A/C compressor cyles every 10 seconds

The compressor on my 2015 Tundra cyles every 10 seconds; although it's blowing cold. Does anyone else have this situation or is it normal for this truck? Usually means too little or too much freon but it has a full charge since I just had the condenser replaced because of a leak. I'm wondering if this is normal or possiblly the cycle switch; although my scan tool doesn't show an issue with it. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

faulty thermostat

 

I don't know if this is the same issue.
Mine cuts out at odd intervals, but it does blow warm air when it does it.
It will go days or weeks without happening, then it will do it 20 times in one day.
The dealership can't duplicate the issue..

AC cuts out (blows warm air) for a few seconds sometimes. | Toyota Tundra Forum (tundras.com)

Could that be my issue as well?

 

Normal for the AC to cycle on and off. What that interval normally is I’m not sure. I would guess at idle with the AC blowing full blast mine cycles around every 10-20 seconds.

 

Look for oil around the new condenser connections

 

Hey guys, I'm not sure why I wasn't notified of any replys concerning my post/problem, so I'm just now seeing them. Shouldn't I have received an e-mail letting me know? I'm sure it's my fault but I just don't know what I did or didn't do? Anyway, any advice with my problem would be greatly appreciated, so this is my updated and detailed issue. In December 2021, I hit a vehicle (I was traveling at only about 5-10 MPH faster than the other vehicle, so it wasn't a very hard impact) who stopped faster than I was able to because I was pulling my boat. I had my 2015 Tundra repaired in January 2022 (during our mild winter in south Louisiana). Around June 2022 (during Louisiana's hot and humid summers with temps in the mid 90°), I noticed my a/c wasn't cooling as well as normal. By August, it was getting worse but still cooling with the vent temperature in the upper 40°F range, so I added about 6-8 ounces of referigerant but couldn't find the leak. Before doing anymore since it was cooling better and remembering it was still under a 8 year extended warranty, I brought it to the dealership. They informed me that it was leaking at a seam on the condenser but it wasn't covered by the warranty because of the accident, so I brought it back to the body shop. They replaced the condenser (paid for by my insurance) and assured me it wasn't leaking anywhere else since it held a vacuum for well over an hour. From the time I added refrigerant, I noticed that the compressor was short cycling (on for 8 seconds and off for 8 seconds) and this continued after replacing the condenser, so I brought it back to the dealership. They claimed it was still leaking from the high pressure line connection at the condenser. He even went as far as to say that it was leaking so badly, "we smelled refrigerant as soon as we opened the hood." I became suspicious immediately because I had been monitoring the vent temps with a digital type K thermometer and there was no significate change over more than a week period. So I recovered the freon which weighed within a couple of ounces of specs, pulled a vacuum, then let it sit over night (14 hours) and the needle didn't move, so I went back to the dealership. I left my truck there only to get it back two days later with a new compressor covered by the warranty but before I drove off, I checked the cycling of the compressor and it was acting exactly as it was before (on 8 second, off 8 seconds). Because it was a chilly day, I said nothing but we have had days with temps in the upper 70° since and it continues it's short cycling. I plan on bringing it back soon but with either their incompetence or unwillingness, I would like to return armed with information so I can demand they check specific things. When I checked it out using my scan tool, I noticed that the compressor would turn off when the thermistor would report 35°F to the ECU to prevent the evaporator from freezing up, then the compressor clutch would re-engage when the thermistor would read about 45°F (which took only 8 seconds). I was wondering if this could be an issue with the TXV or possiblly with the A/C amplifier (which I have no experience with). I apologize for the extremely long description of my issue but I just wanted everything covered as I realize that with more information, it may be easier to diagnois. I appreciate any advice, thoughts and/or suggestions. Thanks in advance and have a great day!

 

I noticed a few suggestions by "!Marauder" and others was the thermostat. Are you referring to a thermostat for the cabin temp or is the thermostat and thermistor on the evaporator the same thing?

 

please update what you have done. Thank you

 

Actually, I haven't done anything except monitor the situation. My plan is to do so until just before my warranty expires in July, so I will be acting on it soon. The a/c is not leaking freon and is cooling to about 44° at the vent, which is comfotable. My biggest concern is that the service manager at the local Toyota dealership told me that it shouldn't cycle every 8 seconds and I can set my watch to 8 second intervals. Also, it makes me suspicious when another service manager at the same place (I thought there was only 1 manager per dealership but they tell me he is the son of one of the bigshots there) told me it was leaking so bad that they could smell freon as soon as they opened the hood, which was an outright lie. I drew the system down that same evening, pulled a vacuum to 0 pressure (absolute), closed my manifold guage valves and let it sit. Forteen hours later, the needle had not moved at all and was still on -14.7 psi (I live in south Louisiana, less than 100 miles from the Gulf Coast), so that confirmed no one smelled freon nor did I have a freon leak. My only real concern is should the compressor cycle so often. The dealership says no but they can't seem to do anything about it. I haven't spoke to them in months but I will soon. I'll be sure to let you'll know what takes place during that visit. I would appreciate it if anyone with a 2015 (or even 2013 -2018) Tundra to take a look at the compressor and let me know the cycle times, so I'll know if mine is working like everyone elses or not. I'll have that information for when I return to the dearlership. Thanks to all you guys who help people like me and for your concern. I just hope I can return the favor one day soon...

 

Thank you for the updating!!!

My tundra 2018 with manual ac controller happened same problem with compressor kicking on and off within 8 to 15 seconds and caused to burn the compressor.

I replaced new compressor, clutch , relay, and checked pressure switch ok, but still couldn’t solve the problem.

But I notice that when i turn the blower fan to max speed, the ac compressor runs normal without kicking on/off within 8-15sec

please check yours and let me know as soon as you can.
Thank you

 

Plus already checked the ambient temperature sensor working fine and replaced new cabin air filter .
Only evaporator temp sensor has not been checked.

 

Seems that I've done much of the same as you. The dealership finally replaced my compressor after I threatened them with a law suit since they claimed it was the problem and I had a valid extended warranty. I checked sensors, pressure switch and the thermistor on the evaporator. I did these checks with my bi-directional scan tool and I noticed that when the thermistor would report a temp near freezing, the compressor would kick off, then as it would warm up, the compressor would engage. That seemed resonable except for the fact it did it every 8 seconds. So (drum roll please), I just went outside and tried what you asked. With the blower on any setting other than max, I still get 8 seconds on, 8 seconds off but on max, I watched it spin for more than 2 minutes before turning it off myself. I'm leaving on a fishing trip in just a little while but when I return, I want to do the same thing while my scan tool is connected to see if the thermistor on the evaporator is still reporting the same temps, which would freeze the system. I also plan on bringing it to the dealership with this new information. I would like to get some feed back from some others on this forum concerning the operation of the compressor on their trucks for comparison. I'll let you know what I find when my scan tool is connected as well as what the dealership has to say but that may not be until a week or so. I would appreciate it if you let me know of any other information you learn. Thanks for the new information and good luck. Hope to speak more about this issue soon.

 

I beginning to think it's something to do with that A/C amplifier; just another thing to have problems with. My truck is under warranty, so they can change everything that remotely affects the A/C until they get it right.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/failed-ac-amplifier.81064/