Expert: Candido Figueroa - 9/14/2009

Question
The air conditioner stopped cooling suddenly on my 1989 Toyota Cressida (ice cold one day and hot the next). I took it to a repair shop and was told that the fan relay failed, they showed me the part which looked corroded. I was told that because of this the compressor was ruined and the refrigerant emptied. They recommended that I buy a different car because of the expense of replacing/repairing the a/c system. Could a bad relay cause this much damage to the system? Should I try replacing the relay to see if it fixes the problem?

Answer
Hi Linda

It may be that your relay is bad but if you do not have refrigerant your system will not cool.  Have the system checked out by someone else and do not tell them what you already know.  Compare note and see what happens.  Good Luck and let me know