Intermittent A/C Problem

The A/C will be working fine in my '99 2.7L PreRunner then suddenly the A/C and blower will just stop dead - nothing, no life. 10, 20, 30 minutes or even an hour later the whole system is working fine again until it stops again. It may work fine for days. Sometimes it may stop more than once a day and begin working again. The speed setting for the blower does not make a difference. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Welcome aboard new member
Are you seeing bubbles in the sight glass with AC on?

 

The sight glass is consistently cloudy with the A/C on. When the A/C is off it is clear once the bubbling refrigerant has subsided.

 

Your reply is about as clear as mud.
I'll be of little help here.
Bump for Mr.AC and all his patient little helpers.

 

I'm presuming the cloudiness in the sight glass is bubbles.
Thank you for taking time to reply.

 

If the blower is stopping that sounds electrlcal to me. Even if the compressor stops due to a lack of refrigerant, the blower should keep going. I don't have a wiring diagram from a 1995, but here's one from a 2001. Seems like it would be good to check grounds, the heater relay and the blower resistor for something either broken or loose.

 

I think you're on to something.... That's assuming we understand OP correctly, you know how that stuff goes. But a blower resistor failing intermediately would definitely cause the symptoms we assume we're understanding from OP

 

Only thing I'm not sure of is if OP's compressor is stopping. If so, then it sounds like something with the heater relay. Thats the only part in common to both the compressor and the blower.

 

Yeah I was assuming it wasn't stopping. But I certainly don't know if it is.
Doggone it i hate assuming.
Either way, the heater relay is thing to check IF compressor is disengaging, just like you said

 

Well, while we're assuming, I'm assuming here that this circuit didn't change between 1995 and 2001. Dunno why it would though.


Assumptions make the world go round.

 

Thanks all!

I did see a video of a Camry owner having AC issues intermittently, where he would have to remove the relay - not sure if it is the same one indicated above - tap the relay and reinsert the relay to get the issue resolved for the next few months.

I do agree on the blower part. I would think it would still blow air even if low refrigerant would shut down the compressor portion.

Again thanks to all for the excellent insight!

 

I looked at my 98 wiring diagram and it is different from the 2001 shown above so, how close is it to what you have... dont know. It could be different enough for you to waste time on an assumption. The one thing that both of them do have in common is the Heater relay. If this doesn't work NOTHING works. I would start my testing there.

 

Intermittent AC issue became permanent before I could troubleshoot further. In the end, it turned out to be the relay and was compounded by the 40A fuse (male bolt in) burning up (likely due to the malfunctioning relay). The 40A fuse is difficult to find. The local Toyota dealer had to order from out of state. I invested in a spare just to be safe. The AC is working just fine now and blowing as cold as ever. Long Live Tacoma. Thanks to all who have assisted!

 

Hey man that's great to hear!
And looks like 0xDEADBEEF was on the right track with his internet sleuthing

 

When I finally traced my intermittent shuts downs to the high amp bolt in fuse on my 96 and they told me 2 weeks to get that fuse I ordered replacements for all of the "important" primary fuses. 2 weeks for a fuse and no vehicle, thats crazy.

 

Hey, not meaning to rob this thread but was searching for my AC issue when I saw this. I see the problem was solved.
Not sure this works but my gallery shows a pict of my compressor light.

 

Whats the problem you're trying to solve?

 

Hey thanks for the quick response!
One trip on this rebuild. AC was working great...Then noticed compressor (LED) was starting to cycle but register temp stayed about 45*
Thought maybe it had a de-ice cycle?...days later it got flakey and would intermittently cycle off and I'd have to turn the fan off and on and seemed to reset it?
Didn't have gauges with me but suspected a low charge. But when it was on it still put out45*
Parked it and forgot about it. Now I don't get compressor at all. Power at 15A AC fuse, AC Button lights up. low side gauge shows significant pressure for my old Ford and Chev experience unfortunately I didn't read the psi just saw it was significantly above avg cutin pressure.
But this system appears to have more to the controls I'm used to so before I just dump refrigerant into it I want to find what is keeping it off. From the little I learned here it could be the dual pressure sw or some other input to the controller.
I don't kno if it's a hi/lo press sw or a low/low that keeps it from starting below a set press? but then it couldnt work @ low temps for defrost?

 

Oops, 03 wireing different than 01. But hopefully will have right diagram
soon.

 

I have a problem with intermittent AC as well on my 2010. Blower works fine but AC doesnt work for awhile and then all of a sudden it’s cold like normal. Compressor turns on when I click the AC button. Any idea what it could be? Guessing my issue is different than OP since my blower motor is working.