1st & 2nd Generation (1983–1986 & 1987-1991)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1983-1986 & 1987-1991.
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My AC works well when the car is moving down the road. When I come to a stop the AC is no longer cold. When I begin to accelerate the AC gets cold again. AC levels are fine per my mechanic. He said it might be a problem with the "idle up solenoid." What is it, where is it located, and can I replace it myself?
P.S. Anyone know of a good auto repair forum for the Lincoln Continental?
well if the idle up solenoid wasn't working, wouldn't you experience a problem like this:
Idle at.. say 550rpm.
Turn AC on
Idle drops to... say 400 rpm.
As far as I thought, the idle up solenoid just gives a little more throttle while the AC compressor is engaged via magnetic clutch.. to keep your idle roughly the same, because there is now a slight load on the belt system.
So if your Idle is still regular with engagedment of AC, maybe that's not the problem.
I'm not sure what to suggest... maybe the magnetic clutch in the pump is getting weak? Maybe it's the pump itself?
Because if you have good levels in the system, and the accumulator, condensor, thermostatic expansion orifice, blower motor, etc all check out.. then I would lean towards the pump or mag clutch.
But keep in mind, i'm just an enthousiast, and do not know AC systems in that much depth.
My 90 3S-FE has the same problem. My mechanic had me change out the solenoid and it did not make a difference. My first instinct is the pressure in the system. If your system has low pressure, at a low idle, the compressor will not engage. Check your pressure. I am thinking about retrofitting it with R134 and flushing out the system. Good luck.
^ ya if your idle is fine and the levels (high and low side) i would look at belt slip, but even then with belt slip i dont see how he could get right levels ........ or even with the idle up get correct readings
personaly i say your low on gas or there a clog in the system.
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The idle solenoid just increases the idle a little a bit to compensate for the extra engine load. the problem you are having is there is no air flow through the condensor at a stop, and is fine when you are moving.
The a/c fan is not working, could be the fan motor, or more likely the a/c fan switch.
check the voltage when your at a stop your alt may be going out and not supplying enought power to run everything. or your fan motor is getting old and needs the higher voltage to run.
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I've had the same problem in my previous Camry. I never did find the "true" cause, even after replacing just about the whole system... If I was at a stop for very long I would put the car in neutral and keep the engine revved up a bit. Something that worked, but not neccesarily reccomended, you can also adjust the throttle set screw to turn up the "idle" of your engine.
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I have a couple wild guesses about this: maybe your evaporator is dirty (miniature radiator looking part on front of the real radiator), so if you clean out the dirt and bugs from between the fins it might improve the efficiency back to where it is supposed to be. Naturally i am talking about only an external cleaning here, not trying to clean inside the system.
Also the condenser (the part that the cold air comes from, inside the car i think) could be dirty too, and maybe the fins should be blown out with low pressure (30 psi) compressed air.
Or, maybe the system needs a recharge of refrigerant.
I have a couple wild guesses about this: maybe your evaporator is dirty (miniature radiator looking part on front of the real radiator), so if you clean out the dirt and bugs from between the fins it might improve the efficiency back to where it is supposed to be. Naturally i am talking about only an external cleaning here, not trying to clean inside the system.
Also the condenser (the part that the cold air comes from, inside the car i think) could be dirty too, and maybe the fins should be blown out with low pressure (30 psi) compressed air.
Or, maybe the system needs a recharge of refrigerant.
Thank you!
Refrigerant first - I am not very conversant with the AC system. My mechanic was unwilling to touch the AC. He mentioned something about the refrigerant not being available or that it is banned. Is this trure? What kind of refrigerant does a 1990 use? I was suggested a conversion to R134 type. How easy is the conversion?
How do I clean the condensor? Where is it located?
When I bought the car (about 2 years ago), I found some foam pieces being blown out of AC vent when I started it - black and sticky, thankfully not smelly. Is this what you were talking about. Since then it has virtually stopped.
I checked the radiator - not much there - a few small stones, leaves etc - cleaned it out.
both my camrys do this, at idle, the rings on the pistons are worn out and at a slow speed they dont pump as they should, but increase speed and the freon doesnt have enough time to slip past the rings and it starts cooling, another thing i have seen is he expansion valve is stuck open and at slow speed it isnt enough restriction to the freon flow. And to top the mess off the condenser on these cars is not very efficient, they need alot of airflow to work especially when you put 134a in it, be sure its clean with straight fins and the fans work. I kinda fixed my 5speed car, its still r12 and all i did was turn the white knob on the AC bypass valve on the intake manifold till it was around 1k at idle when the compressor came on, this mostly fixed it, but it has almost 300k miles on it, now the auto car is another story, it has 134a and it sucks, r12 cooled much better, i increased the compressor on idle and foam sealed the condensor to the radiator, works great until you put it in drive, and you better have your foot on the brake because if its in drive and the compressor comes on and you got it set for a 1k idle its going to go
When the AC is cooling, it cools very efficiently. So, I think my car still uses r12. Perhaps that's why my mechanic was hesitant to touch it.
How easy is the conversion to r134 (or is it r134a)? Is it recommended (or mandatory?)?
If the 134 system is difficult to cool, I'd like to stick with r12. Is it easy to find the coolant? How about filling it or working with the AC system. Yes, I am ENVR concious, but...
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