A/C only blows cold while driving

My 2004 Prerunner blows ice-cold at idle and at highway speed, there is something wrong with yours. I'm no expert on this but from what I've read it could be a "idle up circuit", bad fan clutch. I've heard alot of vehicles from factory have a dye in their freon for checking leaks, but it sounds like you have plenty of freon OP.

 

1st gen also uses a belt driven fan. My 1st gen blows ice cold at idle, AND at speed. The AC system should always blow cold, regardless at idle or not, so there is definitely a problem somewhere.

 

Yea same here. Definitely not normal though for your truck to be doing that.

 

easy... u have a restriction or ur fan clutch is bad. look between ur radiator and the condensor. alot of times theres a bunch of shit all on the radiator restricting flow. so only while the trucks driving does the condensor have air flow through it. or the fan clutch is bad and not "sucking" air.

 

Already been mentioned earlier....

 

too lazy to read. but i gaurentee thats it

 

Another car psychic !!

 

my first gen (2004) does not have a dedicated AC fan. i'll check for blockage today as lotsoftoys suggested. is the clutch something that only a shop can change?

 

^^^^ this

 

The fan clutch is a job that can easily be tackled with basic hand tools.

 

I'm pretty confused...so forgive me for sounding like an idiot here.... Is the fan clutch attached to the AC compressor? Or is it attached to the radiator fan? From what I see in the repair manual, it looks lie its attached to the water pump but I don't see it. Can someone explain exactly where the fan clutch is for the AC?

 

ok if you crank the truck,turn on the AC and hold the RPM to about 2500(truck parked ,not moving)will it blow cold?

 

solenoid tripping on and off ?

You should be able to hear the ac solenoid click on (engage)
and click when it goes off (disengage).

Does the solenoid click on when you drive
and click off when parked at idle ?

take a listen to that and tell us what you hear

 

Fan clutch is the large piece that attaches the cooling fan to the drive pulley.

The AC clutch is on the front of the AC compressor.
When the AC engages, the clutch energizes and begins to spin.
The fan always appears to spin, but when the clutch engages it's more solid and doesn't slip.

 

The fan should be engaged on startup, then freewheel until its engage temp is reached.
Without a dedicated ac fan, the ac will not blow as cold as when you are moving, or when the fan is engaged. If there is another problem with your ac, it will make the problem more obvious.

Make sure your condenser fins are straight and free of foreign material. Leakdown test, and tire pressure are irrelevant troll references.

 

Cooling fan.

 

Quite a few possible causes for your problem, most already mentioned here. Unless you are willing to buy a set of AC gauges and are willing to learn how to use them it is impossible to determine the exact cause.
Take it to a good AC shop and let them sort it out.
-Bill-

 

Tacodell, when parked and I turn the AC on I can hear the solenoid clicking on. But when I turn the AC off I do not hear a click. Gonna take it on the road with the AC on and listen for the click and let you know..

blakes09, With the truck on and AC on in park, if I hold the rims at 2500 the AC blows nice and cold.

 

Ok...drove for 10 miles and didn't hear the solenoid click not once. I listened with the window open and closed.

 

I don't think you can hear it when moving with the hood closed.

Just take it to a shop. You don't have the tools or skills to properly troubleshoot this.