AC problem - no compressor and no condenser fan.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dwill207, Dec 21, 2011.

  1. dwill207

    dwill207 Junior Member

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    I have an 05 Prius with 53k miles and the ac just recently stopped working. The blower fan still comes on, but neither the compressor nor condenser cooling fan will come on. I've checked the fuses and relays, and they check out ok. I'm hoping there may be one I missed? It just stopped working with no warning signs. What could be causing this? If the compressor was bad, the condenser fan would still work, right? I'm fearing it's the ac inverter. Do the symptoms match?
     
    #1 dwill207, Dec 21, 2011
  2. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I think its more likely that there is a hole in the condenser from road debris and that you have lost the coolant charge in the AC system.
     
    #2 dogfriend, Dec 21, 2011
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  3. dwill207

    dwill207 Junior Member

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    Thanks for your input. I looked closely at the condenser and I didn't see any signs of it being hit by debris. I didn't even see any bent fins. Is there any way I can check to see if the inverter is the problem?
     
    #3 dwill207, Dec 22, 2011
  4. jpadc

    jpadc Type before I think too often

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    Welcome to PC dwill207:

    Well, if it were really an AC inverter problem it would seem like the car would have problems moving as it is required to run the AC drive motors. Any problems with the AC inverter would also show up as a host of indicator lights on the dashboard.

    So I think I would stay focused on either fuses or a shutdown condition possibly due to low coolant. A visual inspection would only reveal a rather large leak. I'd check that coolant level.
     
    #4 jpadc, Dec 22, 2011
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  5. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Glancing at the Service Manual, for no operation of the AC system, they first want you to verify that the IG power system is ok, then check the AC amplifier. The system is quite complex. I would suggest downloading the AC section of the Toyota Service Manual if you want to troubleshoot on your own.


    https://techinfo.toyota.com
     
    #5 dogfriend, Dec 22, 2011
  6. dwill207

    dwill207 Junior Member

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    I thought I replied to your response. I'm waiting for a coworker to have to his friend check the car out. His friend works on nothing but Priuses. If you want, I can let you know what they find.
     
    #6 dwill207, Dec 28, 2011
  7. dwill207

    dwill207 Junior Member

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    We found the problem. It WAS due to loss of refrigerant. There was a small hose clamp rubbing against the hose of one of the refrigerant lines. The clamp created a pretty good sized hole. We should have it fixed tomorrow. Thanks for your help.
     
    #7 dwill207, Jan 3, 2012
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  8. johnjamis

    johnjamis Junior Member

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    Where was the hole in the refrigerent line? Other cars may have this same issue and we may be able to prevent a rash of refrigerent line leaks with a simple inspection. A picture of the location would be very helpful. Thanks.
     
    #8 johnjamis, Jan 4, 2012
  9. dwill207

    dwill207 Junior Member

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    This type of leak would probably only happen vehicles that have been in minor collisions, as mine was. The bracket, (attached to the radiator support), that supports the refrigerant line was bent, causing the rubber portion of the line to rub against a small hose clamp right next to the oil dipstick. The guy I bought the car from was driving it for over 8 months without an issue. It didn't spring a leak until after I got it, of course.

    I guess it could happen to vehicles that are missing that bracket.
     
    #9 dwill207, Jan 5, 2012
  10. johnjamis

    johnjamis Junior Member

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    Thanks for the extra details. John
     
    #10 johnjamis, Jan 5, 2012
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