1996 Volvo 850 Turbo with A/C problem

Can you see whether the compressor clutch is kicking in? It could simply be low on refrigerant, you may want to take it to an AC shop, definitely don't go to the dealer, the car is too old for that to make sense, they're only really good for fairly new cars that are under warranty.

Start by checking if the compressor goes on and off for real or it only feels like it, easy to see by looking at it. If you have problems when its real hot i would guess it could be the clutch distance thats to big. You can measure the distance between the clutch and the wheel with a feeler gauge.

Greetings Niels

"Niels Bengaard" skrev i en meddelelse news:f4u64e$25od$ snipped-for-privacy@newsbin.cybercity.dk...

When you say check if the compressor goes on and off, do you mean it should go on and off in a cycle or should it stay on as long as the A/C is turned on ?

-- Brian Sørup Volvo V70 2,5T Aut.

I mean check whether the clutch engage when it feels like it or it fails because of to big clutch distance. Normal operation is it cycles on and off.

Greetings Niels

"Niels Bengaard" skrev i en meddelelse news:f5307i$1kbb$ snipped-for-privacy@newsbin.cybercity.dk...

thanks, then my clutch is OK - but I think I need my A/C serviced since the air coming from the ducts doesn't feel very cold.

-- Brian Sørup Volvo V70 2,5T Aut.

That sounds right to me - some leakage is normal over ten years.

I've learned not to mess with R134a myself and only recently learned why it has kicked my butt in previous attempts. I always recommend professionals for that.

Mike

Well I am taking my car to a mechanic tomorrow. He doesn't specialize in Volovos but I am hoping he has enough experience to troubleshoot and fix the problem.

I don't know how to check the clutch. I know that when I first get in the car the air blows cold. Then it seems like when I change the fan speed it occasionally stops cold air from blowing. The vent still blows air but it isn't cold. Then if I turn the a/c on and off I can hear the compressor going on and off but the air doesn't get cold. But if I turn the a/c off from around 5 mins. and then back on the air will get cold again MOST of the time.

Before the air never seemed to get cold so I had a guy put some freon in the car. Then it got colder as he was adding it. But I recall him saying something about my compressor may be going bad because I guess the guage on his device wouldn't go up to a certain number. He didn't check the car for leaks. But the air was cold and as I drove 10 mins from his shop the air wasn't cold anymore.

I can't imagine why a tech would add refrigerant to a system and not bother to check for leaks. It sounds like either the compressor has failed, or the refrigerant has leaked out again. Once it starts leaking it usually leaks pretty fast.

I agree about the technique - not up to even minimal standards for charging R134a. My son's system took me to school last year and I decided the stories were true: R134a systems should be charged only by completely evacuating, leak checking (verifying the system holds the vacuum) and filling with the prescribed charge of R134a.

The whole story can be found at

and the details of what it takes to charge by guage are in this part of the site . Apparently the environmental wind tunnel can be replaced by a whopping fan pointed at the condensor and allowing more time for the system to settle out... looks like about 15 minutes per ounce added. The time element - several hours of settling in the course of any meaningful recharge - makes the weight method the only practical method. Mike

Ok I took my car to a mechanic and he said he hooked it up to the computer and the computer told him to clean the asperators. He said that it was clogged. And he charged me $90 to clean it out and reset the computer. He said there were no other error codes coming up. Well the a/c worked all that day. Then two days later I was driving with the a/c on and around 30 minutes into my trip I changed the fan speed from AUTO to a lower speed and the air was no longer cold. I told the a/c on and off; changed the fan speed back to AUTO but no go. Then when I got in the car later the a/c began to work fine. I drove for an hour and changed the fan speed and the air stayed cold the entire time.

damn this is driving me nuts. Now I am out of $90 - not to mention the other money I spent for the guy to add freon. The freon doesn't seem to be leaking because I had it added over two months ago and it still gets cold when the ac is on.

Barry 'baz' mentioned the notoriously troublesome over-temperature switch on the compressor of early 850s... I think yours qualifies. The ultimate solution is to bypass the offending switch - somebody here must have a link to a pictorial. The switch was supposed to be protective but in reality it was only a nuisance.

Mike

If someone has a link to a pictorial on how to bypass this thing, please let me know.

Thanks everyone for all of your help. May this be the last used car that I will ever buy.

Here's a brief description

89111I can't find any pictures, but it apparently isn't as hard to find as it is to get to.

Mike

Mike thanks...

I found more detailed info with a photo here:

Now that I feel pretty confident about what is causing the problem, I will let someone fix the clutch gap and maybe cut the wire. I have a very good Volvo mechanic here but he charges $85 an hour. Damn I wish I was earning that much an hour then I could afford to hire him. I am going to post a message on the board to try and find someone who is more affordable.

Just want to let you guys know that I appreciate all of your help and your research! This site is awesome!!

David

Well, I just went out and connected the white connector to the brown (or was it black) connector and the a/c came on so that is a good thing. Now I just have to wait for another very hot day to turn the a/ c on and run it all day to see if the problem has been resolved. :)

David