Air Conditioning Fix??

[kingston73]

Hello, somewhat new to the forum. I tried running my AC today and nothing, the compressor belt is tight and the pulley spins, but when I press the button in the cab there is no change. The manual says there should be an audible "click" and the center of the compressor should spin, but it does not do either. Where should I start with troubleshooting this? It worked fine last time I ran it, but I haven't turned it on for a few weeks.

2001 2.7L engine

[2000tundra2wd]

sound like a r134 leak. on accident i let all of my freon out and my compressor didn't run at all. i added some more r134 and everything was fine. you said your truck didn't run in a while, so i guess it all leaked out.

[Txstick]

Check the freon level. There is a low pressure switch which will keep the compressor from running if the level is low. If you do not have any, buy the can that has the trigger and guage on it, very easy to use. You can reuse the trigger handle and guage.

chuck

[Jake Harsha]

Hello, somewhat new to the forum. I tried running my AC today and nothing, the compressor belt is tight and the pulley spins, but when I press the button in the cab there is no change. The manual says there should be an audible "click" and the center of the compressor should spin, but it does not do either. Where should I start with troubleshooting this? It worked fine last time I ran it, but I haven't turned it on for a few weeks.

2001 2.7L engine

First off, don't automatically assume it's the A/C clutch. If there's a leak and the pressure get's too low, the computer will not allow the A/C clutch pulley to engage the compresser. This is because the pump needs refrigerant to lubricate it or it would quickly burn up. 9 times out of 10 this is the cause of what you describe.

You should take your car to a mechanic that works on A/C systems and has the proper recovery equipment and have them check it.

First thing they should ask you about is if you've had any recent damage (if you recently got into an accident and hit something with the front end, you likely need a new condensor or need to fix the pipes thereto.)

It could be low on refrigerant because of a very slow leak and, upon re-filling, it would then work fine for several years. If you can't think of an obvious reason why the refridgerant leaked out, this is the first thing I'd try.

If the A/C quits working again, you're going to have to take it back and have them find and fix the leak. They have special flourescent dye they can put in the system to make leaks apparent under a blacklight.

One likely place for a leak is around the service ports. This is something you can check yourself after a fill. Pay careful attention as you remove the black caps on the ports, if you hear a brief hiss of gas escaping, it's leaking past the schrader valve. The black cap will only hold so much pressure and so the gas seeps past the threads. I had this very thing happen to my '00 Taco (3.4 V6). I replaced the schrader valve and it STILL leaked at the same port. It turned out there was a tiny fleck of schmutz under where the valve seated and that's what was causing the leak. Cheap fix!


Good Luck!
Jake

[Johnny_5]

I'm guessing he already fixed it since this thread is almost 1.5 years old.

[Jake Harsha]

Holy crap..you're right! Oh well... maybe it will help somebody else.