A/C weak at idle

[gisham]

It is getting hot here in florida and i noticed my ac is not very cold at idle- I recently charged the system- And it is super cold when the truck is in motion. Compressor maybe? thanks-

 

[sseaman]

fan clutch

 

[gotmud]

fan clutch

What sseaman said.

 

[BrotherRob]

Fan clutch is the first step. Toyota has upgraded the OEM clutch since the 80s were produced. If that is not enough, adding a pusher fan and/or changing to thicker oil in the fan clutch have proven effective. I have a pusher in mine. Summer temps in AZ can be 110 or higher. Without the fan, my AC is about 75 to 80 degrees at idle. With the fan it drops 10 to 15 degrees. Brother Kevin (ToolsRUs) did the fan clutch mod with simular results. Good luck.

 

[L8Shift]

Giving the radiator/condenser fins, and fluid coolers a good degreasing and hosing off helps a bit.

.....as the rest have mentioned... fan clutch...

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

I added a Toyota 12" electric fan I got at Pull-A-Part for 20 bucks. Mounted it right below my electric horns and hooked it up to a relay taking power off my AC compressor. It's cold anytime including the long waits in drive-thru's and probably helps my fuel economy since my fan clutch isn't engaged all the time.

 

[gisham]

thanks for the help- i will get one from Dan next week- How does the fan clutch help the ac? Just by cooling the motor more? thanks!

 

[flintknapper]

thanks for the help- i will get one from Dan next week- How does the fan clutch help the ac? Just by cooling the motor more? thanks!

If your old fan clutch is worn (fluid degraded) then it is "slipping" (if working at all).

The fan clutch causes the fan to rotate as temperatures reach a certain a point.

So, with a new clutch...you will be pulling more air through the A/C condenser than you were before. At low speeds and idle...this will result in cooler "in cab" temperatures as the condenser can work more efficiently.

In simple terms...an A/C systems does nothing but "transfer heat" (and humidity). An A/C system removes heat from the Cabin (via the evaporator) and then dumps this heat at the condenser. Heat will always move to a cooler source. The cooler the source, the faster this dumping of the heat can happen. You need as much air flow through the condenser as possible for best results.

 

[e9999]

above all sounds reasonable but wondering about the numbers.

with the original design working well per specs (not degraded as in bad oil), at what outside temp would the clutch be engaged "fully" at idle with a/c on? Would it even turn on fully if the engine is just idling at normal operating temps (say 180F)?

 

[TX Cruiser]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned that the compressor might be getting weak. I'll be changing out the comp. on the 94 today because the front seal is going out and I have a free spare. Hearing you say that you just charged it, half ass tells me that there is a leak.

The fan clutch is a must though, if you don't change it, the pressures on the high side (condenser as aforementioned by others) will sky rocket while stopped and wreak havoc on everything else in the system.

If you have a box fan, or other that can move air pretty well, stick it in front of the cruiser, and turn on the a/c. If the problem still persists at idle, you have a weak compressor.

 

[SnapsEighty]

I agree. You should never have to charge it unless there is a leak somewhere. That'll explain the warmer temps. I'm always skeptical when buying a used car and the owner tells me he just had the a/c charged

 

[gisham]

I added a Toyota 12" electric fan I got at Pull-A-Part for 20 bucks. Mounted it right below my electric horns and hooked it up to a relay taking power off my AC compressor. It's cold anytime including the long waits in drive-thru's and probably helps my fuel economy since my fan clutch isn't engaged all the time.

Hey Summit,

Can you get a pic of where you spliced into the system for the aux. fan? I may give that a whirl this weekend.

 

[sseaman]

3381060][/URL]above all sounds reasonable but wondering about the numbers.

with the original design working well per specs (not degraded as in bad oil), at what outside temp would the clutch be engaged "fully" at idle with a/c on? Would it even turn on fully if the engine is just idling at normal operating temps (say 180F)?

if i remember correctly, those that have modded the blue hub clutches seem to find they are not all set the same