02 camry AC blinking - relay?

[calebm12]

Did a search and read some folks with 03s were having the same problem as i am....blinking ac light, nothing but warm air. is the relay fix also applicable for 02s? this isnt my vehicle and have never worked on it before so am not sure how the camry years work.
if it is the relay, would benefit from some pointers on where the relay is located and how to get the thing out (i broke a relay on my truck trying to get one out).

many thanks

[dorman68]

You need an a/c compressor clutch relay, a very common failure with Toyotas.

[chinamann]

I had the same problem with my lst generation Tundra and it was tell me that it needs to be recharged with freon because it is gone. Have service provider check for leaks and compressor failure. Good luck!

[mustang67408]

The most common issue we have is a compressor failure. There is a speed sensor in the compressor that sends a rpm signal to the A/C amplifier which compares this to the engine rpm, if there is a difference of 200rpm or more the a/c amplifier shuts off the compressor and starts to flash the light. It can be tested with an oscilloscope to check the pattern of the compressor sensor and can be checked with a DVOM (OHM SCALE). When a compressor is failing it's rpms will vary and the speed sensor can detect this, even if the a/c seems to be functioning properly at times.
You can check CODES with one of the attachments I have provided. This circuit does not always set a code and usually you need an oscilliscope to find this issue.
These pictures are from a 2002 Camry 4 cylinder ,a/c compressor sensor from 2 weeks ago. The a/c in this car would blow ice cold MOST of the time, but intermitantly if you drove it and then shut it off for 15-30 minutes then tried to use it again, it would flash the light just about everytime. The compressor was starting to fail internally and the oscilliscope helped us find the problem.
Most dealers have an oscilliscope, but using the pdf below you can try to check codes.