AC not working after three 95deg days

AC randomly stopped working after three consecutive 95+ degree days in New York. A squealing noise happened for about 3 seconds after turning on the truck tonight. Any ideas?

Worked fine yesterday and no leaking in the driveway.

 

Not working as in not blowing cold, not working as in not blowing any air...not working as in the AC light on the button doesn't turn on anymore?

Need more info

 

AC light turns on and then off after 5 seconds. Fan itself continuously works, just not cold air.

 

Squealing? I'll bet the compressor has something to do with that noise..

Can you see it engaging with the engine running?

 

Not exactly sure what you mean by this to check. I turned it off when I got home and waited a few moments and turned it on and it did not squeal again

 

R1234YF system? It's gonna be expensive.

If there is a leak, you won't be able to see it on the driveway. It could be low on refrigerant, causing the computer to shut it down. Or air in the AC system, turning the AC compressor into an air compressor, causing pressure spike, trips the high pressure switch.

The noise can be the compressor(hopefully not) or the clutch or belt. Replacing the compressor will need a compete system flush and new receiver/drier and new refrigerant. Not a DIY, and not many shops are equipped to work on R1234YF systems.

 

When you push in the ac button the compressor clutch engages. I’d get someone to push while you watch

 

You can see the oil. My wife's Honda has had the compressor and 2 condensers replaced In 42k miles.

 

I can hear it engage and my engine work a bit harder and then disengage

 

A/C light on then off sounds like a possible compression failure.

 

Maybe the Compressor is over heating?

 

If the compressor clutch is engaging then you really need a set of manifold gauges or a proper a/c machine to troubleshoot the system. Step 1 is to simply see if there's a full charge in it.

Without the necessary tools you're just going to be flying blind and throwing parts at it. I'm not even sure you can buy YF refrigerant over the counter in certain places

@Dm93

 

if pushing the button you hear it engage and the motor gets loaded; then it is not the clutch, and you may well need a new compressor. But suggest you be sure of the clutch engaging and engine loading, because reading this string, I was pretty sure you blew out the clutch; until you now say the clutch seems to be working.

So the clutch is simply a driven pulley, that freely spins on a bearing riding on the compressor shaft. This pulley has a rubber center connected to a flat disc. While the AC is Off and engine running, the pulley spins on the shaft without spinning the compressor at all, and on the face of the pulley, you will see that the center area of the pulley is stationary, while the pulley spins without it. This is engine running, compressor OFF. Note that this condition also happens when the AC is on, but the pressure in the AC system reaches it maximum. At max pressure, the clutch will dis-engage, stopping the compressor, until the freon pressure bleeds off through the AC nozzle. The the pressure drops and the clutch will re-engage to bring the pressure back up. Repeat, Repeat.

So while the clutch is engaged, the center face of the clutch (outward face of the pulley) will rotate with the pulley, and this outward face is keyed to the shaft, so the compressor will be driven also.

The clutch, which is the outward face of the pulley; includes a rubber center, to provide some flex for the clutch plates to open and close, and also to cushion the start and stop of the compressor shaft. This rubber center can sheer, and you loose your AC. Without this rubber, the clutch cannot drive the compressor shaft. The reason this is important, is because replacing this clutch face and rubber assembly only takes 5 minutes and only costs about $50 for the part (ebay). only need a single wrench, no need to remove the belt (or actual pulley) and not need to deal with Freon; if this is your problem. Definitely worth checking. Though I warn you, that you are not likely to find any garage mechanic that will replace just this clutch face, and that the only place I have found this part is on ebay. you can typically buy the compressor without the clutch, but not the clutch without the compressor.

There is slightly more to installing a new clutch face, because it comes with TINY shims. it is necessary to install the new clutch without any shims, and keep adding one more shim till the clutch spins free without contacting the pulley. tighten the bolt and check again, face should rotate by hand, without any drag on the pulley (engine off). lf there is contact, then add one more shim.

Hope this is your problem, because it is such an easy and inexpensive fix, but if this is your problem, then it would not load the engine when the clutch engages.

Best of luck!

 

Another possibility is there isn't enough heat transfer happening at the condenser (between the headlights). That raises the high side pressure too much and then the compressor is working too hard, dragging the engine rpms down and maybe slipping the belt and squealing

Try spraying the condenser with a garden hose and see if the cooling improves. Is there a auxiliary electric fan that isn't running? With the a/c on all the cooling fans should be running - belt driven and electric..

 

thanks all. at the end of the day, is it still ok/safe to drive if I do not engage the AC? (safe to drive this vehicle, not talking about personal body temperature lol)

 

Only 95?.....
Brrrrrr gives me chills to think about it. It's currently 101 degrees outside at 9:05 pm..... actually feels comfortable.
We've been at 105+ since the first of June.... and the cement hasn't even soaked up all the heat which will eventually
radiate back at-ya all the way into late September.

 

Just this week my son's truck had the squeal, then flashing A/C button and no cold air. Center of A/C compressor pulley was not turning even when A/C on.

We bought a new A/C clutch at the dealer, but ended up only changing the clutch face as described above by @Pinchaser as it was clearly bad (rubber detached from the center).

After the clutch face replacement, everything is quiet and back to normal. Not a difficult job. Just one bolt to remove the clutch face. (We got a new bolt from Toyota since the original was rusted but this is optional).

 

If there is no squealing, it is safe to drive. If it sequels at all with the AC on, then best to remove the wire connector from the electric clutch on the compressor, to make sure it does not engage. The problem is that squealing will destroy your serpentine belt, and that drives the alternator and more immediately important, the water pump. You will not get far without the belt! Remember that setting the climate control for defrost, will activate the AC (to increase de-humidification), and run the compressor same as AC on. that is why if there is a compressor problem, it is safer to remove the wire connector. If your Freon charge is low, the computer will not run the compressor anyway.

 

Hopping in on this, had the same issue on the 20th. Hottest week of the year so far.

Happened right after I changed my oil. Truck sat for like 2 hours, went to drive, loud squeal. Turned it off, checked around, looks like the rubber around the clutch is melted. It does not squeal anymore, it was just the 1 time
It still blows however when I press the A/C button the light turns off after about 3 seconds. No blinking or anything. Im decently mechanically inclined, not with A/C systems though so I don't fully understand how they work
Now, my questions for someone more knowledgeable
-What would cause this to melt?
-Would fixing the clutch plate fix this issue?

Im assuming if something caused this to melt, maybe the bearing, it would be a bigger job than just fixing the plate?
@Pinchaser you seem pretty knowledgeable. I would appreciate any thoughts

 

It appears to be the clutch, and I get your concern, but all I can say is that appears to be exactly what happened to mine, and with a new $50 clutch, I had great AC for a couple years; so it seems that in my case there was not an underlying problem. I would put a hand on that front face of the clutch, and rotate the compressor a bit, if it feels acceptable, I would go to ebay and hunt for the replacement clutch face. Very simple install, that I think is spelled out pretty clearly above, no freon and no need to remove the belt. If you can find the part, is well worth the money and time. the only tool you need is a wrench for that small center bolt, in your picture, and keep track of the very tiny, extremely thin shims, both what you find on disassembly and what comes with the new clutch face. You probably will not need them all, depending on how may you lose.

The next AC failure for me was a leak in one of the aluminum AC lines, that corroded at a ferrous clamp. By the look of the rust in your picture, you are headed for that experience too, but hope it is at least a few years out yet. Is that picture of a 2020 Tacoma? I take it you live in the north.