air keeps cutting out

[mgalea]

my air conditioning will be operating as normal, nice and cold then stop cooling for no reason. just gradually warming air. the fan/AC button is depressed and illuminated. after a few minutes it kicks in again and resumes cooling. i've stopped on the side of road when it happens and got under the hood to discover that the compressor is disengauged while this is happening. I know there's a system in place to cut the air when the engine is stressed or overheating. I'm thinking this switch is the culprit.

has anyone come across this problem?

 

[Robert]

It sounds like what I had happen to an '82 Toyota I used to own. Mine usually showed up on long desert drives in the summer. After about 30-40 miles into a trip my cold air would get warmer and warmer until I ended up opening the windows. I think it was the condensor building up ice on it which I think means the freon was low. I bought a do-it-yourself kit and recharged it. I didn't have problems any more. The first thing I would check is the refridgerant level.