Hey guys,

My 1999 v70 non Turbo is having problems with the climate control. When I have it set to front defog, very little air come out from the vents right below the windshield, however when I set it to the middle vents on the same blower speed, tons of air pours out, so it can't be a blower problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated since winter is coming.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the AC is is not functioning, and I cant remember what the mechanic said about it. Also, the air coming out does not smell normal, almost sweet smelling, and from some research, it seems this is caused by the heater core.

thanks,
ww

 

WW, these cars, and most others have followed, use the AC to defog the windows. That being said, with NO AC you are swimming up stream. In addition to that, if you have a heater core leak, which usually starts small and can get worse real fast, it will introduce steam into the mix and cause you more humidity problems.

So, you likely have a leaking AC system or the compressor clutch is worn. You can service the AC to see if the system will function. The #1 part that leaks is the evaporator which is a real pain in these cars to replace. I promised myself I would never do another one unless...

As for the heater core, it's pretty easy to inspect and/or replace. There are a lot of instructions and I actually found a newish core in the junk yard the last time I did one.

 

Ok great thanks for the help.

As for the heater core, It seems like something that I can definitely do myself.

What you said about the evaporator is definitely ringing a bell on what the mechanic said about it. Is the evaporator something that I could do myself or should I let a mechanic do it?

Finally, will solving both of these fix the lack of air coming out of the defogger vents? By my line of logic, it seems that it would be unrelated since a lot of air when I have it switched to a different set of vents

 

Not sure about your air diverter situation. I'm not sure that mine blows a lot so I'm not real sure how much air is suppose to come through those vents.

You can do the heater core. It's a 30 minute job. Just need the part.

As for the evaporator, I would NOT have it done nor do it myself unless your system uses more than 12 oz of freon per month. If you are servicing yourself that about $12 per month. You'd have to go through a lot of freon to account for $1,200 worth of freon. They claim that the R-13 does not effect the ozone so I don't see the point in fixing the leak. You can do the job yourself if you don't mind making your car look like this:

 

Wow that sure is not something I want to get involved with. Anyway, how would one go about filling up the freon?

 

You can go to any auto parts store and Wal-mart and get a kit or gauge & can of the R13 freon. The port is under the hood behind the passenger side headlight. Follow the instructions, it's hard to mess it up. You may need 2 cans the first time.

 

Ok, so I replaced the heater core, and recharged the AC system, but it still does not defog as well as it should. The only part of the window that defogs is right above the vents and nowhere else, no matter how long or how high the blower is set to. When I put the blower on high, and put my hand above the vents, it feels like there simply isn't enough air coming out of the vents, so after a little research, I think I may have found why at the other volvo forum: link.

Edit: Hmm, Alldata has the air door actuator being about an hour of repair (triple that for me since I'm not a mechanic) and the part around 300 bucks. Does it seem worth the repair if I can find a cheaper one somewhere on the internet?