Quick help with AC issue please

Just a quick run down. I bought the truck AC didn’t work. Compressor ran, solid light, no cold air.

used gauges, used plain Freon no leak seal or dye charged it back up to factory spec about 3 weeks ago.

now today. Started truck turned ac on, loudish squeal no cold air, blinking ac light.

2 days ago I have been getting perfect 40 degree vent temp in 90° weather and have for the last 3 weeks.

(((update after post was made
Just a quick update I’ll update original post as well.

I went outside with my wife this may or may not prove or disprove anything but thought it was worth mentioning. She started the truck with AC OFF everything fine. Turned AC ON and clutch spins no noise, no cold air. Does that tell us anything? Only ran for a couple of minutes but wanted to mention it. ))))

any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

video link https://imgur.com/a/ZODPDvp

 

Sounds like your compressor may be locked up and squealing the belt.

When you charged it, did you have an actual manifold gauges set with the red and blue gauges or just the top up kit you connect to one line? If you had a two gauges setup, what did the pressures read when you filled it?

My prediction is that the system was inadvertently overfilled with refrigerant and overloaded the compressor causing failure.

 

high and low side gauges yes. I’m not positive a mechanic friend did it. I do know the low side was reading nothing on his gauges but outside of that I’m not positive.

it made this noise in the video at first. I will say now it’s not making that noise at all, but it’s also not blowing cool.

 

I would ask what his high side pressure was then and try to figure out what the ambient temperature outside was when he charged it. Then take it back to him ask what he did... both gauges are important when you're charging a system without a scale. Especially when it's a txv system like these trucks

 

if I leave the AC off can the truck be driven if the compressor is shot and locked up or will I break I belt or how does that work?

 

Ya if you leave the a/c off you'll be okay to drive. I would recommend also unplugging it if you can reach the connector because when you set the vehicle to window defrost the compressor will also engage.

Also i'm not trying to flat out blame your mechanic, mostly want the extra information to get the whole picture. A leaking system or restriction in the system can also lead to compressor failure as the refrigerant carries the oil to lubricate it so if not enough refrigerant is moving through the system that'll also kill it.

 

Just a quick update I’ll update original post as well.

I went outside with my wife this may or may not prove or disprove anything but thought it was worth mentioning. She started the truck with AC OFF everything fine. Turned AC ON and clutch spins no noise, no cold air. Does that tell us anything? Only ran for a couple of minutes but wanted to mention it

 

Potentially...with the engine off, try to spin the hub part of the a/c compressor. I have the spot circled in red. The whole
Middle part should spin with notable resistance but relatively easily.

 

I’ll try that this evening. What does that tell me if it spins or doesn’t spin?

I know when I press the ac button it spins and when I depress the ac button it stops spinning

 

That tells me that your compressor is locked up, but the magnetic clutch is good.

 

Just my luck.

how do I know what else all needs to be replaced? Doesn’t when the compressor messes up you have to replace other things?

 

I think you might have misread his post? Hes asking about spinning the hub by hand

The hub is the part that actually drives the compressor inside. The pulley that the belt rides on is engaged / disengaged from the hub by the magnetic clutch.

If you can not spin it by hand then something inside the compressor probably exploded. But the fact its not squealing all the time tells me thats probably not the case

 

the pulley spins that the belt is on and the clutch on the compressor engages when I press the ac button

I haven’t tried it by hand though

 

At this point spinning the hub by hand would just confirm a compressor as since it no longer makes noise, I would assume it would turn with no resistance.

Things to do when the compressor implodes is to remove the ends of the lines and flush all the lines with flushing solvent. Paying special attention to flushing your evaporator , replace the Txv, replace the dryer(I believe on these trucks its apart of the condenser) then reassemble. Typically a new compressor comes with a system worth of oil but measure it and make sure. If you flush the system properly, you should have all the oil removed from it too

 

okay so even with the belt on I should try to spin it? If it spins it’s cooked if it doesn’t spin the compressor is okay?

this is what it currently looks like and does

https://imgur.com/a/rRrF79F

 

The pulley that the belt rides on is basically freewheeling, until the AC is turned on and it is engaged via magnetic clutch to the compressor. With the engine off, if you can spin the very end of the assembly - which is the clutch (not the pulley itself but that circled part above) it tells us if the compressor is able to spin. The clutch is attached to the compressor internally and when the AC is off, the clutch is disengaged from the pulley and belt and the internals of the compressor do not spin. When the AC is turned on, the clutch sucks in (magnets!) and compresses against the pulley and drives the compressor internals.

 

Following as mine is doing the exact same thing.

 

okay thank you that makes sense. I will try that when I get home. Sorry I’m a bit of a newbie but trying to learn. I appreciate your reply.

 

So with the system charged and compressor in good shape, you should be able to spin the centre by hand with notable resistance but you shouldn't have to muscle up to spin it. It should have some resistance though and it shouldn't spin effortlessly though... if you have another vehicle for comparison with working a/c try it on that compressor first to get a feel for it then try it on your truck. Spin the hub atleast 10 continuous revolutions before making the call because sometimes it's just a bad spot in the compressor ruining everything.

When the compressor was starting to seize on my truck, it would jarr and almost stall the engine when it engaged the first few times of the day and then after that it would just add a very notable drag to the engine while running. When I spun it by hand, it would feel fine until the 2-3 rotation then it would start to jam hard. If I left it jammed for 5 seconds and tried again, the compressor spun good as gold again.

 

Okay so I went out to my buddies Tacoma a guy I work with his truck is here at work so I could try it. I wanted to try his for feel before I get home to try mine.

I’ll post a picture below but his AC works of course and I was able to spin his 10 revolutions by putting my hand on the “green ring” o highlighted in the picture.

I’m not sure if that’s the right spot you meant. I cannot turn his at all by holding the bolts inside of the red ring in the picture. Is the green ring what I wanted to turn?