I was driving home the other day, with the A/C on because it was hot outside, when I noticed the temp gauge going up and smoke coming from the engine compartment. I shut the car off, waited for it to cool down and foung the following. When the A/C is on the relay will trip the compressor but the engine will bog down, the fan will not come on and I see light smoke coming out from the oil dip stick tube. It will cycle off and then the whole process will repeat. It seems like the compressor pully is squealing so I was wondering if the pump has frozen and is putting a huge load on the engine. The A/C is no longer blowing cold air where as before it was very cold. Any ideas? What is involved in the repair? I have a pretty good background in wrenching but never on a Volvo. It is my daughters car. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Most Likely the clutch went.. There are options to replace just the clutch, BUT you need to pull the compressor anyway and replacing the clutch is a task in itself.

My Advice is to just replace the compressor, I went with FCP's OEM compressor for $375.
Out and In, in about 2 hours.

Make sure you replace the drier also or the warranty will not be valid, and get the system vacuumed down before you recharge it.