I need to know what is the Freon amount for the 2002 Prius? The filling valve was leaking, and mechanic fix it and after the recharge I think that the shop I went to didn't charge enough Freon in the system and they telling me that I need to change the "Expansion Valve". When I run the car with the AC on I don't feel the low pip getting cold at all what make me to believe that there is not enough Freon in the system.
Capacity is .99 to 1.21 lbs. There should be a little yellow sticker on the radiator support with this info too if it isn't gone. Unfortunately all the cans I've seen are 14ozs . Luckily I had a partial can on the hose. So mine got 1 + about 25% of the other by feel. That is, a little after it stopped bubbling. If you put in 2 cans you would possibly do damage or just activate the high pressure cutoff switch, assuming it has one (I didn't look to verify it has a hi-pres switch but many, if not most, cars do) but you do always need to be wary of overcharge, especially with 134a. The pressure can really get high on a hot day if it's overfull. Hope this helps Rick
Thanks! I just saw the sticker today and its really confusing. It's split to 2 options. I can't remember what both options said, but my compressor is dead...and I need to decide what to do next.
One of the options is kg and the other is pounds of refrigerant. Was it working before the leaky valve? When you say dead do you mean it's not coming on? Or is it physically locked up? With the engine off, you should be able to turn the center part (faceplate) of the compressor pulley by hand with a little resistance. If you can't, it's locked up. If you can, maybe it's a blown fuse or the pressure switch is either unplugged or turned off (it's on ac pipe, I think, behind grill). The outside of the pulley should always turn with the engine. You can verify this with a flashlight, but if it weren't turning your water pump also would not be turning and your belt would snap. Sometimes a tech will unplug the pressure switch when charging, and insert a paper clip to turn it on. If he forgets, the clip may fall out and your air quit, or blow a fuse and air quits.
My friend that helped me with it said that there is no pressure, and the freon that came out of the AC system smelled burnt. When I pushed the gas pedal, the compressor made a loud noise. My friend said when I had a leak in the valve, air came into the pipes, and when I drove without freon and the AC on, the air burnt the compressor. I'm not so sure if this was the case. The thing is that the mechanic didn't see that the compressor was bad and didn't build high pressure, and told me to change the expansion valve. By the way the mechanic never called me back to let me know that the expansion valve that he ordered came in. I guess he didn't know what the problem was and gave up. If you see my old post about the blinking AC light, you will see that I just changed the compressor 2 years ago
It sounds like the compressor maybe blew from the loud noise, but I would check it anyway. Also I forgot to mention that if the faceplate appears burnt that's another sign the compressor went out. When they go in that way they usually trash the system to the point where an ac guy needs to flush the system with special solvent. I found a used compressor on ebay cheap, maybe you can do the same. You also will need a dryer kit (dryer job looks like it requires removal of the condensor) if the freon is really burnt, and/or faceplate burnt. You may also have a clogged expansion valve from compressor debris. You wouldn't know about the valve until you charge it and see no pressure on low side and lots on high side. That indicates clogged/ failed expansion valve. Normal pressure varies but is around low ~30psi and hi 180-300 depending on ambient temp.
You need a shop with a real AC machine and diagnostic skills (not a can of refrigerant from Autozone) to check system pressure and check for leaks. If the system is working properly the amount of refrigerant should not change for many years. Some shops won't touch hybrid AC systems because they've been told they use special oil etc and the HV electric compressor. This is only true for 2004 and newer Prius. Gen1 Prius uses conventional R134A and a conventional belt driven compressor, anyone with AC equipment can work on Gen1 Prius, it's essentially the same system as a Corolla from 2001. If your compressor is truly fried, Pmail me..I have good used ones I can sell.
You will need more then just a dryer kit, and expansion valve, and new condenser and flush out all the lines and evaporator if it is truly a burnt out compressor. That is if you want it to last more then two years again. Look in my photo album about burnt up prius compressor. I have four albums of photos about burnt up compressors after shops have worked on them. One about the tools used to repair, test, and check air conditioning, One about maintenance. Yes this is the old type compressor with the clutch out side unlike the new electric compressor. If you do buy a used compressor, pour out as much of the old oil for the used compressor that you can. If you will be the one buying your own parts, DO NOT SAVE MONEY ON THE CONDENSER OR THE OIL!!!. Only get the DENSO factory condenser ( there is a difference) I highly recommend getting the the compressors manufactures oil made by DENSO part ND-8 it uses a PAG oil base stock not the same PAG as the cheap oil from the auto parts store and it has a additive package not in the cheap after market oils. Never reuse old orings even if they LOOK ok. Not all repair shops that repair a/c actually REPAIR. Go to my photo album about Prius air conditioning and you will know the rest of the story. A AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR, unless something or SOMEONE cause it to fail!. A compressor burn up is only the symptom of a problem not the problem!.
You click on my icon, then a box pops up, then click on my Albums tab. I just learnt this my self. You will see four albums. I just have a few photos compared to over 3500 photos of failed a/c components and different cause, most of them are from lack of maintenance or the shop that just serviced it. 90% of the time the shop never even knows they did something wrong because the car was cooling, they got their money and the customer drove away happy. Until 9 months or 1 1/2 later when something starts to go wrong. By that time a customer will never suspect his a/c problem or need of a new compressor had anything to do with the shop that recharged it before. Any way when he goes back they will tell him he needs a new compressor and the shop makes more money. I just don"t have the time to post all the photos and videos, wish I did. After you see the albums tell me what you think. thanks Tom Lech , Lech Auto Air Conditioning Est. 1994
It looks like you've worked on the electric compressors. Do you have any metrics on the voltage and currents that feed the electric compressors? Is it a fixed frequency AC? Are there just AC power lines to the compressor or is there some sort of resolver signal back? Is it a brushless motor or slip-rings? Thanks, Bob Wilson
Bob, There's a University of Toyota slide deck here (whether with or without permission I don't know, but I discovered it there a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been taken down yet. The ES18, ES27, and ES14 compressors are compared on pp. 182-3. They are brushless. It looks as if the earliest design was to feed the compressor variable-frequency AC from a dedicated section of the main inverter component, and the later designs integrate an inverter into the compressor itself and feed it DC. I'm guessing (though the pictures don't show it) that the later compressors might have their own CAN addresses and just get commanded when to run and at what speed. Only for the ES14 is the supply voltage shown on the slide (201.6 VDC). I'm sure there would be more details for each model in the corresponding shop manual and New Car Features Manual. What information is shown for your 2010? -Chap
