I recently had my A/C converted on my 83 244. We had an issue with the compressor not getting power from the switch. If we hotwired it it'll come on. My mechanic for the time being essentially rigged the compressor to a alligator clip so when I needed the AC I could just clip it to the battery. I plan on replacing the switch myself this weekend as clipping something directly to the battery doesn't sit well with me.

The main thing that I noticed is that when the compressor is hooked up. I feel like I have less power than previous, there's also a different feel to the car. The steering feels off as does the gas. I know this is very vague but is there anything that is jumping out to other members regarding this?

Is this just a common thing that I'll learn to accept or does it sound like something may be wrong/off with the compressor?

Any answers are greatly appreciated

Thanks for the read.

 

I recently converted to the 1991+ "snowflake" switch and ditched the stiff crappy "spin" switch. Best mod I have done so far to my car!

I turn it off when I need power. Fast and easy with the late style switch.


Look it up at cleanflametrap.com

 

the compressor should only be sapping off a HP or two if its running full bore. you can feel it in needing a touch more throttle to cruise at light pedal settings, thats all. it really shouldn't have any impact on the steering unless its dragging a belt shared with the power steering pump, and causing that belt to slip, which is bad juju.

running it without a low/high pressurstat is a bad idea, as if anything went wrong with the AC system, the compressor likely will overheat and fry itself.

 

I can feel the loss of power with the compressor on, but no change to steering. That surprises me. I think Pierce has the best idea so far regarding belt slip. Start there.

I am no AC guru, but I concur that running the compressor ON all the time is a bad idea. There are reasons why it turns off.

 

One can definitely feel the power sap of an A/C compressor, especially on an old Volvo that has probably less than 100hp after all these years... It may drain, as much as 3-4HP... Good idea to check the belts for tightness, etc.

 

Did you ever try the AC Relay? As opposed to the wiring setup you're using? I'm assuming your new wiring job is bypassing the relay. Maybe it's sucking up more power than it's supposed to, which could be bogging other systems?