As I've mentioned before my AC dosen't blow cold. It's blows, just not cold air. Sometimes while driving, I turn on the ac just to see if maybe it might be miraculously working. Needless to say, I get disappointed.
Now, I've read through as many threads from from as many sites I can find. I have one question. If I can hear my compressor clicking/cycling every 5-15 seconds, whatever it is, is it safe to say that the compressor is ok and dosen't need to be replaced?

 

I would say , "Yes."

Have the refrigerant checked.

 

Low on freon.

 

So recharge on valve behind right passenger light? which is low side? it's 1998 v70

 

Yes

 

Yes your car doesn't have a high pressure port.

 

Ok, so today I bought 2 bottles and refilled it. Couldn't really get a good/accurate reading on the gauge to see if I was really low. Probably user error. Either way I was determined to put some in. [:@] So I did and just wanted to note an interesting thing I saw. I actually saw the compressor, (how do I say this) move a bit out where the pulley is that is consistent with the clicking sound. What is that? is that normal?

Anyway, now the compressor dosen't click, which I think means full. The gauge reads around 50psi. The a/c blowing cold for now. I put in 2 cans.

 

Did the same thing to mine and it blew cold for about a week. I am having the evaporator replaced right now for a cost of $1200. The fact that it's blowing cold and not clicking any more is telling you that you have a leak, but all components are working. I can't believe Volvo is not doing something about these evaporators going bad on almost every one of the 850 style cars.

 

See How long it blows cold for and then take it from there.

Jim you broke down and had it done?

Atleast you will have good A/C now.
Be sure to inspect your dash good when you get it back.

 

Does the ac have to be in use for it to leak or will it still leak if ac is off? Maybe depends what kind and where leak is huh?
What about those leak sealants? Come to think of it, the refrigerant I put in said it contains some kind of leak sealant.

 

If there is a leak it will leak no matter what.

I really wouldn't use a sealer on it. They usually clog up things that shouldn't be glogged.

 

I am getting it done becaue I have basically quit driving the car becaus the AC doesn't work. I have three cars and two drivers. One does not have AC and it's been hot. Guess which one sits at home? I like driving that car too much to let it sit there. So I decided to bite the bullet and have it done. I really trust this guy when it comes to AC. He's also replacing the Contact Reel which he said was bad. So maybe that will take care of mey SRS light being on.

He bought the evaporator and said it would not hold pressure so he took it back and is waiting for a new one. Said there was just something about the one they gave him, it was out of the box, that just didn't look right. He always pressure tests them before installing and it would not hold pressure. Said I should have it back Tuesday or Wednesday.

He is a good mechanic, but really dislikes Volvos, but he worked on three of them this past weekend. Said they are too expensive to repair and things go wrong that should not go bad. He's a Honda and Toyota guy along with GM.

 

Well that's one of the good things about having the dealer perform the repairs. They are good forever and so if the evap. fails, who cares?? Over the years I have found that one gets what one pays for.............go with the least expensive and that is what you end up with............
R.

 

Even if one brings to a Volvo dealer for repairs it's really a hit or miss thing to me. I know they are supposed to all trained mechanics by Volvo and all that but you just might get a guy that didn't do so well when it came to AC training or any other area for that matter. Sometimes I wonder if an AC repair shop will do a better job. I'm not trying to put down dealership techs because I know they have the tools and equipment for the job as well as the ins and out that only a Volvo "person" would know. But I don't think going to the dealer will guarantee anything.
I'll be looking at both dealer and independent AC shops for my repairs...if/when time comes with my AC issue.

 

What I was responding to was the fact that if the part that is replaced fails it is replaced under a life time warranty. This was in response to Jim's repair where the replacement was defective...........fortunately it was caught in time. Whereas I appreciate that there are many very competent mechanics (you will note that TECH was employed in a Volvo dealership for years) most of them do not have much experience with Volvos simply because they are not a common auto and there are not shop manuals published for their repair. Indeed, if you place the wrong trans fluid in an Asin/Warner transmission you will have a very costly replacement in the immediate future...................there have been posts on this site where the trans shops have not used the correct fluid. Lastly, if I resided in Fla I would be utilizing the expertise of TECH but unfortunately in my provincial little town (university town) the best bet is the dealer. Bear in mind that there are a 'zillion' foreign auto repair shops but they mostly are for the Japanese auto issues.
REG

 

I trust the guy that is doing my AC more than I would trust the dealership or the independent Volvo shop I normally take my car to. They have really treated me different since I started doing quite a bit or work myself. Every time I take it in they charge me at least 1 hour no matter what they do, and sometimes I don't think they do anything except check the codes. The guy working on it won't give me a lifetime guarantee, but he will stand behind his work for a reasonable time and will make good if something were to go wrong.

I was going to take it to some AC repair shop, but decided against it. Maybe I will luck out and he will figure out why it runs so rough some time too. I know I have sparked his interest. At first he said you have a bad injector. I said I swapped 1 and 5 and the code stayed on 1. Told him I had a wet test and it's in the head not the block. Said it might be intake manifold gaskets. Told him they were brand new. So at least I have his interest, even though he really does not like Volvo's too much. When I told him it's an R though, he did make some comment about that being a nice car though when I first talked to him.

 

I hope all goes well for you. Just remember to check the Dash. Very much Known to break.

 

BTW I feel the Pain on the running problem.
I am fighting one on my car as well for the last Month. It will totally shut off while driving.
Sometimes it will do it one day 4 times a day and others it is good for a week then cycle all over again.

Everytime I have tools hooked up to test it all works fine.
Take them off and it acts up again.

 

I have a 1998 V70. The AC did not work...blew air but not cold air. Took it to a local a/c shop and they checked the system for leaks...none found. He did say that you can't see the evaporator so he did not
know if that was leaking. He then did a full flush and recharge for 135 dollars and the a/c has been running perfectly since then...it has been about a week. Very very cold. So far so good

 

wow, my a/c problem started about the same time your's did. i have a 96 jeep grand cherokee that i drive on a regular basis. i only drive my 99 s70 occasionally during the spring,summer, and fall, never in the winter. so a couple of weeks ago i pulled the car out b/c it was hot outside and the car is better on gas w/ the a/c on than the jeep. i'm driving along and i noticed the car was not getting cool. i turned off the radio and switch the a/c off then on again and i didnt hear the compressor click. i did this repeatedly and nothing. i bought 2 cans of 134 with the so called sealant. as soon as i open the first can the compressor began to cycle on and off real fast then it began to slow down as the can emptied. the air started getting cool but not cold. the second can emptied faster than the fisrt and the cycling time of the compressor got further apart, the airwas real cold now. that lasted for about a week. i noted yesterday that the compressor started cycling fast about every 5-15 secs and on my way home from work today it stop blowing cold air. but i do remember the other day when the a/c was running i could see white air coming out of the vents??????? what's that about anyone(TECH,JimKW,reg)? going to put the car in the shop. This blows!!!!!!! no pun intended. i'm tempted to use this mechnical breakdown as a way to justify to my wife that i should just get an S60 R instead of the costly repair for the possible evaporator.