2010 ac blowing ambient

@lech auto air conditionin should be able to assist with your next steps .

 

No red dye right there is a warning sign you have read some information that was 40 to 50 years old or you were taking information from somebody who is older than that. UV dye you might be lucky and find a can of refrigerant that already has UV dye for a do it yourself person that is the best way to go. But make sure the can has no other additives in it.

If you want to know if it’s worth recharging and that the system is at least operating properly before you take it to a shop to have them evacuated and way in the correct amount of refrigerant you have options

Put it on the vacuum pump charge it up using vapor once the pressure goes over 50 psi the compressor should come on and then vapor charging only no liquid you should be able to slowly fill the system up to a close approximation of the weight you need because you only feel by weight not by pressure or temperatures.

Looking for oily residue on your condenser kind of grayish black shaded dark spots on your condenser that built up a little dust is a good indication this is summertime so there has been hopefully no rain in your area that could’ve washed all that away because this oil is water soluble.

You need to purchase a UV light you could go to my albums page in my profile and look at the pictures I have I have some recommendations for UV lights there you can find on Google. Condensers are the 90% culprit of leaks on Prius.
When they age then comes a evaporator rarely a high pressure switch occasionally a cracked line but the prices are a very durable system except for the condenser is the weak link.

Now supposedly if the compressor was good it’s running and you’re getting cool air out of the dash you know the compressor is operating you know all the pressure and temperature sensors are working if you still have not found a leak by now drive it for several days come back with the UV light and look over all the hoses the lines and condenser.

The absolute most important thing do not use the Air conditioning system when you notice it getting less cool out of the Dash not working so well at this point you’re absolutely roasting the compressor it’s winding the hell out of it self turning into a inductive heater to smelt metal.

The weight of the refrigerant going in is very crucial on a Prius. It will work if it’s overcharged it will work if it’s under charged at the cost of greatly reducing the compressors lifespan. This is why even technicians and shops with big machines are usually the cause of the death of a compressor on a Prius because they usually don’t get it right.

 

Why not find out? I went that route and it was $150 CDN plus taxes. Of course they "quoted" $150 all-in, then when it came time to pay I had to fight tooth-and-nail to hold them to it, but that's ok, it's in their DNA.

 

I can get you a link in a bit. That said, AC is something I like to fix with credit card and dealership: I'm just bright enough to know I should stay away from "repairing" it.

 

Since your condenser is corroded sounds like the fins are falling apart then you would probably be replacing that anyway you called that right.

Compressors you could pick up from salvage yards usually they work different states and counties have different prices ranging from under $100 to around $200 I hear some places are even more expensive for used salvage compressors.

If you don’t mind a chance in the gamble and you do it yourself there’s one thing you can check that might give you some hope of a good outcome.

When removing the bad compressor fill up the ports inlet outlet with some brake clean or carburetor cleaner shake it around a little bit and poured out into a clean glass bowl or a white paper plate and you’re looking for metal particles something that looks like glitter you might even get chunks that come out the size of a P or you can get superfine metal particles that look like the glittery shine inside pearl paint on a car. This would be a bad thing meaning you have a little trash in the rest of the system to not just the condenser.

Then there’s two camps of that just throw on the compressor and condenser Cross your fingers it will work for a while and then die a premature death.
The other more correct method is replace the expansion valve use air conditioning flush solvent available at most all auto parts stores and clean out the evaporator and all metal lines and rubber hoses put it all back together with new O-rings and as long as the use compressor you purchased is good all should be good for many more years.

So long as the recharge and vacuum and oil or all done properly

Compressors last the life of the vehicle usually 275,000 miles to 400,000 miles without burning up so long as they never are allowed to run low on refrigerant