I am new to this forum and hope I can find an answer to my A/C problem. I have a 2000 V70 Wagon. I bought the car about a year ago and love it! The problem is the air conditioner cycles off occasionally. It happened once last summer while sitting in a drive thru line and hasn't happened again until this week (I am in Texas and it is getting warm). The air blows very cold then just shuts off. I play with the switches, turn it off, back on, hit the recycle and outside air etc, then it comes back on again. It has happened twice this week bot on fairly warm days, I am afraid this is going to get worse and summer is coming up quickly! Any ideas?

 

I just bought an S70 and the A/c was working perfectly. However, just yesterday it was blowing cold air and suddenly it started blowing less and less and then blowing normally again. I played with the controls and it keeps doint it. I wonder what this could be? The controls, the clutch? Any ideas there?

 

My guess would be the blower motor resistor, but I'm no expert, not by a long shot....

 

Thank you 99VolvoV70... I'll check around...

 

No problem, by the way, if it does turn out to be the blower motor resistor, I did a post here: https://volvoforums.com/m_62590/tm.htm(the fifth post in the thread) that shows where the resistor is on the V70 (which should be identical). It looks like the part is even the same as the one I bought (same part number). I checked on my favorite parts site: www.eEuroParts.com - not always the cheapest but within a few dollars of the cheapest and worth it to save time from searching and get great service. It was $109.90 and the part number is 9166694.

 

If the inside blower motor was still working and blowing hot air then the compressor clutch might be bad. It might just need a reshimming.

 

Good afternoon! As a good segeue to the prior post, we are having that trouble with our 1999 V70. When the air conditioner is initially engaged, the air is nice and ice cold. Then after a certain amount of time (mostly under 30 minutes), cold air ceases and warm air (or ambient air) blows in. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason if we switch it off, then on again, it will still be warm. Then after a while, it will blow cold again for a short period of time.

Since summer is approaching, and we're going to do a lot of travelling with our newborn son, we really need the A/C working consistently. I've read a couple of possibilities/culprits: Receiver Drier and/or Condensor? Or the compressor clutch as Tech had mentioned?

If anyone has ANY ideas and/or suggestions, they would be most appreciated. I try to do my own maintnance too, so if there are any DIY tips, that is cool. Otherwise, I can at least take the car to a shop and tell them square what needs to be changes/looked at.

Thanks in advance!

 

I would say the compressor clutch needs to be reshimmed.
Here is a post I made about doing it.
If you are handy you might even be able to do it without opening the A/C system. Some have just loosened the compressor and turned it then reshimmed it.
https://volvoforums.com/m_34431/tm.htm

 

Awesome! Thank you Tech so much for the quick reply. Also, thank you for the link to your post on re-shimming the compressor. I will take a stab at that and will follow-up when completed!

 

Sounds like a plan!!

 

I have a similar problem. 1998 v70. We just installed a used compressor, orifice tube, and dryer. The compressor is good but when charged and ready to, the compressor will not turn on. Looked in the fuse box. When I removed the fuse and used a jumper, the compressor kicked on and the air cold inside. I bought a new fuse and replaced the large fuse. Could it be the A/c pressure switch? I don't know how to see if it is bad or not. Are both switches the same. After readingthe forum, someone was talkinga bout the pressure switch.I looked at Eeuroparts and they only list one for 95.00. I would like to only buy what is bad. Thanks in advance for answers.

 

If you unplug the low pressure switch and jump the electrical connector and the compressor comes on either the switch is bad or it is low on freon.

 

KingTex-

Did you ever figure out what was wrong with your A/C? Our '98 S70 has been doing the same exact thing.

We took it to our "shade tree" mechanic (mistake #1) to replace the pressostat and orifice tube. Now the A/C doesn't work at all!! Arrrrgh!

He is saying that what is really the problem is that the panel on the dash behind the A/C controls is bad (I am dubious).

It is only getting hotter here in Texas, and I was wondering if you (or anyone else) has successfully resolved this problem and if anyone knows why it isn't working at all now?

Thanks!

 

Follow my post above yours and see if that works.

 

Can you explain what re-shimming does?

 

The Gap between the clutch and pulley gets to big. Then when the compressor gets hot the magnet cannot hold the compressor anymore. Adjusting the gap will make it work normally again.

 

Thanks Tech,
Great explanation, and seems to be the only plausable remedy for my symptoms as everything else is checking OK! Very glad your around!
Regards,

 

Your welcome I made a post in the 850 section on how to reshim it.

 

Hello,

Have a 1995 Volvo 940 Turbo with 220k miles. Air conditioner runs cold and somewhat normally when I am not accelerating. When driving up hills or accelerating to higher speeds, the out-put is just about nil. Just had fre-on done a few miles ago. When it does blow it is nice and cold. Just noticed yesterday a faint smell of coolant. Any suggestions welcome. It's hot in Nevada!!

 

You have a vacuum leak between the engine and the dash controls. Under the hood, find the vacuum line that runs between the engine and the AC controls. You will likely find that rubber line rotted away or very compromised.