Hey all looking for a fix for this intercooler freezing problem.
First here is some back ground info. The car is a 1995 volvo 850 turbo wagon. It does have the normal intercooler piping. In through the bottom out through the top. Now here is the problem. I live in northern alberta canada where in the winter it normally sit's at -20 to -30 Celcius for a few months a year. Now for the past few weeks I have had my intercooler consistantly freezing solid. I will come out in the morning to start the car and it won't start. I watch the intake hose collapse as I try to start it. I have had it in a heated garage multiple times to let it melt and drain. I have cleaned and enlarged the drain hole in the bottom of the intercooler multiple times. Still it freezes up on my consistantly. Now i love the car so but will have to part with it if i can't figure this out because it is below freezing 5 months of the year here.

So here is a couple ideas that have poped into my head.

1. Install rip pipes. Now i know that volvo went away from this after 1994 since they say it caused problems with throttles freezing. But my though on this is it would be blowing the air and moisture down instead of up. I think that the moisture is getting to the top of the intercooler and once parked is freezing on it's way to the bottom. So my thoughts are if your pushing the air and moisture to the bottom of the intercooler it will drain while driving instead of sitting at the top.
Any thoughts or suggestions??

2. Install front mount intercooler.
Now i don't really want to do this since the stock intercooler seems very good and efficent when working properly. We don't have problems with heat soak here in alberta because it never gets that hot. Plus could run in to the same problem since the passages will be horizontal and not be able to drain.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

theres got to be some sort of blockage somewhere in your system....theres no WAY that enough water gets into your intercooler to freeze it solid.

 

I'm not kidding it's water freezing in the intercooler.
here is a pic

 

well if that IS the case, my first concern would be "how is all this water getting in my intercooler" because there shouldnt be ANY in there.

 

Check the PTC heater nipple. It is supposed to evaporate any moisture in the intake/crankcase.

Re your photo: I am not sure what I am looking at...

 

Pulled the intercooler today. found the passages are all corroded and gunked up.. currently -20 and 90% humidity. front mount goes in this weekend.

 

Did you find out what's causing the problem / the source of water, like Ibified said?

 

Yes it's 90% humidity and -20 ...with severely restricted intercooler passages. I think it is normal amounts of moisture just really small passages.

 

I find this amazing. Makes total sense...high humidity, compress the air you get water. There have been several members who's hoses collapse on cold mornings. I wonder if this is the cause. Makes sense that this would do it. I dont think anybody has taken it this far with their troubleshooting, good call.

 

Volvo were born in the arctic, so extreme lows and humidity aren't anything new for Volvo.

There might be something wrong with your car, and if not addressed, the new FMI might end up junked as well.

IMO your problem lies with the PTC heater, which is the device designed to prevent the very problem you are having. But hey, it's your car and your money. I am 6000 miles away.

Is the thing even plugged in?

 

Henry you make a good point. I will check the ptc heater while i'm installing the front mount. again after taking a good look at the intercooler i'm sure it's the main cause and either way needs to be replaced. but less moisture will help as well. As a perk i had the front mount laying around the shop so it's not really costing me anything.
Thank you for the help.

 

I still think that theres a point to be made here: Sure, while replacing your intercooler with a front mount is gonna fix your current issue, it's not really solving the problem. I run my car in cold weather at high humidity all the time here in Indiana, but I've never had any issues like this.

As for compression turning water vapor into water....it's not quite that simple. Yes, while you CAN compress air and get water, you also have to remember that there's heat buildup there, and a side effect of heat is, well, turning water into water vapor. I think that the compression thing is probably pretty close to a wash vs the thermal energy, and it's 2:40 in the morning and I'm just not up to running the numbers to see if there's merit to that or not.

If anyone is really bored: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law

Solve.

 

I would check if the electrical connections (2 wires) to the PTC are good. Secondly, I would clean it. Furthermore, IIRC you can measure the resistance of the PTC at certain conditions. If not within a certain range -- PTC is no good and must be replaced. Google for these values.

PTC is not sold separately -- it is part of the intake pipe from the airbox to the Turbo. IIRC $ 85 from FCP.