A/C not working

Hi everyone, still trying to get to know the quirks of my truck. I have a question about the air conditioner in my 05 tacoma.
I was told that it wasn't working when I bought my truck. Was this a common problem on these trucks? I can't seem to find anything in my manual, but my A/C light flashes when I press the button or switch to the defrost setting. Is this something I can fix myself or do I have to go to the dealer?
Thanks,
GD

 

You need to take it to an AC pro... not necessarily the dealer.

 

Iwas just curious about fix it myself. I work on residential A/C so I have the gauges and recovery equipment. I haven't checked the connections yet so I don't know if I need special adapters for my gauges or not.
As I said in other posts, this is my first Toyota, so I've never had an opportunity to work on this type of vehicle yet.

 

If you know how to work with AC maybe you can. You just need to get in there and diagnose it. I haven't worked on my '09 AC yet (better not need to for awhile) but car systems like this are pretty simple: compressor with an electric clutch, high and low pressure switches, a metering device,and control panel switch. Check the charge first to see if you even have enough to activate the LP switch, if so, go through the system to see what doesn't work. If not, you have a leak somewhere... could be anywhere... hoses, compressor seal, o-rings, evaporator or condenser.

 

I was able to look at the a/c compressor today. I noticed that when I pressed the a/c button to call for air conditioning, the compressor was not spinning. Could it be a bad connection/broken wire or is the compressor shot? I haven't had a chance to get under and take a look yet. That's my next step.

 

As I said, the 1st thing to do is put gages on it and see if it has any R114 in the system. If it is so low that pressure is below the low pressure switch set point (20ish psi or so) the compressor will not come on. If the R114 is that low the leak could be the compressor main shaft seal... or just about anywhere else.

If it does have R114 in the system then you follow the chain to see if the comp clutch is energizing or not... if not check the control switch, etc....

Based on the question you are asking I'd once again suggest taking it in and pay for a proper diagnosis. Then you can decide to have them repair or attempt a DIY.

 

I had the compressor go on my Pathfinder, thank goodness it was under the extended warranty I bought. I think the repair was around $900, I paid $0. Paid for the extended warranty plus some.