A/C Cuts out when hot
 

Hello,

Any I deas on this? Our A/C work perfect if it is 80 degrees or cooler. Once it hits 80 it works for a while then stop completely. It will not come back on until it is shut off for about 3 minutes. When turned back on it works perfect again for a few minutes then we repeat. There is no in between it is either ice cold or blowing warm humid air.

It did the same thing last summer. Last summer the volvo dealership recharged the system and that had no effect. Still the same problem.

It cuts out more when you stop and less on the highway at a steady speed. Trying to go through a drive thru when its 98 degrees is a bad idea!

Thanks,

Tat

Sounds like the high pressure cutout switch is turning off the compressor due to high head pressure. Could be caused by several things but it acts like it's not getting enough air flow through the condenser which is why it's worse when not moving. Could be fans not working properly or the condenser fins clogged up with debris or missing/damaged fan shroud?

I'm not familiar with the AC setup on the S80 but that's what I would look at first for a simple fix.

Anything else probably means a trip to an AC pro for diagnosis and repair. It's also possible the system is overcharged with refrigerant.

Oh my word, this is VERY similar to the problem I am having right now... A moody problem at that...
Let me explain:

On hot days, say I am driving on the highway, A/C works fine until I get off the highway and on to roads with lower speed limits.. Then a few minutes later it starts blowing the warm/hot humid air he is talking about.. To the point where its better just to open the windows regardless of how hot is it outside..

The unusual part in my case is that it normally only happens when transitioning from a high air-flow to lower air flow situation such as that.. For example, I as stuck at almost standstill traffic today for an hour and it never got warm..

I had the pressure tested, no leaks and the pressure is just where it should be. I havent changed the refrigerant in at least 4 years, but the fact that it still cools most of the time means that shouldnt be the issue..
I am hoping to sell the car to a friend within a few months so I definitely need to get issues such as this sorted out..
Please let me know what you can think of..

Weather was seriously hot today down here in Fl and I was in the interstate getting nice cold A/C
Within 30 seconds of getting off and being stuck in traffic lights the A/C started getting progressively warmer. I took it off for about 3 or 4 minutes then tried again and it worked fine all the way to my house (another 5 mins)..

Any ideas about why this sort of thing keeps on happening?

help needed ASAP please

I'm having the same issues on my 01 S80. I'v e not looked at anything yet but will inspect
1. the condenser fan and airflow path
2. the cabin filter--maybe it's restricting airflow

Hope to hear back from some of you smart people.

Thanks in advance.

PS. Hope to sell a Volvo to a friend... do you not want them as a friend anymore?

When the air gets warm, is the compressor running? Can you turn the ac switch off and then back on and hear the compressor engage?

I will give that a try but it usually happens when I'm driving so I cant really hear the compressor engage or not...

Same thing happened as usual today though.. About 3 mins after getting off the highway the air warmed up considerably

Today I also noticed that when I was accelerating on the highway my A/C would get temporarily warmer until I got off the pedal somewhat... I have never really experienced this on a car before...

I will check out the compressor issue next time..

If it turns off and then comes back on it probably has something to do with temperature. Either engine coolant, a/c compressor or a number of thing can cause a/c compressors to shut down. It is a precautionary measure built in to protect the a/c compressor. When you leave the highway, the airflow through the radiator is reduced and the coolant (engine) temp. will rise, the system may shut the a/c off as a precaution. It might let it restart after the engine temp drops to a certain level. That is where I would start my search. Good luck!

Thanks sbinplano.. Thing is, the engine temp gauge never moves past the halfway point .. I know this is not the most accurate gauge but its all I have to go by right now..

Not really sure what direction to go with this or how to figure it out but I do have a random question..
Anyone here with a early model s80.. does your exhaust manifold and two pipes going under the firewall have a heat shield around it?

Another thing that can cause your ac symptoms is the gap on the ac clutch. The gap can open up with wear over time and the electromagnet becomes too weak to engage the clutch when it heats up which is why I asked if you could hear the compressor cycling on.

If the clutch is not engaging, you will see it not spinning on the front of the ac pulley. You can carefully tap on the front of the clutch (pushing it in) with a broom stick or screwdriver handle and if it engages and starts to cool then that is your problem. Just be careful around moving belts and pulleys.

You would then either need to replace the clutch or re-shim it to the correct gap which is not too difficult to do. Most ac shops will try to sell you a replacement compressor for several hundred dollars...

On your heat shield question, I'd have to look to be sure but I do seem to recall the wife's S80 T6 has the shields you describe.

Well, today was a hot day and sure enough when I parked up after a 15 minute drive, the A/C slowly began blowing warmer and warmer..

I cycled the A/C on and off but to the best of my knowlege I could hear the compressor turning on and off..
Interestingly,. I paid the dealer a visit today... it turns out that the last shop that worked on my car removed the exhaust manifold heat shields and didnt replace them.. This is making a huge difference to my underhood temps.. its significantly hotter and this may have something to do with the A/C issues I suspect..
I hope that they didn't throw that out cause the same shop forgot to put back on my preheat hose, broke my oil dipstick, did a horrible job putting all the wiring and hosing etc back in its own place, and also didn't top up my fluids after having the engine out..
I am not impressed and im going there tomorrow to tell them exactly whats on my mind..

Had the car at the shop yesterday and the mechanic said it is most likely the clutch in the compressor...
Claims a repair cost of $450...
I just find it strange though that this has only been happening so often since the shop took off my exhaust manifold heat shield and forgot to put it back on...
According to them,they can't find my heat shield and made NO attempt to offer me a free replacement.. Could this excessive underhood temperature cause the compressor clutch to disengage?

It's possible the heat shields accelerated the problem but it probably would have happened anyway. Evidently it's a fairly common issue.

If you want to attempt the repair yourself, it's not too difficult if you have a reasonable amount of mechanical ability and tools.

The link below is for an S60 but the basics are the same. There are also some "hack repair fixes" for this issue out there which may temporarily
fix the problem. An internet search will turn up several links...

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/201...-s60-2-4t-awd/

Guys, lotus is spot on with this diagnostic test of the AC compressor clutch. I've seen it several times now. Upon removing the compressor clutch center bolt and outer drive plate, I'm seeing them worn badly to a point where the electromagnetic coil will no longer re-engage once it gets hot.

At my work we are adjusting the clutch by decreasing the thickness of the shims, and reassembling with very little air gap in the clutch plate (.010"-.015"). So far it's working well to help extend the service life of the system without compressor and refrigerant replacement. That saves big $$$.

You probably will have to unbolt the compressor to be able to access the front of the clutch well enough to work on it, and on a few we have had to use a small puller to break the plate loose, but it can be done at a much lower price than compressor replacement, plus you do not have to disturb the R134 system to do this. Just be sure to follow the instructions in lotus's post quoted above to confirm that the clutch plate wear IS the problem.

-Roger

I have the same problem with 01 S80 T6 AC works fine cold air flow and few minutes stops and wont starts over again after I turn off the car and let it reset. Should the dealer have a recall on this issue? Please help help help....

No, they shouldn't have a recall on this. It's a common failure for many types of cars, not exclusive to Volvo. You're talking about a part that is worn and needs to be fixed just like tires or brakes. If you got 10 years of service out of it, consider yourself lucky.

You either fix it yourself using one of the methods listed above, you pay a specialist to fix it or live without ac. That's pretty much the options...

Recall! On an 01 model??? Na, like lotus said, it's just normal wear. I'd print this thread off and take it with you to your AC repair guy ...assuming you won't attempt the diagnosis and repair yourself.

Yup, I agree! The most Volvo might do is publish a TSB for their techs on the topic, but if it's mostly only occuring on models 10 years old or older, they have no obligation to do anything. It's simply not a liability issue.

-R

Mine does the same thing... Ive narrowed it down to a clutch issue.... I can get a new compressor and clutch for 180 bucks from carid so im not screwing with a new clutch and shims for 100.... Ill pop the new one in weigh in the coolant and rebuild the old one in case this thing happens again

My 2 cents
 

Okay I am having the same issue with my 2001 Volvo S60 turbo. I have read all the complaint and replies and this is the only one that I have noticed where someone has mentioned the coolant fans. If I'm not mistaken the Volvo is set up to where the fan comes on automatically when you turn on the air-conditioning or defrost. In my case the air conditioning works good for about 3 to 5 minutes then shuts off. The high side coolant line then gets warm but the thing that I noticed is that the fan is not running while the AC compressor isn't working, fan only comes on if AC clutch engages. My fan only comes on when the engine temperature tells it to and I cannot tell if it's the low speed or the high-speed that comes on. The clutch does not try to reengage once it shuts off. But it will work again after sitting to cool off. Is there a possibility of a high fan speed or low fan speed relay that is not coming on when the air conditioner is turned on. It just seems to me that if it was a clutch shim issue that it would at least try to come back on. I'm less electromagnetic capabilities are diminished from temperature rising and falling. Then I let car sit for 30 minutes to cool down then cranked it and turn the AC on and let sit in idle 4 approximately 30 more minutes and the AC worked properly the whole time without cutting off. So it only has AC problems while the car is moving so I can eliminate air flow as an issue. So I guess what I need to know is why does the pressure rise enough for the high pressure switch to turn it off while driving but not while sitting at idle with no air flow just the fan?