Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum

Hello, folks. Interesting story. I’ve been noticing over the last month or so, my AC had been cutting out sporadically. I had done the AC clutch shim thing awhile back and wondered if it might be time to re do, but went head and charged the system, since it did seem low.

Well, the issue returned, and at the same time yesterday morning, I noticed a scraping sound coming from under think of that plastic, undercarriage protector dragging on the ground when you’re driving. But this sound would happen when I’m sitting still. Opened the hood and couldn’t find anything wrong but the noise persisted. I noted that it would stop and go intermittently, whether I’m at a standstill or driving.

Well, finally I got the “Power System Service Urgent” message on the dash, along with the attendant red triangles and such. Did a Google search and found it could be caused by the alternator going bad. The guys online had the same exact symptoms, so I went and picked up an alternator. Never made it home. The alternator belt apparently had snapped, and I had to be towed last night. Now, the belt was actually ON the alternator. It was only when I actually grabbed it that I realized it was loose, and just hanging there. The light was limited on the side of the road last night.

In the light of day this morning, I notice the alternator belt AND the AC compressor belt have actually flown. I’m wondering if the whole time the AC compressor had seized up (hence the warm air), and possibly the belt form that snapped. Hard to believe they would both go at the same time, so maybe one going snapped the other?

Anyway, I’m thinking it’s the AC compressor that had seized up. My question is, whether the pulley can just be replaced, or if the entire compressor needs to be. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks in advance.