Low Cooling From Air Conditioner

[sam2004]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

[code58]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

[lenore]

This is probably our culprit; the air servo motor:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-first-g...-mix-servo.html

[sam2004]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

[code58]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

I always used to take a single jumper wire from the battery to the compressor wire to see if things worked that way and to find if it was low on freon. Don' know if you can still do it that way, but probably can. That way you can check the sight glass and see if gas is low or not and if it cools that way. If you do this, make sure and unplug the wire to the compressor before you jump juice to it. If it works then, and cools, then you have to backtrack and find where the problem is (could well be a dirty or corroded plug connection) Try unplugging all plugs one at a time, spray some electrical contact cleaner and lube in the plugs and plug and unplug 3 or 4 times to clean contacts. If the clutch isn't engaging there obviously won't be any cooling or foam or bubbles.

[artbuc]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

If it is properly charged, you won't see bubbles (unless it is an extremely hot day) while it is running. Make sure you are looking at the sight glass while someone else turns off the car. You should then see bubbles/foam form right after it is turned off and then the bubbles/foam will immediately disperse. You will also see this effect while the car is running and the A/C compressor turns off. The compressor will cycle on/off depending on the cooling load. But, if you aren't sure what you are looking for, it is easier to have someone turn off the car while you are looking at the sight glass.

[sam2004]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

I always used to take a single jumper wire from the battery to the compressor wire to see if things worked that way and to find if it was low on freon. Don' know if you can still do it that way, but probably can. That way you can check the sight glass and see if gas is low or not and if it cools that way. If you do this, make sure and unplug the wire to the compressor before you jump juice to it. If it works then, and cools, then you have to backtrack and find where the problem is (could well be a dirty or corroded plug connection) Try unplugging all plugs one at a time, spray some electrical contact cleaner and lube in the plugs and plug and unplug 3 or 4 times to clean contacts. If the clutch isn't engaging there obviously won't be any cooling or foam or bubbles.

Thanks. I went to the dealer today to check what's wrong. According to them, there is a leak in evaporator condenser (One inside the cabin). Replacement will cost $1350.00 with labour. Diognosis cost me $108.00. I do not want to spend so much. But I got to fix it soon as it is too hot these days. What is your advice? Your advice is very much appreciated. I found after market parts for around $175.00 (on internet).

[code58]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

I always used to take a single jumper wire from the battery to the compressor wire to see if things worked that way and to find if it was low on freon. Don' know if you can still do it that way, but probably can. That way you can check the sight glass and see if gas is low or not and if it cools that way. If you do this, make sure and unplug the wire to the compressor before you jump juice to it. If it works then, and cools, then you have to backtrack and find where the problem is (could well be a dirty or corroded plug connection) Try unplugging all plugs one at a time, spray some electrical contact cleaner and lube in the plugs and plug and unplug 3 or 4 times to clean contacts. If the clutch isn't engaging there obviously won't be any cooling or foam or bubbles.

Thanks. I went to the dealer today to check what's wrong. According to them, there is a leak in evaporator condenser (One inside the cabin). Replacement will cost $1350.00 with labour. Diognosis cost me $108.00. I do not want to spend so much. But I got to fix it soon as it is too hot these days. What is your advice? Your advice is very much appreciated. I found after market parts for around $175.00 (on internet).

I question why it would work fine one day and then not the next and how did they determine that it was the evaporator? Evaporators don't go out often, because they are in a sheltered location. No chance of anything hitting it. I would want somehow to KNOW that it was the evaporator because that's a lot of money, and it's not a job anyone wants to do without being paid a lot of money. You have to remove the dash on almost ALL modern cars to change it and that means detaching and reattaching a LOT of stuff. I've had plenty of dashes out, but never had to change an evaporator. I would try and find out how they determined it was that, that was bad. If there is a way to get in to see the evaporator (though you won't be able to take it out that way), I would do that. If you take the glove box off and see if you can remove the fan motor, you may be able to see the evap. that way. When you have a leak in the system,it virtually ALWAYS shows oil seepage at the point of leak. If you don't show any seepage (if you can see the evap.), I question whether that's where it is. Let us know how you do.

[sam2004]

Dear All,

My A/C is not working properly all of a sudden. It worked fine yesterday. But I heard continuous ticking sound like a relay on & off for few days under the dashboard. Now the AC light is on. I can hear the compressor cluch engaged. But only slight cooling effect. Can anybody help me find the problem? Thanks.

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back.

Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink.

I always used to take a single jumper wire from the battery to the compressor wire to see if things worked that way and to find if it was low on freon. Don' know if you can still do it that way, but probably can. That way you can check the sight glass and see if gas is low or not and if it cools that way. If you do this, make sure and unplug the wire to the compressor before you jump juice to it. If it works then, and cools, then you have to backtrack and find where the problem is (could well be a dirty or corroded plug connection) Try unplugging all plugs one at a time, spray some electrical contact cleaner and lube in the plugs and plug and unplug 3 or 4 times to clean contacts. If the clutch isn't engaging there obviously won't be any cooling or foam or bubbles.

Thanks. I went to the dealer today to check what's wrong. According to them, there is a leak in evaporator condenser (One inside the cabin). Replacement will cost $1350.00 with labour. Diognosis cost me $108.00. I do not want to spend so much. But I got to fix it soon as it is too hot these days. What is your advice? Your advice is very much appreciated. I found after market parts for around $175.00 (on internet).

I question why it would work fine one day and then not the next and how did they determine that it was the evaporator? Evaporators don't go out often, because they are in a sheltered location. No chance of anything hitting it. I would want somehow to KNOW that it was the evaporator because that's a lot of money, and it's not a job anyone wants to do without being paid a lot of money. You have to remove the dash on almost ALL modern cars to change it and that means detaching and reattaching a LOT of stuff. I've had plenty of dashes out, but never had to change an evaporator. I would try and find out how they determined it was that, that was bad. If there is a way to get in to see the evaporator (though you won't be able to take it out that way), I would do that. If you take the glove box off and see if you can remove the fan motor, you may be able to see the evap. that way. When you have a leak in the system,it virtually ALWAYS shows oil seepage at the point of leak. If you don't show any seepage (if you can see the evap.), I question whether that's where it is. Let us know how you do.

Thanks for your advice. They did not tell me how they detected it. So I inquired again from the service advisor this morning. He said that it was the condenser in front of the radiator. It seems like I did not understand correctly yesterday. Because my previous car had a leak from the evaporator, I assumed that is the one they are talking about. There was dust collected on it and deteriorated at one location in my previous car. Sorry for misleading you. I am not very good with these things. Please let me know your advice based on this. Thanks again.

[sam2004]

This is probably our culprit; the air servo motor:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-first-g...-mix-servo.html

Thanks a lot for your help. I found the culprit, which is the condenser according to the dealership. This is going to be a expensive repair, so I am waiting to get an advice from a local AC repair shop.

[code58]

This is probably our culprit; the air servo motor:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-first-g...-mix-servo.html

Thanks a lot for your help. I found the culprit, which is the condenser according to the dealership. This is going to be a expensive repair, so I am waiting to get an advice from a local AC repair shop.

Sam, I spent my life in automotive work and I have seen many customers violated and I don't like it one bit. Not saying they are, just saying things don't add up. For 1 thing, that is a LOT of money to replace a condenser. For another thing, if it is the condenser, you will definitely see oil seepage at the point of leak. If the compressor is still coming on, and you said you have the clicking from under the dash on the R side, that sounds more like servo motor (there are 3) not opening and closing the doors to direct the air flow correctly. When the freon gets low enough from a leak, the low pressure switch won't let the compressor run, to protect it from burning up. I am not satisfied with the dealers diagnosis at all. IF you need a condenser, go to an AC shop, not the dealer. Be a whole lot cheaper.

[sam2004]

This is probably our culprit; the air servo motor:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-first-g...-mix-servo.html

Thanks a lot for your help. I found the culprit, which is the condenser according to the dealership. This is going to be a expensive repair, so I am waiting to get an advice from a local AC repair shop.

Sam, I spent my life in automotive work and I have seen many customers violated and I don't like it one bit. Not saying they are, just saying things don't add up. For 1 thing, that is a LOT of money to replace a condenser. For another thing, if it is the condenser, you will definitely see oil seepage at the point of leak. If the compressor is still coming on, and you said you have the clicking from under the dash on the R side, that sounds more like servo motor (there are 3) not opening and closing the doors to direct the air flow correctly. When the freon gets low enough from a leak, the low pressure switch won't let the compressor run, to protect it from burning up. I am not satisfied with the dealers diagnosis at all. IF you need a condenser, go to an AC shop, not the dealer. Be a whole lot cheaper.

Thanks. their estimate is too high, also I did not see any oil leak.