SteveThackery

I'm in touch with Toyotek at Lincoln, who specialise in Toyota and Lexus, and have explained the situation to them.  Hopefully they'll be getting back to me later today with a rough estimate of cost.

I'll let you know what they say.

14 hours ago, steve2006 said:

We are just so ripped off in the UK!

https://www.buyautoparts.com/buynow/60-02184_NA?dest=oem&refno=OEM Number 88310-50152&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-NjOhIXy2wIVi7TtCh35JwYWEAAYASAAEgKgnvD_BwE

If you could find a local AC specialist they may be able to replace just the magnetic clutch, I take it that the system is holding pressure?

 

Thanks.  Yes, when I had it regassed they told me it is holding its pressure fine.  They normally charge £75 to regas, and another £20 for the anti-fungal treatment.  As it didn't work they told me they wouldn't charge anything for the regas, just the £20, which I thought was very reasonable of them.

19 hours ago, JamesIS220 said:

Your AC may have a big leak hence compressor not running as pressure switch stops compressor from running when gas low.

Thanks for this suggestion.  In fact the people who regassed it checked it for leaks and said it is fine.  

44 minutes ago, cornershop said:

I don't believe 2004 is facelift, i think that came in 2005/6 ?

I think mine must be the facelift model - it has the six speed box, reversing camera, bird's eye trim and swivelling headlamps, which Wikipedia tells me makes it the facelift model.  However, I'm no expert!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS#Third_generation_(XF30;_2000-2006)

Hey, guys, thank you so much for your replies!

RockAuto looks like a brilliant source for reasonably priced parts, and I'm going to study Pete's thread in detail.  I'm already feeling more optimistic about sorting this out myself.

Colleagues!

This is my first post, and may be a daft question, so please bear with me.  

I have a 2004 LS 430, which I believe is the facelift model.

The air conditioning doesn't work, and - after having it re-gassed and doing some investigation - I'm almost certain it is a problem with the compressor, or more precisely with the clutch on the compressor. 

I identified the two wires which go from the aircon amplifier to the clutch solenoid on the compressor (pink with silver, yellow with black).  I cut the wires and was able to confirm that the aircon electronics box is switching 13.8V to the solenoid wires - and switching it off again - when I operate the controls on the console, so I think the system is working fine up until that point.

With the engine stopped I then connected the two solenoid wires to a 12V Battery and could hear a faint click from the compressor.  However, my gut instinct is that the click doesn't seem as loud as I would expect if the clutch were operating correctly.  It sounds as if it is trying, but perhaps sticking?

I then ran the engine at idle, and again connected the solenoid wires to a Battery - there was no change at all in engine note, so I'm almost certain the clutch isn't working.

A call to the Lexus dealer in Nottingham gave me a shock - they quoted £2185 +VAT for a replacement pump, with fitting on top of that!!  It's out of the question.

• What would you folks recommend? 
   
• How feasible is it to remove the compressor myself and at least investigate the problem to see if it's fixable?
   
• Is there a Lexus specialist in the East Midlands who you recommend could sort it out?
   
• Is it possible to investigate the clutch and solenoid while the compressor is in situ?
   
• Is it feasible to get a second hand compressor without buying a pup?

Bearing in mind the current heatwave, your thoughts, advice, mocking laughter or anything else are all most welcome!

Many thanks,
Steve