'03 Venting A/C Freon PLS Help rick57

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ggarman, Jun 30, 2005.

  1. ggarman

    ggarman Junior Member

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    A week ago when my wife started the car and I saw and heard a pffffttt noise and a small cloud of something come out from under the engine compartment.

    After further investigation there was a clear oil wet area under the car, right under the A/C compressor. I jacked up the car and took a look and I can't see at all where the oil came from. It was directly below the compressor and smelled and looked like A/C oil. The area on the ground looked like it had been sprayed there by an aerosal spray. There isn't any oil residue on the compressor, the only thing I can see on the bottom of the compressor is a what looks like maybe a relief valve. The noise happened as soon as I heard the compressor engage, so my guess is that the compressor was vapor locked and it needed to relieve the pressure. I started the car again and everything was fine and cooling like normal.

    It happened again, the oil spot is right under the funny looking nut on the bottom of the A/C Compressor. The nut resembles a tire valve minus the pin sticking up, which is why I think it is a relief valve. It seems to happen when the car has sat all day in the heat.

    I've looked under the car 3 times now and it is dry as a bone everywhere. The car only has 42K on it. I'm pretty darn sure the oil is A/C oil it is very thin and very clean.

    Is there a relief valve on the bottom of the compressor?? Any ideas what's going on????

    Thanks,
    Greg
     
    #1 ggarman, Jun 30, 2005
  2. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Add some dye to the A/C system.

    Nate
     
    #2 naterprius, Jun 30, 2005
  3. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    Hi Greg. Sorry but have been busy lately. You can always PM me if needed. I try to at least check for messages every few days.

    As for your oil problem. I tried to look under an '03 on our used lot but it is to low to see under ( I'm sure you know that already ). I will try to get it in the air at least by Sat ( have to work ) or if one comes in the shop Friday I will check it out. I have not seen any probs with A/C on any Prius'. Before I try putting in dye, I would spray the suspected area with Leak Trace Powder. We use it here for finding oil leaks from the engine. It is sprayed on the area and when the propellent evapoates it leaves the area covered in a white powder. Any fluid leaks are easily found.
    I will get back to you, :roll:
     
    #3 rick57, Jun 30, 2005
  4. ggarman

    ggarman Junior Member

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    Rick, thanks for responding!

    I've attached a pic of the 'relief' valve in question.

    Thanks for your help,
    Greg
     
    #4 ggarman, Jul 1, 2005
  5. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    Hey Greg, just looked at a 1st gen and from your pic it looks like it is a pressure relief valve. From research in my training manuals, it would go off when the pressure excedes 400 psi. Since I have never seen an A/C problem on any Prius, it is strange. I would say the system needs checked with gauges hooked up to see exactly what it is reading. High pressure would come from a restriction some where, cooling fans not working, pressure switch sticking, over charge ( freon or oil ). Hard to pin point exactly at such a distance and no vehicle work history, :lol:
     
    #5 rick57, Jul 1, 2005
  6. ggarman

    ggarman Junior Member

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    Rick, thanks for the info....good I'm not going crazy! :)

    My guess is that there is probably an anti-vapor lock valve in the compressor, that allows the system to equalize when off, which is probably sticking...

    Thanks again, I knew you would have the answer...If you ever need any computer consulting kind of help, let me know...that is my specialty. :)

    Greg
     
    #6 ggarman, Jul 1, 2005
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