2002 Prius: Finally fixed my A/C Light Blinking

The problem was that the A/C was working fine in the morning, but after 20 minutes of driving, the A/C light started blinking. When I turned off the A/C for 10 minutes and started it back up, the A/C worked for another 10 - 15 minutes and start blinking again.
What I did I do (unsuccessfully) in order to fix it? Well...I changed the A/C filter and the Magnetic Clutch Relay. Then, I took it to the Toyota dealer near my house and all they did was evacuate and charge the system and they charged me $160 for the diagnostic fee and another $100 for the freon. When I brought the car to the dealer I asked them to test drive the car for 25 min in order to see the problem. When I got the car back (3hr later), I drove it and the A/C light started blinking again so I went back to the dealer and the service manager said "well you did good by changing the Magnetic Clutch Relay and now the next step is the change the compressor". I was asked that the diagnostic fee be refunded to me becuase they never found the problem. The service manager said no and when I asked him to run another diagnostic, he said that I would have to pay the diagnostic fee again. Next, I took it to another dealer and they charged me a $116 diagnostic fee and told me that the compressor clutch was bad and asked $1000 for the compressor and a $300 labor fee. I thanked them and ordered a re-manufactured one from eBay for $242 and paid $260 for a local mechanic to install the compressor recharge the system.

Now after such a hot summer in NY without a working A/C, the problem is fixed.


For anyone who has the same problem, I suggest that you connect a long wire from the positive line on the clutch into the car and use an advanced test light with 2 LED lights (green and red) and see how the lights act when the A/C is on. In my case, when the A/C stopped working, the red light changed to green. This is a sign that the clutch is bad.