240 air conditioner problem

Unless it has already been converted, the car has the old R-12. Conversion is not terribly difficult though, might even work out to less than replacing the old O-rings and having it charged with expensive R-12.

First thing to do is wire brush the fuse holders and check the ends of the fuses for oxidation. That fuse box is one of the worst parts of the otherwise solid 240 design.

I would agree with this response. For years I replaced all the fuses on my 240s with GBC fuses of the proper amperage. These are glass bodied and have good (chromed?) ends. They never exhibit the corrosion factor of the OEM ceramic fuses. I recently had an occasion to find, however, that it's not always obvious when they've blown.

Hi Joseph,

That advice re the 240 fuses is well worth considering. I've had no further corrosion problems with fuses since wire-brushing the fuse holders and replacing all the original ceramic fuses with *ceramic* types with

*brass\copper* ends. This permits copper to copper contact thus eliminating the galvanic action between the original dissimilar metals. (At least that's my theory...........) Also it still permits easy checking for blown fuses. Our local Volvo dealer doesn't stock them. I had to get them from a VW supply house, sad to say.

Finally a coating of dielectric grease on both the ends of the fuses and the fuseholder contacts completes the job, unless you also want to ensure better contact by judicious bending of the fuseholders.

Good Luck. Andy I. ('58 445 wagon; '65 122S wagon; '67 121; '74 142; '74 145 wagon; '86 245 wagon; '93 244 Classic wagon.)

: >

: >Unless it has already been converted, the car has the old R-12. Conversion : >is not terribly difficult though, might even work out to less than replacing : >the old O-rings and having it charged with expensive R-12. : >

: >First thing to do is wire brush the fuse holders and check the ends of the : >fuses for oxidation. That fuse box is one of the worst parts of the : >otherwise solid 240 design. : >

: I would agree with this response. For years I replaced all the fuses : on my 240s with GBC fuses of the proper amperage. These are glass : bodied and have good (chromed?) ends. They never exhibit the corrosion : factor of the OEM ceramic fuses. I recently had an occasion to find, : however, that it's not always obvious when they've blown. :

HELLO, I checked the fuses (#3-heater fan and #12-air conditioner) and both check out fine. The #3 only seems to control the heater fan. The #12 fuse besides controlling the air unit, also controls the seat belt reminder and the seat belt reminder does ring, so that fuse is working fine. Is there a relay box or another fuse box where the heater fan/air fan and/or the air conditioner unit might be having a problem. I followed the wiring from the R-132 unit and it continues around near the battery then "seems" to continue to some fan that sits in front of the radiator (I have never seen this fan before, what is it? Why do I have two fans at the radiator?) Another thing.... the air conditioner switch (snow flake/blue) does not light up either..... PLEASE HELP, IT IS IN THE 90'S HERE IN NEW MEXICO.... Thanks, Joseph

HELLO, I checked the fuses (#3-heater fan and #12-air conditioner) and both check out fine. The #3 only seems to control the heater fan. The #12 fuse besides controlling the air unit, also controls the seat belt reminder and the seat belt reminder does ring, so that fuse is working fine. Is there a relay box or another fuse box where the heater fan/air fan and/or the air conditioner unit might be having a problem. I followed the wiring from the R-132 unit and it continues around near the battery then "seems" to continue to some fan that sits in front of the radiator (I have never seen this fan before, what is it? Why do I have two fans at the radiator?) Another thing.... the air conditioner switch (snow flake/blue) does not light up either..... PLEASE HELP, IT IS IN THE 90'S HERE IN NEW MEXICO.... Thanks, Joseph

HELLO, I checked the fuses (#3-heater fan and #12-air conditioner) and both check out fine. The #3 only seems to control the heater fan. The #12 fuse besides controlling the air unit, also controls the seat belt reminder and the seat belt reminder does ring, so that fuse is working fine. Is there a relay box or another fuse box where the heater fan/air fan and/or the air conditioner unit might be having a problem. I followed the wiring from the R-132 unit and it continues around near the battery then "seems" to continue to some fan that sits in front of the radiator (I have never seen this fan before, what is it? Why do I have two fans at the radiator?) Another thing.... the air conditioner switch (snow flake/blue) does not light up either..... PLEASE HELP, IT IS IN THE 90'S HERE IN NEW MEXICO.... Thanks, Joseph

Did the fan motor make noise for a while before dying? One of the things that does go wrong with 240s is the fan motor; they are famously hard to get to to replace. Do some googling to see. I dont' have a light-up air conditioner blue button on my 240, though, just a twisty knob with no lights at all.

In the Olden Dayes... (maybe not quite as Olde in Europe?), you used to be able to buy dirt cheap packages of 5 or 10 of the metal fuse link from those damn ceramic fuses, of a certain amperage, so you could replace just the burned out link and fix the actual fuse, instead of spending all that money for a new fuse. Sadly, we don't seem to be able to achieve that vast savings any more, unless somebody knows somebody who still stocks the metal strips, so that makes forcing us to live with those things even more cruel.

Um, most US auto parts stores carry or can get GBC fuses (sorry, I forget who makes them but they're glass bodied with shiny metal ends).

I have replaced every fuse on every 240 I ever owned (a fair number counting the kids' cars) and have had next to no fuse problems until recently when a brake light fuse blew on my '93 and looked like it was fine. Once replaced, all was well.

Wish I could remember who makes the fuses, they come in a yellow (used to be metal) box with about six fuses of the indicated amperage.

Sorry to see IPD doesn't carry them.

Chuck Fiedler Nothing but Volvo since 1974

Buss is the name I recall seeing on the yellow boxes.

I bought it and the fan and air were not working. Thanks for the help. Joseph

Because, when the wrong fuse blows in your 240, you have to take the.......