AC relay (first gen)

On my 2001 tundra i got reading from where the relay goes and this is what it shows obvioulsy the red is postive and black is negative

 

What reading? Tarot? What's your question? Need some more information. Obviously.

 

Those are the the red is 12 volts and the black is grounded but those are the corresponding readings to where it plugs into to but my question is that right? My AC doesn’t work and I’m trying to figure it out

 

Whatever you're trying to say might make sense in your head, but you are going to need to try a little harder to put a cohesive sentence together here if you want help. What are the symptoms of your AC not working? No fan? Does the compressor kick on? Blowing hot air? Again, more information.

 

Jumping directly at the relay as the problem is probably not the problem. Relays go bad, but not often. Have you checked fuses?

 

Fuses all good tried jumping relay but not sure if I did it right… but I get no voltage to the compressor… my coolent levels are good and my high low sensor is good

 

Is the ground on your compressor connected?

 

Yes I have bypass from my cigarette lighter to the compressor 12volt prong and it works I just don’t want to damage my AC

 

Have you checked the dash switch?

 

No but when I hit the AC button it sounds like it turns on like the car idles a little higher then it shuts off and the AC button blinks so I figured it’s sending the signal

 

Have you tried using the search function on this forum? There's some good information. I'm going to throw you a bone here to see if any of this resonates with you. This took me about 3 seconds to search.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/ac-issue-on-2006-tundra-double-cab-limited.160409/
Read through that thread. See if it describes what you're doing or have done. Specifically this from @badass03taco : "Most common problem for no AC is from low pressure or no pressure (leak). The most common leak is in the evaporator in the dash, the two lines are o-ringed and over time those o-rings leak and you lose the freon and when the low pressure switch is triggered, the compressor wont come on. I see it often, people get low on freon and go to the parts store and pump a big can in it and it over pressurizes the system and blows the o-rings out and then you piss all your refrigerant into the air vents and into your cab.
Using jumper wires across relays or whatever to try to get the compressor to kick on, is only going to fry the compressor if you are low on refrigerant or out of refrigerant. The refrigerant has special oils in it that lubricate the compressor and if you are low on refrigerant or out, turning the compressor on somehow can and likely will overheat the rotors in the compressor quickly."

 

Yes I have and I’m good on refrigerator that’s why I’m here but I couldn’t even jump it through the fuse to turn the compressor on so that’s why I was asking about the relay readings

 

You have checked refrigerant with A/C specific gauges? Both high and low side?

 

Yes I have but there the same pressure anyways because the AC won’t turn on

 

Given all the other crazy previous-owner spaghetti wiring we've seen in your truck from other posts, have you ruled out the previous owner hasn't done any hackery?

But beyond that, you mention pressures. You haven't already added refrigerant, without the A/C running right? You can generally fuck up more than you fix adding refrigerant into a system that doesn't need it, overfilling the refrigerant.

When measuring with the gauges, you're factoring in the ambient (outside air) temperature, right? The pressures to expect when the outside temp is 65°F are almost half what they should be when it's versus when it's 95°F outside.

The tl;dr on this is: If you don't understand the basics of automotive A/C, you absolutely shouldn't be fucking with it, you can turn a $150 problem/fix into a $1,500 problem/fix. I'd love to gauge how much you actually know before giving advice here.

This video gives a pretty solid overall understanding (generic) of automotive A/C:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAJv4U1JeRA

 

Yes I factored in the outside temperature it was around 120 with it being 95 drgreees outside so enough to kick it on but so with that I didn’t add any more refrigrent and I couldn’t see any more signs of hacked wires besides the AC bypass which only hacked into the cigarette lighter… I’m no expert on A/C but I try to research as much as I can before I try things and if I can’t figure it out I come here

 

Got it. Ok, well, jump to the 11min mark of the video. Before you slapped the gauges on, you did vacuum out the lines to clear them, and did the process as shown, right?

 

Semi important to note for those finding your thread in a search. There is no AC relay as Toyota chose to call it the Heater Relay. With that said, if your blower motor is working, which I'll assume it is, then your Heater relay is energizing and no need to troubleshoot that any further.

If the rpm's indeed rise when pushing dash AC button, then the "car idles a little higher" is an indication the A/C magnetic clutch is engaging.

The blinking AC light is Toyota saying you have an issue, possibly with compressor, low of freon, etc.... In most cases, AC work for our 1st Gens are best left to those qualified especially if one has trouble testing a relay.

From 2001 EWD....

 

And to @BubbaW's point on this, the problem can be as simple as, someone fucked up and failed to reinstall, or used the wrong length of screw on this specific ground, which is something we've helped several people fix after someone worked on their truck. This specific screw labeled "TIGHT" needs to be holding the the (pictured) electrical wire and the entire plate labeled " very LOOSE" down tightly, so much that they cannot move, or the A/C won't work, and the light will blink. EDIT: I would reiterate, look closely, and see that hoop electrical connector that the screw is holding down? That's a ground, if it's missing, and/or not firmly tightened down, the A/C won't work. Sometimes people reinstall the wrong screw, and what you're seeing is the end result:

​

 

Unfortunately it’s not that plate I just checked it but it wasn’t the original bolt…but when checking my refrigrent levels I didn’t vacuum it… that’s my bad

 

That bolt is tight, though? And it's locking that grounding ring I'm outlining in blue down, tight? And the gray connector is cool?

​

 

Yes I think so mines underneath the plate… is it worth a try to take it off and make sure everything’s clean underneath there?

 

It should look exactly as you see in that picture.

 

Whoever did it put the metal o ring underneath the bigger metal peice

 

I would set it up exactly as you see in that picture, as it came from the factory.

 

Put I back to normal and it didn’t help anything

 

I would follow that video from the start then, if you insist on trying to diagnose on your own, and verify power, verify if clutch will engage or be forcibly engaged, etc.