A/c Problems!? - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

Hello,

I am having a lot of trouble with my 2000 Toyota Corolla's A/C system.

First of all, on the first hot day this year, I tried to start my A/C and found it pumped out hot air. No compressor engagement at all. I checked the fuses and relays and found them all to be okay. Serpentine belt was fine as well.

Took it to the garage and lo and behold, it was low on refrigerant. It wasn't empty, but low.

I had it vacuum checked and no obvious leaks were found.

Then, all the old refrigerant was sucked out and it was refilled with R134a with dye and double checked for leaks. Apparently none were found.

A/C was icy cold.

However;

About a week later, I turned on my A/C on an 80 degree day and again, no cold air!!

I opened the hood and found the compressor to be running, but, absolutely no cold air at all.

I checked the temperature lever to make sure that I didn't leave it on the hot setting.

I noticed that car's rpms don't change very much when I engage the A/C clutch. Again, it spins, but, doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hmm - need a bit more information:

Does any of the rubber lines on the A/C system look "wet" or have a shine on them?

A/C button inside the car flashes or stays lit?

Does the A/C clutch stay engaged the whole time?

Radiator fans kick on when the A/C is engaged?

After they charged it the first time, did you notice a significant just in RPMs, as the car's idle-up circuit kicks in?

Very possible that the A/C system is leaking slowly - have to check the high side/low side pressures when the compressor is running. Could be from the condenser up front - little pinhole leak from rock that got kicked up or similar. An A/C system that is low on charge is leaking somewhere, it is a closed system - refrigerant doesn't wear out or bleed through the hoses, the trick is to find that leak.

Hello,

I am having a lot of trouble with my 2000 Toyota Corolla's A/C system.
First of all, on the first hot day this year, I tried to start my A/C and found it pumped out hot air. No compressor engagement at all. I checked the fuses and relays and found them all to be okay. Serpentine belt was fine as well.
Took it to the garage and lo and behold, it was low on refrigerant. It wasn't empty, but low.
I had it vacuum checked and no obvious leaks were found.
Then, all the old refrigerant was sucked out and it was refilled with R134a with dye and double checked for leaks. Apparently none were found.
A/C was icy cold.
However;
About a week later, I turned on my A/C on an 80 degree day and again, no cold air!!
I opened the hood and found the compressor to be running, but, absolutely no cold air at all.
I checked the temperature lever to make sure that I didn't leave it on the hot setting.
I noticed that car's rpms don't change very much when I engage the A/C clutch. Again, it spins, but, doesn't seem to be doing anything.
Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

A/C button lights up and glows steady when turned on.

A/C compressor kicks in and stays running for the whole time.

There is kind of different kind of gurgling sound when the A/C was on and car is first turned off. Different than the normal sounds it made when it was running correctly.

Compressor "sounds" like it's not really working very hard. Change in RPMs is very slight. Used to make a much more noticable difference in engine sound when first engaged.

A/C system sounds like it's hissing when it on from inside the car.

I don't really see any leaks anywhere, but, I will have to look closer to make sure.

Is it possible that the compressor died?

These are all the things I can think of off the top of my head. I will check it again today for leaks and it is cooling at all. Trouble is, it's only 70 degrees out today, so, it will be harder to tell.

Thanks for the help, Fish!

It is possible that the compressor died, but they usually lock up completely (seize) or make a lot of loud noises before dying. A clogged orifice tube could be a possible culprit - that regulates flow to the evaporator. There might also be a faulty pressure switch, it tells the compressor when and when not to run, to prevent possible damage.

At this point, pretty tough to diagnose it further without checking line pressures. You might get lucky and see the state of charge/flow, but looking through the sight window on the accumulator (large metal cylinder). While the system is running, you should be able to see some bubbles run past the window = normal. If there are alot of bubbles = low charge, if there are none = overcharge or no charge.

Can also grab the lines and feel their temperatures - should one hot and one cold - close to compressor. Might be tough to get to and touch, might want to see if you can borrow one of those IR non-contact thermometers to check temps.