AC light blinking AC stops blowing cold air (1 Viewer)

[lonatic]

Wife was driving around town a couple of weeks ago and the AC stopped working (100degree weather). I opened the hood and had her turn on the AC. The AC clutch was intermittently spinning and making weird noises. I had the mechanic replace the compressor.

Fast forward I pick up the vehicle and the AC works fine when initially turned on then the AC light starts blinking and the cold air stops along with the clutch. Checked the pressure on the low side (was registering 60) Dropped it to about 50 and issue continues... I then replaced Fusebox due to reading numerous threads about having intermittent AC issues and the relay being built in..

Now i've replaced the fuse box and am continuing to have issues... Ill start the car and in park it works just fine but as soon as i put my foot on the break and shift to reverse or drive the AC light starts blinking and I have to hit the AC button off and then back on for the compressor to kick back on..

2005 LX470 200k miles.

Any ideas?

 

[SHIfTHEAD]

Any chance you are checking your coolant Temps with ODB2? If the coolant gets too hot it will turn off the compressor until it cools down.

 

[lonatic]

Any chance you are checking your coolant Temps with ODB2? If the coolant gets too hot it will turn off the compressor until it cools down.

I have not checked coolant temps with OBD2..

 

[jsloden]

Did the shop replace anything else when they replaced the compressor? Mine was having this exact same problem a few weeks ago. I ended up having a clogged condenser that was stopping up the system. It was building up so much pressure it was keeping the compressor from turning. I had already purchased a new compressor because I though the clutch was going out. Put a new compressor on. Same problem. Ended up swapping out the condenser and that solved the problem.

 

[lonatic]

Did the shop replace anything else when they replaced the compressor? Mine was having this exact same problem a few weeks ago. I ended up having a clogged condenser that was stopping up the system. It was building up so much pressure it was keeping the compressor from turning. I had already purchased a new compressor because I though the clutch was going out. Put a new compressor on. Same problem. Ended up swapping out the condenser and that solved the problem.

Nope they just replaced the compressor. I just a condenser. What condenser did you end up going with?

 

[Cleric Duran]

I had a similar issue earlier this summer with the blinking light. It ended up being a bad alternator causing low charge in the battery. The system detected the low charge and shut the Ac compressor off. Take it to an auto parts store and have them do a load test to rule out the alternator or faulty battery

 

[jsloden]

Nope they just replaced the compressor. I just a condenser. What condenser did you end up going with?

I believe it was a Denso unit.

 

[lonatic]

So just an update on this issue... still current..
at this point i've replaced:
1. Compressor (checked lock sensor as well 800 ohms) (checked ground on top as well seems snug)
2. Fuse Box
3. Condenser

I put AC in diagnostics mode and no codes there either.... I feel like i've tried almost everything.. going to look at tensioner to make sure its not a slight slippage when RPM's drop..

Any suggestions...

EDIT* checked tensioner, seems like it may be on its way out. If I really wanted to I could pull the belt off with my hands.. hopefully this solves it..

 

[lonatic]

tensioner replaced and belt, no luck

 

[RECRUISER]

SOLUTION FOUND:

My AC button started blinking on my 2002 LX 470, and when it started blinking, my compressor would shut off immediately!

Upon start up the compressor would come on momentarily and then go off in about 5 seconds, the same moment the AC light would start blinking (my LX has Navigation Screen), thus the AC button is virtual.

HERES WHAT I KNOW ABOUT MY LX:

1. I checked the refrigerant charge and it was full, so no leaks.

2. My Shop scanned the vehicle and the AC said "NO COMMUNICATION."

3. I searched this forum with the keywords (AC blinking).
- Found the following advice, summarized below:



A. Unplug compressor connector (at top front of compressor) its a 3 prong plug. Clean and reconnect.

B. Check ground on fender well.
C. Check for corroded battery cables and clean.
D. Low voltage on battery.
E. Low functioning alternator.

I cleaned (with OBD spray cleaner) and reconnected the wiring harness (step A above). AT THE SAME TIME I put the battery on the charger.

While the battery was still on the charger (small boost charge, not trickle charge) AND with compressor harness reconnected, I started the LX470 and the compressor light no longer blinked but stayed on and AC is working fine after only performing steps A and D above. Haven't driven it yet without the boost on the battery, so it still could be the battery OR alternator is not producing enough voltage, and the Battery is dated January 2018 so it could have been the problem. OR MAYBE JUST CLEANING THE COMPRESSOR WIRING CONNECTOR WAS THE ONLY PROBLEM. Because I performed both repairs at once I currently don't know which of these solved my problem yet.

If the problem returns once battery charger is not present, I will have the alternator and battery tested, but with the battery being over 4 years old I wouldn't be opposed to getting a new one before winter comes anyway.

I will try and follow up on this post / add to this post once I know which procedure solved the problem.


Thank you for everyone's input on this problem over the many threads that I read here on Ih8mud!

RECRUISER

 

[lonatic]

Just to update the thread I fixed the issue. Ended up being the compressor (wasn’t oem) I purchased a new oem compressor and boom starts working. So word to the wise buy oem compressor.

 

[RECRUISER]

Problem still fixed. Took the LX to Advance Auto Parts and both battery and alternator tested fine.

So looks like it was the 3 prong wiring connector at the front top of the compressor that needed cleaning and that fixed the problem for me. it is 100 degrees F outside today and AC is working great!