Wheeler86

AC wasn't working so tried to do a recharge with Super Tech Refrigerant R-134a and PAG 100 with ICE 32 Oil Charge.

Upon connecting the recharge valve, the reading showed red pressure, even without adding any refrigerant. We pressed the low end nozzle with a pen to release the excess pressure then proceeded to add the refrigerant. First of all, this is weird that the system was already in the red prior to connecting the recharge.

The compressor is working and active but there is still no cold air coming out. Does anyone know what could cause cold air from being generated, as everything seems to be working?

Thank you for any and all help!

Bgw70

Do you know HVAC?
if not you might want to stop and do some reading first or you might make the proble worse.
do some reading, watch some YouTube videos...understand HVAC...

DshngDaryl

BGW has a very good point. HVAC/Air Conditioning isn't very complex, but there are a lot of steps that are not intuitive.

Like vaccumming out all the air from your systems, so ice crystals don't form and destroy your compressor.

Speaking of compressors, how did you determine yours was working?

Wheeler86

I was PM'd that it might be the AC clutch, going to have a friend who owns a body shop take a look at it to determine if that will fix it. I can hear the compressor activating when I turn on the AC, the compressor stops running when I turn off the AC button.

Bgw70

you describe the compressor turning on and off, which means the clutch is functional.

iammikey

Don't be mislead by the clicking sound of the clutch. It just means the electromagnetic portion is engaging and does not mean the clutch is grabbing - It's also a R/R service for the clutch since half the work of replacement is the shimming process. I just re-shimmed a car with the same explanation of your problem last weekend, however your problem may still be different and trouble shooting over the internet is often hard to do with an A/C. If you have some time to kill, then try this procedure (should take about 30 minutes):

Remove the serpentine belt, disconnect the A/C clutch electromagnetic wiring. Next, apply 12 volts to the electromagnetic clutch and you will hear a clicking sound and should see movement of the clutch. Pay attention to the center of the clutch and spin the pulley - It should grab the compressor as you spin the pulley. If not, then you have to re-shim your clutch.

I think the clutch clearance is .30 mm to .60 mm (measure from the front face of the clutch then apply 12 volts to the electromagnetic clutch). You should have 3 or less shims. If you don't have a tool to measure the gap, you can remove one of the shims (washers) reassemble and do the trial and error thing. You will need a socket wrench and a clutch holding tool to remove the clutch. If this does not work, then send me a PM.

You can research a/c clutch re-shimming on Youtube. I'm sure someone made a video on it.

Good Luck!

Wheeler86

Thank you for all the public and private replies. After taking it into a trusted mechanic, he ran some diagnostics and found out that, even though the compressor turned on, it was not releasing any pressure (got pretty technical after that/over my head). But he replaced the compressor and is spitting out chilly air for the first time since I've owned it (only about 4-5 months). He says that, for some reason, some Lexus' have this problem around the 100k mile-mark.

Thought I'd throw that out in case it will help anyone with similar issues in the future.

DshngDaryl

Glad you got it all worked out

A lot of times just recharging it like you did works, but since you had problems, it is an indication of other problems

Harold57

Good to know Wheeler86. Thanks for letting us know.