1994 Camry air conditioning problem

[gator86]

94 Camry air conditioner cools well at times, other times it doesn't cool. The button on the dash that turns on the a/c (compressor) has a light in the middle of it. This light stays solid when the a/c is working, but it blinks when the a/c quits cooling.

Does anyone know what this blinking indicates, other than the obvious?? Also, since this air conditioner cools fine at times, am i to assume that the freon level is adequate??

I purchased this car new, and i think i would have been better off selling or trading after 8 years. Years 9, and 10 have been constant repair years.

[Mike Gerber]

gator86,


I had an 86 Camry where the ac button would start blinking after going through a hugh puddle. I think the belt got a bit wet and started slipping on it's pulley. I could simply pull over and shut the car off and then restart it, and everything would be back to normal. I would first check the tension on the belt that runs the compressor. It could be a bit lose.

Mike

[rick121x]

I have a 97 Camry with 86,000 miles. My AC works extremely well UNTIL on one of our Las Vegas Hot afternoons like 105 degrees and above. I stop the engine, and go shopping... Return 15 or 20 minutes later and restart the engine. THE AC LIGHT STARTS BLINKING and NO ac cooling.

Continue driving, turn ac off, and in five or ten minutes it will start again - no blinking - and with excellent cooling.

Fluid pressures checked by garage - everthing normal. They say bring it back when it's not working. I haven't been able to correllate the failure with my presence at the garage.... What a pain!

Does anyone have any ideas of were to look for the problem?

Richard ranney

[jtoyotaman]

when the ac light blinks that means the ac has a problem.

[jtoyotaman]

your camry may have been alittle warm so it may have automatically kicked the ac off to prevent the car from increasing in temperature.

[Andy 90GT]

I have the same problem in my 90 Celica with the 5SFE
but i have to push the a/c button in all the way to get the light to come on, then i'll get the blink
compressor turns on then off after like 5 seconds
just did a discharge and recharge
help please

[ProMan]

This normally happens when
1. It's very hot.
2. Compressor doesn't engage.
3. Insufficient freon.

[mishalah]

Same intermittent situation on my ex-wife's '93 Camry. A few months ago she was talked into refitting the system for R134. $800+ later she has a new compressor, "O" rings, drier, and a bunch of other stuff.....but no consistent cooling. The shop that did the conversion says (by phone conversation only) that her ???? sensor is bad and needs to replaced at a cost of around $150. I say BS...that the freon is probably low and the system is cutting itself off to protect the compressor.

What she described as a conversion turned out to be a rebuilt compressor/drier/"O" ring R&R, but charged with Freeze 12. I am not familiar with Freeze 12, but I know the Toyota manual is very spcific about not mixing the oils and refrigerants (134 and R12). I have used Enviro-Safe and another alternative for about 15 years, but would like opinions/experience comments on Freeze 12.

I downloaded the a/c portion of the Toyota manual. The blinking light symptom must have a logic path to narrow the cause down to a few potential solutions. I told her to run the system manually to se if it would stay on, but she said it doesn't really depend on an "auto" system that relies on temp sensors. If so, any time a low pressure sensor tells the system to shut down, the freon level is the first thing I'd check. If it's a temp problem I'd be looking at the fans.

OK...she just brought the car over. It doesn't overheat so I'm eliminating the fans as a problem. The site glass shows a lot of bubbles and foaming, but I didn't have her run the rpms up to see if they went away (oops). Gotta look at it again tomorrow.

[gator2764]

Originally Posted by mishalah

Same intermittent situation on my ex-wife's '93 Camry. A few months ago she was talked into refitting the system for R134. $800+ later she has a new compressor, "O" rings, drier, and a bunch of other stuff.....but no consistent cooling. The shop that did the conversion says (by phone conversation only) that her ???? sensor is bad and needs to replaced at a cost of around $150. I say BS...that the freon is probably low and the system is cutting itself off to protect the compressor.

What she described as a conversion turned out to be a rebuilt compressor/drier/"O" ring R&R, but charged with Freeze 12. I am not familiar with Freeze 12, but I know the Toyota manual is very spcific about not mixing the oils and refrigerants (134 and R12). I have used Enviro-Safe and another alternative for about 15 years, but would like opinions/experience comments on Freeze 12.

I downloaded the a/c portion of the Toyota manual. The blinking light symptom must have a logic path to narrow the cause down to a few potential solutions. I told her to run the system manually to se if it would stay on, but she said it doesn't really depend on an "auto" system that relies on temp sensors. If so, any time a low pressure sensor tells the system to shut down, the freon level is the first thing I'd check. If it's a temp problem I'd be looking at the fans.

OK...she just brought the car over. It doesn't overheat so I'm eliminating the fans as a problem. The site glass shows a lot of bubbles and foaming, but I didn't have her run the rpms up to see if they went away (oops). Gotta look at it again tomorrow.

I have "Freeze 12" in my 95 camry and 92 tercel. Had it put in the camry about 2 to 3 years ago without changing a thing in the ac system. That stuff will mix with R-12 or 134. It works better than plain 134.

[mishalah]

Originally Posted by gator2764

I have "Freeze 12" in my 95 camry and 92 tercel. Had it put in the camry about 2 to 3 years ago without changing a thing in the ac system. That stuff will mix with R-12 or 134. It works better than plain 134.

That's what I thought. It looks like the shop just plain took advantage of her (unless the compressor was actually fried, which I don't think it was). And they wonder why they have such a bad reputation for screwing people.

[gator2764]

The temp gage at the air vent in the tercel will get down to 35-36 degrees with the freeze 12. It only cost $14.00 a can and no license is needed to buy it. Great stuff.

[Pntsplat]

A blinking AC light just simply means that the compressor is seized or something is happening that makes it think its seized. a belt that slips enough could make the ac light flash. The compressor speed is compared to the crank speed and when there is a large variance from normality it shuts itself off and the light will flash. One other thing that is common on newer camrys 02-04 is a flashing AC light and the failure point is the AC magnetic clutch relay. low freon wont cause a flashing light, the compressor just wont kick on and too much freon the compressor will kick on and off over and over, both causing insufficient cooling. Hope this helps.

[rick121x]

Originally Posted by rick121x

I have a 97 Camry with 86,000 miles. .... THE AC LIGHT STARTS BLINKING and NO ac cooling.... turn ac off, and in five or ten minutes it will start again .... then off again... and on and on... Fluid pressures- everthing normal.
Does anyone have any ideas of were to look for the problem?
Richard Ranney

Solution: In the little relay box under the hood, I found which relay controlled the AC. I switched some relays around from place to place (Only the same types...) and the failure charactistics changed. So I bought a new relay, about $15, installed it, and the problem is gone - simply gone. The AC system works like new. This was in sunner 2007 - still working great!

[jdmccright]

Welcome to AF!

While we're happy you share your experience, please refrain from replying to old threads. This thread will now be closed.