A/C Condensor Blown Again!? - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum

sknaus · #1 (**permalink**) 08-23-2009, 09:00 PM

Ok so I am sitting in the parking lot of Super Target with the kids with the A/C on waiting for the wife. All of a sudden I hear this loud hissing sound and smoke is coming out from under the hood and through the vents. I quickly shut off the truck and pop the hood. Some people came running over thinking the truck was on fire. Well I looked around and could not notice any thing on fire or burnt. Last year I had the condenser split a seam and I happened to look at the same spot that it did it before and there was oil and residue all around that connection. Sure enough, start the truck back up and no A/C. This is the 2nd time in as many year that this happened. Any one else have this happen or could explain why? The first one I was told was a defect and it split at a seam. This looks to be the same. To the dealer in the morning. Stay tuned....

scott123 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-23-2009, 10:43 PM

Hmmm...

I work in the HVAC trade. I have not read of a single issue like you describe. I would have a tendency to think you may want to confirm a few things.
1. Is the AC system charged with the correct refrigerant (134A I believe).
2. Is the system charged with the correct amount of refrigerant & oil.
3. Is the metering device on the evaporator working correctly and is the liquid line filter dryer clean and NOT plugged.

Condensers can blow or split when there is a hydrologic effect from liquid refrigerant or oil. If for example the system was overcharged with refrigerant or oil this could cause an aluminum coil to burst or split because you cannot compress a liquid. The fact that you have lost 2 condensers leaves me suspicious that something else may be causing the condenser/s to split. I would ask Toyota to provide a TBS which acknowledges there is an known issue with some OEM condensers.

TACOMA915 · #3 (**permalink**) 08-24-2009, 12:16 AM

Ive been working as a technician for 12+ years now and have never seen that. Id say there is a hidden problem somewhere, causing high pressure. Check the compressor for the freon vent valve and see if its wet. This valve is the only way you can legally vent r134a. When the pressure gets high its supposed to vent automatically. Hope this helps a little.

scott123 · #4 (**permalink**) 08-24-2009, 12:22 AM

There may be a relief valve on the system as described, but it should lift the relief BEFORE the system ever blows the condenser coil. Bottom line; if it is indeed a defective coil then we can move on, but if it is not defective then the only way it can fail is if the high pressure cut out or relief is not working, combined with an overcharge of refrigerant and/or oil. If the metering device on the evaporator is plugged and the entire charge cannot stack up in the condenser, this would possibly cause the coil to fail as well.

sknaus · #5 (**permalink**) 08-24-2009, 02:40 PM

Thanks guys, but no work from Toyota yet on what is up. I am hoping to hear from them soon.

sknaus · #6 (**permalink**) 08-24-2009, 09:42 PM

ok update. So it was the connection to the condensor that failed. They said the o-ring completely blew apart. They installed a new o-ring and re-charged the system and it held a charge just fine. So I feel a little better about it. My best guess is Mtn States did a crappy job on the original fix. A shout out to Boulder Toyota for getting me all fixed up today!

thumbster · #7 (**permalink**) 08-24-2009, 10:19 PM

I hope for your sake they replaced the dryer, so the expansion valve doesn't plug up from residual moisture in the system. Most places neglect to do this when opening up an AC system - pulling a decent vacuum isn't always enough to get all the moisture that's trapped in the rest of the sealed system.