There is a quote whistle that comes from uner the dash when the ac or defroster is turned on. I smell anti freeze/coolant from inside the car at times too. Any thoughts would be greatly appriciated.

Matt

 

anybody?

 

We have a V70 XC station wagon with AC. We have this same "whistle" noise, but we hear it only after the engine is turned off with the AC switch on. The sound is a mix between a whistling noise and a hum. It only lasts for a few seconds though, and it can be heard both inside & outside the car (more noticeably inside). We do not get the antifreeze smell, either inside or outside the car.

I don't know about Volvos, but if you were driving another vehicle, and got the antifreeze smell inside, I'd say it was a heating coil that was leaking.

I can only guess that the whistle is the compressor purging when the engine is off. Not sure though if this is what you are experiencing.

 

That whistling is the orifice tube in your a/c is semi-clogged and when the a/c is on, freon is going buy the particles in the orifice tube creating a whistle. You need to change that and it will go away and the a/c will also run better. The coolant smell can only be the heater core leaking.

 

Iotusing, thanks for the info. Is the orifice tube an urgent repair? Will it cause any damage if not repaired right away? I am thinking either doing it right now or right after summer.

As for the hear core...that is what i was thinking. No sign of any coolant leaking but the heater core probably needs to be replaced soon...before the heat comes. Is that a hard job? I am sure a lot of the dash needs to come out before i get to the core.

 

Matt, I have had the orifice tub making that noise now for a few years and it still runs fine. I should change it though. I dont know if it can damage the a/c system from being semi clogged. The heater core, I would use Kseal first. This stuff is amazing. I have tried alot of other stop leaks like bars,etc and they clog everything up. K seal was recommended by a engine shop and I had a water pump leak in my lotus, I put it in and it stopped in a couple of minutes. It is completly safe from clogging anything and it works well if you dont have a chance to change the heater core.