2013 A/C issue

Recently purchased a Friend 2013 Tacoma with a V6. He told me about this issue and I’ve experienced a couple of times. I’ll be driving along. The AC will be working fine then all of a sudden I noticed it starts blowing warm. I look at the AC button and it’s blinking on and off. I turned the unit on turn it back off and on and it operates properly but eventually it happens again I had my mechanic change the belt. I even topped off the charge, but it’s still doing the same thing any ideas

 

The flashing A/C light indicates the A/C Amplifier isn't getting the correct signal from the Lock Sensor on the compressor.
Intermittent ones can be pretty difficult to diagnose.

Possible causes are:
Open or shorted wire(s) in the lock sensor circuit
Bad lock sensor
Failing MG CLT Relay
Internal problem in the compressor
Open or shorted wire(s) to the MG CLT relay
Open in the wire from the MG CLT relay to the compressor
Failed compressor clutch
Belt slipping
Failed A/C amplifier

 

Thanks for the info.Is that a do it yourself fix for average skill level?

 

I mean yes and no, the issue is it's intermittent so it's really hard to test things that work 90% of the time because everything is most likely gona test good when it's working. If it was broken all the time there's quite a few tests you could do with just a test light and meter but it needs to be broken.

An oscilloscope would be the best way to test the Lock Sensor signal and catch it when it breaks but that's not an average DIY tool and even many shops don't have/use one for one reason or another.

 

here's a mega thread about the issue. many people claim replacing the pickup sensor fixes the problems (though there ARE other problems that could cause it).

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-c-light-blinking-troubleshooting-guide.440200/