09 tacoma heater ac problem

I have 09 Tacoma with 73k km on it. Its 4.0 trd. Never had any issue until today.

When I turn the heater on, I can feel and hear that there is a bit more power draw from the engine. After few secs, the light on the A/C switch starts blinking, and I can smell something burning but there is no visible smoke.

Is this a known or mine is a one off problem?
Did anyone else experience this and was it covered by Toyota since it seems like a short of some kind?

Thank you

Shalen

 

Sounds like your blower motor is about to go out.

 

Open the hood and start the engine.

Turn on the A/C as you described above.

Watch the clutch on the A/C compressor. Is the belt slipping / smoking?

Your description above ( the A/C Light is blinking ) is an indication that the clutch was energized but the compressor is not turning.

 

Thank you guys for the help.

 

Clean you HVAC filter too. They can get stopped up and cause te blower motor to pull high current.

 

See if you can spin the ac compressor that will tell you

 

This is a myth.

Fact is blocking off a fan will cause it to do less work.

Less work = less current.

 

Yes if you block off the HVAC intake where no/little volume can enter then yes the motor will pull less current But a low volume intake can and will cause the motor excess stress and allow the motor to heat up. This will result in overheating of The commutator and create an abnormal contact between the brushes. Heavy arcing will then occur resulting in decreased motor performance, higher current, and a burning smell. I'm not saying this is the cause of his issue but blocking the motor cooling channels with a dirty filter is the number 2 cause of all blower motor warranty issues and claims in North America. Water entry is number 1. (Blower Motor Quality/Durability Engineer for DENSO NA) -Red

Probably the compressor though.

 

Maybe over a long extended period of time. Real long...

 

Recreation testing shows motor failure in under 20 hrs of run time... so about a month when cooling channel is blocked. All I'm saying is replace your HVAC filter. It's a $12 insurance.

 

What he said ^

Like if my wife was driving the truck, it would catch fire before she noticed a 'problem'.

 

This only happens when I use defroster, therefore jimmyh is right i guess. I'll get the compressor checked. One member on ToyotaNation said that there was an issue with AC compressor in second generation.

Thank you folks for the assistance.

 

My ac compressor just went. Ac light started blinking and the engine would sound like it was going to die.

 

Sorry for your loss. :sad:

 

Thank you guys for the assistance. The ac compressor bearings were seized and condenser was leaking.

 

Fun times! Haha

 

*Glad you got it fixed up. I wrote my 2¢, THEN noticed you have it resolved.

 

Hi guys, I'm going to piggy back on this one. Went hunting last December, and the AC light started to blink, and the compressor started to seize. So I took out the fuse and kept going.
I decided to get it fixed, so I checked out the price for the whole kit: compressor, condenser, seals, oil and expansion valve. Before I went in and order, I stopped by a shop to make sure.
So put the fuse back on, and the clutch doesn't engage anymore.
Any reason why? Related or is my relay is defective too?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks
Stéphane

 

I would be curious to see if current was going thru the circuit the fuse protects. A voltage-ohm meter set to the correct amp scale would confirm this, assuming no more than 10A on that circuit. I say this because a lot of VOMs won't read anything > 10A.

 

I would check the pressure in the system first. If the coolant pressure is low that will prevent the compressor clutch from coming on. I would suspect that before the relay.