TGRich

Okay... my A/C ran fine all summer long in 100+ temps. Today I was driving along an noticed it wasn't getting as cool as usual. So I put the climate control on max cold, still nothing. Still on max cold at a stop light, I turn down the fan speed so I can hear. The compressor is off even though max cold and a/c light on. It seems that the compressor is more likely to kick off when the rpm's are low, like at a stop light. The the compressor will just decided to kick back on a few minutes later and it starts to get cold again. And no, the dreaded blinking a/c light is not happening. From looking at my manuals, the best I can figure is that my coolant level (R12) is low, there is moisture in the lines, or my compressor is about to go.
Does anyone have an advice or imput?

Thanks,
Tim

1993 SC300 5 speed
112k miles

TGRich

Well, thanks everybody for the increible response and 12 whole views
I was debating on whether to post this in the correct forum (here), or on the sc3/400 forum- guess I would have had better luck there.

anyway, here's what I found. I noticed my dual electrics weren't running. Looking closer, I found that my 30 amp fuse holder had somehow gotten so hot (its by the radiator) that it melted. The fuse wouldn't come out, but I knew it was blown. I put a new fuse holder in place of the old one and now the fans work fine.
But here's the question. Sitting at idle w/out the a/c on and no fans blowing the car wouldn't over hear. As soon as I turned on the a/c the temp guage rose quickly into the red. So how did not having fans blowing cause the compressor to kick off? Is there some sort of sensor that tells the compressor to kick off the keep down the heat? Also, I know even with no fans, its safe to run highway speeds since there's enough air flowing throught the radiator, but the a/c was still kicking off on the highway. What does this mean? Are these things unrelated and possibly the a/c problem is intermittent?

VVT-i

tg, I'm sorry that we can't help you much on this one, because of the AC problem related with overheating is really hard to diagnostic especially on line. If your car is low on coolant due to the overheating or clogged up radiator, stuck closes or partially opened thermostat, low on freon or clogged up condensor. It could be any of these that can caught your AC works intermitment.