Ok my son is home for a few days with his Hybrid. I rode with him yesterday and it seemed the a/c was not very cool in town but cooled much better at higher speeds. He is happy with it but I want to make sure it is cooling the battery pack sufficiently.
Today, ambient air 92 degrees F.
Low side reads 70psi
High side reads 160 psi both at idle.
revving to 1800rpm brings low down to 55 or 60. high rises to about 175.

to me, low id about 20 or so psi too high.
high side seems a bit low so not overcharged.

ICE is on and compressor is running.

I heard somewhere that the scroll valve on these tends to gum up; anyone know if the above are symptoms of bad scroll valve

 

I can't say for certain, but the spread is too narrow. Normally, I would attribute that to a weak compressor. I've recently seen what appears to be exactly the same issue on a 2009. Not my car, so I didn't attempt resolution; however, doing some research just now seems to confirm the scroll valve being the issue.

https://www.greenhybrid.com/forums/f...tml#post248885

The FEH is aggressively protective of its battery. It nearly disables it above 100°F and goes into full, "let's cool this ***** down" mode at that point while using the HV battery for little more than starting the engine. If the A/C is at least semi-functional, and the blend door and battery fans are working properly, then cooling shouldn't be an issue.

If you're really worried about it, you can get the rear evap temp lower to protect the battery by NOT running the passenger compartment A/C at all. The car will still cycle the compressor on and off to keep the rear evap chilled. I just confirmed this on the car mention above. Forscan reported rear evap temp at 79°F with full front and rear A/C on. With passenger A/C off, rear evap dropped to 58°F.

 

The problem is the control valve in the a/c compressor. This is the kit available on Amazon for 10 dollars. It is easy to do with the compressor on the car. Look for a black plate with 2 bolts holding it on on the back of the compressor. You have to discharge the refrigerant before removing the plate. I had the same problem on my 09 escape and after I changed the valve and spring which took less than 5 minutes evacuated and recharged the system, the A/C is still ice cold 5 years and 150,000 miles later. Also a link to a video explaining the problem. Good Luck on your repair.

 

Thanks. I plan to evacuate and replace the valve then weigh in a new charge next time he is in town. Did you replace the orifice tube at the same time or just the control scroll valve and spring?

 

I replaced just the spring, valve and the little filter with the green o ring that came with the kit that is accessible when you have the plate off. My compressor valve was fairly clean and did cool well at higher speeds so I did not replace the front expansion valve or the rear expansion valve. Good Luck.

 

I have an 08FEH that we just had the transmission replaced in. The AC was working before hand. The AC is not working now. The low side shows 90 psi and the fans come on but the compressor is not engaging. When I scanned it with a snap on gauge it said that the AC compressor was not allowed at this time. That’s even with. The AC button turned on. Any ideas?