A/C problems...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rob Guenther
  • Start date Start date
R

Rob Guenther

Well, today was the first hot day in Toronto.... and sure enough the air-con
in the 1993 960 didn't work.

It blew slightly chilled air thru the vents, but never "ice cold air"...
which I know this car is capable of. The clutch on the compressor was
kicking on and off, and there was some noises from the unit for the first
little bit.

Do you think it's a compressor problem, or do you think it just needs more
R-134? This seems to happen every year or so to us.... Leak stop UV dye
every year for the past 4 years... works for the whole summer, come again
the next year and nadda.
 
Rob Guenther said:
Well, today was the first hot day in Toronto.... and sure enough the air-con
in the 1993 960 didn't work.
Click to expand...

You won't know what the problem is for sure unless you test it or get it
tested.

I have a 134 refill kit that includes a pressure gauge and directions, kinda
nice way to know how much I'm putting in there. Maybe you can find
something similar at an auto parts store, that's where I found mine. If
yours is low on freon, which is easy to quick fix, it may work while driving
at speed (lots of air cooling the condensor) but not in stop and go traffic.
This is what mine does when it gets low every couple of years, because it is
either overheating or overpressurizing and switching itself off.

Then again, maybe you have a completely different problem than topping it
up, although that is my bet.

By the way, do you run the a/c ever in the winter time (ie, with windshield
defog)? Running at at least once a week or so the year round helps the
seals last longer because they don't dry out.
 
If the system is low on freon, then the compressor will kick on and off
frequently due to low pressure. In 4 years though I would have thought that
they would have found the leak by now. But it appears to have a slow leak,
since it at least lasts throughout the summer, and probably longer.

Of course it could be other things too.

Im just suprised that it is capable of blowing cold air at all, because I
had a 1993 940 wagon and it SUCKED as far as the AC was concerned, would
work great as long as I was moving, but come to a stoplight on a hot day and
it would just get misreable in the car, very humid, but my 94 850 stays ice
cold all the time even in 110f weather.

Anyway, I would take it in and have the vacumn it down and see just how much
freon is left, most shops in my area charge $39.00 for this service, and if
they suck out 1 lb of freon, then they only charge me for whatever else I
need in regards to additional freon. For example, I believe my 850 hold
1.6lbs, so if they suck out 1lb, they only charge me for the additional .6lb
of freon plus of course the $39.00 to do the job in the first place.

I just had my 850's compressor replaced, along with the dryer and some other
pencil filter, total cost me $500.00, but my AC worked for the most part,
but was initially low on freon, but made noises, so I went ahead and had it
replaced before it siezed up and snapped the serpentine belt. Of course
after I had the compressor replaced, the compressor relay went out
(literally within 10 minutes, so had to get one of those from Volvo for an
additional 25.00)

Goodluck,
 
I took the car in today... It's the evaporator. They think the walls of it
have become permeable to the R-134 and that it's slowly escaping. The
technician said the rest of the system is sealed up nice and tight, and that
it can hold a vacuum without a problem.

The evaporator is a nearly $1000 job, so he said save for it for a year,
then come back next spring - sounds like a plan to me.
 
With the price of 134 being less than $3 a lb. you can recharge that sucker
quite a few times for $1000. Only takes a few minutes then you are cool
again.But $600 would be more like it even at a dealer. The job only pays 3
hours plus 1 hour for the evac and recharge plus the evaporator.
 
Yah, my dealer tech said he can't legally keep topping me up when there is a
known problem (even tho its R134). He said the evap will keep getting worse.

$1000 (he said less then 1000, but towards the upper end of the 0-1000
dollar scale) isn't too bad in my opinion, its 2 months of car payments...
Otherwise the 960 runs perfectly, so why not keep it that way ;-).

He also said to be thankfull I don't have an 850, he said he remembers
summers where each bay was filled with an 850 getting its A/C system fixed,
then claimed the 960 had the best A/C layout and trouble free operation of
all the older models.
 
Rob Guenther said:
Yah, my dealer tech said he can't legally keep topping me up when there is a
known problem (even tho its R134). He said the evap will keep getting worse.
Click to expand...

R134a is also considered to be an undesirable ozone-depleting chemical.

IIRC, its damaging effects were only something like 0.2% as bad as R12,
but it will also eventually be banned completely.

There is currently a shift towards using a refrigerator style electric
motor driven compressor for automotive A/C, which allows the complete
elimination of flexible hoses (which are _always_ permeable enough to
allow minute quantities of refrigerant to escape). These systems will
have nominally zero refrigerant loss, and will probably be allowed to
continue using R134a longer than any engine-driven compressor systems
that (by necessity) use flexible hoses.
 
All 850s have a defective A/C system. Volvo found out about it much
later and decided not to do a recall. Let customers pay instead.
Same if not worst policy presently used by Ford. e.g., when an indep
research group found that '99 and '00 S80 had front air bags that
deploy in a 5MPH frontal collision, Volvo first said it was false.
Then did their own tests and discovered it was true.

They implemented a fix for the remaining of the 2000MY but never did
any recall for previously produced S80. Volvo for life???????
 
All 850s have a defective A/C system. Volvo found out about it much
later and decided not to do a recall. Let customers pay instead.
Click to expand...

In what way? I'm not asking argumentatively but curiousity.

I've had my A/C overhauled once and am interested to know why it's
inherently defective.

David.
 
Sorry, but memory is not what it used to be. This info, I got it from
a friend who was working at Volvo HQ at the time. It was confirmed by
another acquaintance who owns and operates an indep garage
specializing in European cars.

I would like to help you, but I totally forgot the details. Add to
that the fact that the 850 is the only model I've never owned and I
guess you can understand me better.

This is nothing new. For example, the moonroof of the 1997 960/S90
has a major problem where the seal around the transparent panel will
detach and cause more than a $1,000 in repair (at your expense -
unless you have an extended warranty and are lucky as it is not
covered by the ext. warranty - the problem usually shows up after the
initial 4 yr is over). Volvo found out about the problem in time and
fixed it for the last model year, 1998. This time, they even
documented the problem.
 
Sorry, but memory is not what it used to be.
Click to expand...

Put otherwise - hearsay.
This info, I got it from
a friend who was working at Volvo HQ at the time. It was confirmed by
another acquaintance who owns and operates an indep garage
specializing in European cars.
Click to expand...

Funny that you can remember who you heard your "info" from, but not
what the information was.
I would like to help you, but I totally forgot the details.
Click to expand...

Could it be that there is no inherent defect in the 850 A/C relative
to any other R134a Volvo A/C system? We have an 850 and an S70, both
of which still have the original evaporators - no A/C problems. I had
an evaporator replaced on a 760. That doesn't mean that all 760s have
bad A/C systems, or all 850s have good A/C systems. Anecdotal stories
are anecdotal for a reason.
 
If you would be working at 2 jobs like I do and have little time to
sleep instead of sitting on your ass all evening and weekend long,
then maybe you could offer a reply that would be more intelligent.
 
If you would be working at 2 jobs like I do and have little time to
sleep instead of sitting on your ass all evening and weekend long,
then maybe you could offer a reply that would be more intelligent.
Click to expand...

You have no idea what I do or don't or how much I work. The sum of it
is that you had no evidence to back your claim that there were inherent
defects to the A/C systems in Volvo 850s. You couldn't prove that, so
you chose to attack me. That's okay -- I've seen that tack used by plenty
of morons before.

Beverly
 
I don't NEED to provide you with any evidence whatsoever. Who the
hell you think you are?

I know what I'm talking about, you don't. Shut up Bev.

And to answer the original poster, the weakness lies in the
evaporator.
 
I don't NEED to provide you with any evidence whatsoever. Who the
hell you think you are?
Click to expand...

Just as I thought. Someone who cannot backup his claim.
And to answer the original poster, the weakness lies in the
evaporator.
Click to expand...

No better or worse than any other Volvo evaporator.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top