Corroded AC wiring harness 2010 - anyone heard of this?

Got the bugger. Man those connectors are unfriendly. Ours looks pristine. Think I'll just leave it as is.

 

all the best!

 

The picture of your connector with the green corrosion inside the connector is quite different from the corrosion on the outside of my connector. The outside of your connector looks clean. It looks like your connector may have failed for some reason internal to the connector, like maybe a loose connection that created high resistance. That would be a good reason to replace the wire harness plug along with the connector base. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Can you get a picture of the wire end connector? If you notice on the other picture of that connector there is an orange material visible inside it. That is the sealing material kinda like an o-ring. Is yours intact? When locked down that should be a waterproof connector as seen in the other pictures where the connector was pretty spotless inside. Yours may have been taken loose for some reason and not locked back down resealing it. The part looks like it is screwed on the compressor. One would thing it is replaceable then.

 

That's frustrating. I wonder still about it being non-repairable: the compressor side of the connection is on a plate with fasteners, albeit unusually shaped fasteners.

 

Ask for your old compressor to be returned to you. If you can, drill out the rivets and take off the connector. If you can't do it, maybe another PriusChat member in the Seattle area would volunteer. If you were close to me, I would love to dissect it and see if it is repairable.

 

Can you get another compressor out of a salvage yard? Should be a lot less $$$. The heads look like screws to me. Special socket type that should be available. 10 to 1 there is a connector on the other side too and this part is just a sealed interface to the outside world. A socket like this one removes those types of bolts.

 

Some more special sockets, A female torx looks to fit the bill.

 

The big question in my mind: even if you manage to remove those fasteners, how to replicate the damaged broken pins. Maybe you can get pins from an electronics supplier, do some soldering. Short of that: as long as there's no availability for the compressor side of the connection, you're still SOL. Which goes back to Toyota, poor design.

 

To argue with the above: to salvage the current compressor, you don't HAVE to repair the pin connection. You only need to repair the breaks in that circuit. If the wiring behind the connector can be accessed, extensions could be soldered on, and a new connector (or individual connectors for each line) could be put in, a bit away from the compressor. The entry of wires at the compressor would also need to be sealed.

This assumes the extent of the problem IS the connector.

Thinking more about the reason for the corroded connection pins: could (for example) someone have tried filling the windshield washer fluid reservoir without a funnel? Maybe sent fluid running down that conduit?

 

Most of the salvage yards give some sort of warranty. $50-$100 to try one out (price guess here) vs around $2k. I don't know where you are at financially, but $2300 for A/C is one hefty bill. And your part of the country doesn't get very hot or often does it? Of course it helps to defog windows which is a safety concern.
I also would think it is some sort of screw or bolt for a positive retention seal rather than a rivet.

I would also try contacting Toyota about it. Faulty seal or install! I would hate to think a car owner would be required to go through his/her vehicle to make sure all the connectors are connected properly. They watch postings on this site and you well as may not be the first with this kind of failure. I have read about some email and phone contacts available too within some of the Toyota employee posts. Consider filing a complaint with the appropriate agency so there is paper trail. Is this considered part of the hybrid system to afford the hybrid warranty?

 

Price from local yard $80 plus shipping.

 

I can't locate this connector. Where exactly is it?

 

^ Standing at the front bumper, facing the engine, on the left side, down about a foot. A clue is the aluminum AC lines up higher. You need to take out the the air intake snorkel, upstream of the air filter. The air filter housing can be left in place. With the snorkel out of the way you can see the AC pump, it's about the size of a coconut. Has a 12 volt lead (black) connecting to the top, and high voltage lead (orange) connecting on the right side.