Check Air Conditioner (1 Viewer)

[Ming89FJ62]

2007
The A/C has been sporadic. With the temp control set to "Auto" occasionally the display shows "check air conditioner" and the blower blows hot air. I can turn the temp control to "off" and wait a few minutes then turn "auto" back on and she blows cold. Has anyone else had a similar issue. I'm hoping it's just low Freon.

 

[Battleship]

2007
The A/C has been sporadic. With the temp control set to "Auto" occasionally the display shows "check air conditioner" and the blower blows hot air. I can turn the temp control to "off" and wait a few minutes then turn "auto" back on and she blows cold. Has anyone else had a similar issue. I'm hoping it's just low Freon.

Mine is doing the same thing. I had it worked on a few weeks ago to find a leak and refill. They never found the leak and had trouble getting it refilled. I haven't gotten into it yet. Mine will run about 30 minutes and then it shuts off and I get the Check A/C message on the MFD. I don't know how long it needs to reset.

Maybe it's something on the Illinois Tollways messing with our rigs.

 

[Ming89FJ62]

from the A/C tech - this is typical for LC and LX where the sensor on the compressor disagrees with engine RPM. By turning off the environmental system for a min or two it resets and the A/C function is restored. This symptom is a precursor to the compressor dying and grenading which spreads its little bits into the system that will have to be flushed out. We just made a 3000 mile trip with out any issues in 90 deg. temps. So, do you replace the compressor before or after it's last gasp......I'm going to wait

 

[ibrahim83]

"check air conditioner" message means there's something up with the wiring behind the ac/radio panels. have you done any work in the back there?

 

[Ming89FJ62]

"check air conditioner" message means there's something up with the wiring behind the ac/radio panels. have you done any work in the back there?

No. It’s never been taken apart. I trust the tech.

 

[ibrahim83]

No. It’s never been taken apart. I trust the tech.

In my experience, what the tech is describing is accompanied with a flashing a/c light in most Toyotas.

Please keep us updated.

 

[jsloden]

The flashing ac light can also mean the the ac relay is going bad. Unfortunately, the relay is built into the fuse box and can't be replaced without replacing the fuse box.

 

[J1000]

I've kept my AC alive for the last 3 years with the DIY can stuff (Amazon product ASIN B007USCM7E) but am going to be replacing the compressor in the next month or two.

 

[jerryb]

read flintknapper's treads.
you can rule out the clutch relay with techstream, #1

I can also confirm that denso compressors out of the box have a correct air gap.

If someone tells you you need a new AC amp find used ones in the nav delete thread, ask one of those guys to borrow. Any 2005-7 will work to check and verify yours is bad or that neither work.

air gap, rpm mismatch, low 134, pressure switch lower drivers side of condenser.
After those checks it's way more labor intensive.

 

[excessive]

I had this problem on a 2004 LS430, not the same as the LX470, but has similar integrated Nav screen that controls the A/C. After months of trying many different things, i ended up buying a used LCD display panel on ebay, and my problem has been resolved for over 6 months. Aparently, some solder joints come loose over time and cause intermittent "check air conditioner" messages.

 

[Couvi]

I had the “check connection to the air conditioner” message on my 2004 last summer, in my case, after a good bit of trial and error, it turned out to be a bad gateway ECU — not the AC amp (which we tried). During the process, I did get a new MFD/head unit installed, but that did not fix either.

 

[TLCJC]

I've kept my AC alive for the last 3 years with the DIY can stuff (Amazon product ASIN B007USCM7E) but am going to be replacing the compressor in the next month or two.

Reading the negative reviews on Amazon for this product makes me hesitate to buy it. Have you seen any issues since using? What pressure did you stop at?

 

[ibrahim83]

@Ming89FJ62 any update on this?

 

[Ming89FJ62]

@Ming89FJ62 any update on this?

Well, the A/C has been behaving since our issue back in June including a 3k trip to Cape Cod with temps in the 90's. At this point I'm going to wait until it fails then replace what's broken.

 

[J1000]

Reading the negative reviews on Amazon for this product makes me hesitate to buy it. Have you seen any issues since using? What pressure did you stop at?

It's not going to repair a system that has problems. It has additives to swell seals and condition the system so that it helps an old system keep running. It also has some AC oil so if you have a persistent leak and keep adding more and more then you get to a point where there's too much oil and it can grenade your compressor. It's definitely just a bandaid delaying the inevitable.

 

[Trukdiver]

Resurrecting an old thread. I have an 04 LC. I was getting intermittent AC. It would work fine and then cut out. I could shut it off and turn it on. A few minutes later it would work again. Then it worked all Summer last year. This Summer, it would not work at all.

So, I just had the compressor and drier replaced. I have no doubt it was bad and a dye test showed leaks all around it. After refilling, the compressor will kick on, but then shuts right off after less than 10 seconds. The tech suggested to replace the fuse box. I feel like we're just throwing parts at it. Doing this is an additional $1400.


The display on the nav was "Check Air Conditioner". Since the new compressor, there is no message, but the behavior is as described above. There is no flashing A/C light.

Anyone have additional insights?

 

[Malleus]

This is cross posted here

 

[Ming89FJ62]

A year into my post and nothing to report. 3,100 mile road trip in the books and the A/C worked flawlessly. Happy July 4th