I can't find any desciption of this failure in the shop manual, so maybe one of the experts here can help.

My 95 Camry a/c is failing intermittantly. Meaning no cold air comes out. When it stops working, the a/c indicator light (on the a/c push button) blinks.

4 cylinder engine, if that matters.

I'd appreciate any advice.

Start with the simple things. Check the belt for the compressor for the proper tension. That light will comne on if the belt slips and the compressor stops turning.

Mike

Adding to what Mike has said:

Also check your radiator cooling fan(s) to make sure they are coming on full when the A/C is on. Look up underneath the front of the car and make sure the A/C condenser isn't partially blocked by a plastic bag or anything.

The A/C light will blink if the A/C compressor is shut down due to belt slipping as Mike has suggested (slipping clutch or weak belt tensioner), or the high pressure switch cuts it out.

dave mc

Thanks for the suggestions. I visually checked everything and it seemed fine.

I tend to ignore most intermittant problems until they get worse. Well, it got a lot worse.

Symptoms were no A/C followed by no instrument panel and no fan control. A quick check of the wiring diagram and inspection found a blown "gauge" fuse in the fuse block. Visual inspection of the A/C unit showed various melted plastic (what probably used to be the clutch) extruding from the joint between the A/C pulley and the compressor.

So I'm guessing the compressor froze up and destroyed the clutch, blowing a fuse in the process. I'm sure this means replacing the compressor. I have done a few of these before.

A few questions:

Do you always replace the receive/dryer at the same time?

I have no specialized equipment (vacuum manifold). Should I have a specialist shop remove the refrigerant before I replace the compressor? They will certainly need to charge it when I'm done.

Any other advice?

Thanks for the suggestions. I visually checked everything and it seemed fine.

...A few questions:

Do you always replace the receive/dryer at the same time?

I have no specialized equipment (vacuum manifold). Should I have a specialist shop remove the refrigerant before I replace the compressor? They will certainly need to charge it when I'm done.

Any other advice?

Yes, always replace the receiver/dryer.

Check the static pressures (system off, car off) with some gauges first. You may find they are near 0 anyways. Otherwise, the environmentally friendly method is a proper recovery into a waste cylinder.

You should check the refrigerant lines for black contamination from your existing A/C compressor also. Ie. just give them a quick flush with lacquer thinner outdoors to see what comes out. If you have bad contamination, you may want to consider a full flush of the evaporator and replacement of the expansion valve also. (A lot more labor of course.) This is assuming that the compressor itself seized rather than just a clutch issue.

As well, replace the Hi and low line port access valves too since a bad valve here after a recharge will cost more money. (They are cheap.)

Yes, definitely have the shop recharge since evacuation of all air and moisture is critical before refrigerant is reintroduced.


dave mc