Therrol

Hey Guys,

So I just bought myself a Lexus RX300 at an auction. It was only $900, so I was expecting a few problems. At first, the speedometer wasn't working and the ABS light was on. Managed to fix that by replacing a wheel speed sensor and clearing the codes. From there, it appeared that everything was fine.

During a long road trip, I drove though a puddle and heard what sounded like belt squeal. After a few seconds, the AC light started blinking and my AC stopped working. I had read that there is a water sensor that will stop AC if the belt gets wet, so I figured that if I just waited for it to dry everything would be fine.

No dice. Nice warm weather, no water, and the AC still squeals for a moment followed by the blinking light.

I then figured that the pressure was low, and I already had a recharge kit. I connected my kit with the engine off, and without adding any refrigerant to the system the gauge read 60 PSI. From what I understand, this is too high and the max pressure should be around 50.

Any idea what could cause this? Should I bleed the line a bit, or is there some other problem?

ukrkoz

1. I'd LOVE to see that sensor.
2. Pressure high on what side?
3. you most likely have clutch that goes south. That's your squeal. Far as I remember, you can get to it from the tire well, wheel and well cover removed. Or, comp is either over straining fighting against high pressure, causing belt slippage, or comp is headed into going seized.

Audiqv8

Both hi and low side pressure will be equal with engine off. Could be that the gap between the clutch is out of spec, or as Ukrkoz stated you have a compressor going south.