as soon as the A/C light starts to blink. I'll try David's relay suggestion tomorrow. I'm afraid the rest is beyond me if that doesn't fix it. Fixing the A/C is only thing I don't know anything about when fixing a car.

[strickj]

Very well could be the relay.

Before you change it, I'd try jumping it first.

If the comp comes on, it is in fact that relay.

[jughead]

this old man has never seen a properly working ac unit that the line coming out of the evaporator was hot. they have always been sweating and cold?????

[lowbud]

Could be alot of things. relay, pressure switch, etc.

There are good suggestions here about swapping relays and jumping pressure switches. I would do all those first. if your dryer or line has a sight glass and you are able to jump the switch look into the glass for bubbles or foam passing through it (if the compressor comes on)

Personally I wouldn't attempt to add refridgerant yourself without knowing what's going on. I have seen way to many people come close to blowing themselves up playing with the AC.

If the compressor comes on then goes off.. weather or not the evap ever gets cold or not you have IMHO a pressure issue. either low or high due to not enough freon or too much head pressure.

Another possibility would be the evap freezing up but if the ac never gets cold I doubt that's the issue.

[Guest clsutton21]

Could be alot of things. relay, pressure switch, etc.

There are good suggestions here about swapping relays and jumping pressure switches. I would do all those first. if your dryer or line has a sight glass and you are able to jump the switch look into the glass for bubbles or foam passing through it (if the compressor comes on)

Personally I wouldn't attempt to add refridgerant yourself without knowing what's going on. I have seen way to many people come close to blowing themselves up playing with the AC.

If the compressor comes on then goes off.. weather or not the evap ever gets cold or not you have IMHO a pressure issue. either low or high due to not enough freon or too much head pressure.

Another possibility would be the evap freezing up but if the ac never gets cold I doubt that's the issue.

Yeah, when I put the gauge on it and it read 100+ psi. I knew not to add any. When she first starts her car and the comp is on, I don't see any bubbles or anything flowing through the sight glass.

[Guest clsutton21]

The relay was the issue. It just took forever to find it because for some reason, it's not in the owner's manual and it's not labelled under the hood. I basically went through with trial and error. I tried putting one that was for IG2 in the horn slot and it didn't work, so I put the horn relay in that slot and Voila! it works!

Bad thing is the relays are hard to come by because Toyota picked the wrong one for the job and they switched up numbers. After searching for a bit, I found the one she needed and it was $60 on eBay and "impossible to order" at Autozone and Toyota, so I found a guy selling $9 ones that he claimed would work. I figure I'll just get that one and even if it works for only a summer each, I doubt she'll have her car 6 more years.'

Thanks for all the help and advice!

Edited April 14, 2010 by clsutton21

[TGO David]

In my experience, $9 relays are worth what you pay for them.

[lowbud]

In my experience, $9 relays are worth what you pay for them.

erm.. I second that.

[Guest clsutton21]

I'll just leave the one that works in for her A/C then, it's a Delco. The $9 dollar one should be fine for a horn.