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Is my AC Amplifier bad?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dan Freeze, Sep 23, 2019.

  1. Dan Freeze

    Dan Freeze New Member

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    I will try to condense the story, but I have recently replaced the compressor, condenser, and evaporator/expansion valve on my wife's 2004 Prius. Evaporator had a pinhole in it that had started to leak more and more. I replaced it all just for piece of mind. I have gauges, vacuum pump, TechStream, and basic understanding of HVAC. Good news is the system works great 99% of the time, including a trip to the beach 5 hours away. But, every once in a while we get in and the AC compressor refuses to turn on- even if set to Max Cold and full fan speed. Occasionally, changing setting to Auto will cause compressor to kick on. One thing that always works is to power car off, then back on. Compressor will happily wind up. No codes on TechStream (other than irrelavent solar radiation sensor).
    So, might my AC Amp be going out?
     
    #1 Dan Freeze, Sep 23, 2019
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Is the cabin fan coming on and not the compressor?

    What’s the history and condition of the hybrid battery?

    Sometimes ac Issues are because the hybrid battery is ready to fail.
     
    #2 edthefox5, Sep 24, 2019
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Lots of other posts about compressors changed and wrong refrigerant used and damaged because of it.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Sep 24, 2019
  4. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    @Dan Freeze,

    How long would you estimate that it took you to replace the evaporator? Did you have to pretty much gut the front interior of the car?
    Would you do it again if needed?
     
    #4 TMR-JWAP, Sep 24, 2019
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