At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them
answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in
answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you
will be able to:
Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+
topics.
I had the a/c compressor replaced on my '92 Corolla a few weeks ago. I drove it for about 2 weeks when the fuel gauge, temp gauge and the entire ac/blower system quit working. There's a 7.5a fuse labeled "gauges" that had blown. I replaced it and everything came back to life. It's burning out about every week now.
The a/c was down for about 6 months and this never occurred before.
My mechanic thought it might be the a/c condenser relay - it's on the same circuit. I found a used one and put it in, but with no success. I haven't taken it back yet to be looked at and was hoping to get some suggestions here. Is there anything connected with the compressor that could be causing this?
My gut is to focus on the compressor clutch relay. I'm sure it's on the same 7.5A circuit.
The compressor clutch relay and condenser fan relay are usually mounted (side-by-side) next to the condenser fan. It would be simple for you to replace the compressor clutch relay yourself. Be sure to disconnect the negative battery cable first. There's also the possibility that the A/C Switch is bad. The worse-case situation would be for it to involve the ECM's A/C functional area, which undoubtedly is in the circuit.
If the problem persists, check out:
. Compressor clutch--there could be a short. Also, check related wiring and connectors.
. Condenser fan motor.
I would expect the compressor clutch and condenser fan motor to be tied into a 20A circuit, in the under-hood fuse box, not the 7.5A circuit in the under-dash fuse box. Therefore, I'm leaning toward the compressor clutch relay and A/C Switch being the source of the problem.
Thanks for the reply. The thing that puzzles me about this is that I ran the a/c for a year before the compressor went out with no problems. That makes me think that the problem is with the new compressor/clutch. How would I check to see if there's a short in it? Would that explain why it's so intermittent? Can a relay go bad if it's not used? That seems like a dumb question...
I know I can take it back to the mechanic who installed it and he'll make it right for me if it is the compressor, but it would sure be fun to find it myself!
Relays can go bad from lack of use--they can start to hang up. It may try to actuate the solenoid and it can't do it effortlessly; then, it draws too much amperage and blows the fuse. Most things work better and last longer on cars when they are used regularly.
I hear what you are saying about the compressor clutch. However, I don't think Toyota would run this through a 7.5A fuse. You would need to hook a multimeter up to the field coil and check its resistance. Proper readings may be something like 3.2 ohms +/- 0.15 ohms at 68 degrees F. You would need to get the specifications for your coil.
The gauge fuse is directly tied in to the a/c. According to my wiring diag, the most direct tie in would be the heater/blower switch. (page 171 below in the pdf attach)
The switch gets hot and melts/shorts with age. I'd be looking there, or the integration relay.
If memory serves me correctly, I recall replacing more than a few Junction blocks with the integration relay built in due to 'hot spots'. Do a wiggle test and tap on the block to try and duplicate short.
As I recall, you found a donor car for picking parts off of eh?
J/B #1 is the fuse panel where you found the gauge fuse. That panel IS the relay. It's part of it. On the back side there's a long connector plugged into it. On the front side is all the fuses.
many many things pass through it as part of integration. The gauge circuit is one of the most important. Of course, low amperage current is all that it needs.
You'll see it in page 19/20 below.
I knocked things around like you suggested - the fuse box, switch (all different settings), wiring, etc... and couldn't get a short to occur. One thing I did find, though, was the connecting wire from the compressor clutch to the wiring harness was not secure. It pulled loose when I was jiggling the wires. Could a loose connection there cause the problem that I'm having?
By the way, Kitch428, I saw your reply concerning the Camry door handles and the bad feedback. If I ever come across like that, take a 2x4 to the side of my head to get my attention and then straighten me out! I deeply appreciate all you guys that give of your time on these forums...
It's a possibility. I would look over the connector and wiring carefully for anything that looks suspicious. Check for any possible breaks in the insulation.
Linear Mode
