Helogadget

Well, one day it worked so good it froze me to death. The next day, warm air. The compressor is running and I put it on the gauges and the low side looks high and the high side looks low. No apparent cooling of the line coming from the expansion valve. No bubbles that I can see in the sight glass. No abnormal noises or errors in display, just no cold air. Any ideas or just take it to the shop?

Thanks

Bgw70

Helo, check out this link and go to paragraph 6 of 9. let us know if the info in the paragraph matches your observations.
https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...em-in-your-car

Helogadget

Yep, that pretty much describes it. I am thinking either the expansion valve is clogged or has somehow failed. Either scenario is beyond my technical ability and equipment level. I'm taking her to the shop tomorrow morning. I am expecting this to not be a cheap fix.

Bgw70

Just to confirm, do you observe this?
Part 6 of 9: The clutch engages but the air is not cold

Step 1: Turn the engine off and install the gauge set.

Step 2: Restart the engine and turn on the air conditioning.

Step 3: Observe the pressure readings.

• Though every air conditioning system will vary, you want to see the high side pressure around 20 psi and the low side around 40 psi.
  
• If both the high and the low side are below these readings then you may need to add refrigerant.
  
• If the readings are very high then you may have a problem with air trapped in the system or an airflow problem with the condenser.
  
• If the pressures do not change at all when the compressor engages then the compressor has failed or there is a problem with the metering device.

which bullet describes your problem?

Helogadget

The pressures don't seem to change much at all with the compressor on or off. I show about 80psi low side and around 180 psi high side. The high side looks somewhat normal but the low side is about twice too high. I also put it on Techstream and it confirms the temps on the condenser core are at ambient.

Helogadget

The rest of the story... The shop said the compressor was shot. They replaced the compressor and the dryer. Now I can hang meat in my car again. It wasn't a cheap fix but I did get to drive a cool ES 350 with adaptive cruise while they worked on my SC. It makes me wish there was an aftermarket adaptive cruise option available. Thanks for your help Bgw, I just realized it was beyond my ability and tools/equipment to try to go any further trying to fix it myself.

My1998LS40

iTrader: (1)

I think the shop changed the compressor just to charge you more. If the compressor was bad, it wouldn't be running cold at all in the first place. You said one day it runs good and one day it won't, right? Or did it just stop after that one day and quit working?

Bgw70

Glad she is fixed Helo! It's hard to enjoy a car when it's sunny, 96 degrees and no air!

Helogadget

You got that right brother! They said they found my radiator leaking, although I have seen no evidence of it. I do, however, see what appears to be a small crack forming, so I ordered a Denso radiator that arrived today. Looks like my weekend project is going to be a radiator replacement. I replaced the radiator on my prior SC400, so I am expecting this to be a fairly easy fix. More preventative than anything else at this point.

Harold57

There are a couple of threads with DYIs on radiator replacement on the forum.

Helogadget

Cold one day then it quit cooling all together after that. The compressor was still running and it was full of freon (or whatever they call it now) but blowing warm air.

QUOTE=My1998LS40;9573112]I think the shop changed the compressor just to charge you more. If the compressor was bad, it wouldn't be running cold at all in the first place. You said one day it runs good and one day it won't, right? Or did it just stop after that one day and quit working?[/QUOTE]