Moody A/C Behavior 2011 XC60 T6 AWD
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Moody A/C Behavior 2011 XC60 T6 AWD
Hello! The car has 110k miles on it. It’s in beautiful shape, the only issue being the AC.
The AC works on almost random occasion. Never works immediately, BUT on longer highway drives it will get icy cold and stay cold, but city driving it takes a while to get cool if at all. Sometimes at night it will be cool immediately (?). On hotter days it will not normally get cold at all, while on other days it will blow cold air depending almost randomly on settings and control temps, but only intermittently actually works. Bottom line is: the AC behaves poorly for the most part but clearly has Freon and has the ability to sometimes perform very well, at unpredictable times!
I have recharged the AC system with R134a and after the recharge, with the engine running for over 30 minutes, the car was blowing freezing cold air consistently for a while. When I left the shop after the recharge it was already declining in air quality and cool temps went up.
I have had a Volvo dealership tell me there is an AC compressor leak and that it needs to be replaced at the tune of $1k. This doesn’t make sense because there is clearly Freon in the system it is just dispensing irregularly. I am thinking it is the AC compressor control valve or variable fan control module.
I am a student and cannot afford an expensive fix. I would love to solve this problem with the help of this great forum rather than from mechanics taking guesses.
Anyone dealt with similar issues? Please respond with any help, thank you
The AC works on almost random occasion. Never works immediately, BUT on longer highway drives it will get icy cold and stay cold, but city driving it takes a while to get cool if at all. Sometimes at night it will be cool immediately (?). On hotter days it will not normally get cold at all, while on other days it will blow cold air depending almost randomly on settings and control temps, but only intermittently actually works. Bottom line is: the AC behaves poorly for the most part but clearly has Freon and has the ability to sometimes perform very well, at unpredictable times!
I have recharged the AC system with R134a and after the recharge, with the engine running for over 30 minutes, the car was blowing freezing cold air consistently for a while. When I left the shop after the recharge it was already declining in air quality and cool temps went up.
I have had a Volvo dealership tell me there is an AC compressor leak and that it needs to be replaced at the tune of $1k. This doesn’t make sense because there is clearly Freon in the system it is just dispensing irregularly. I am thinking it is the AC compressor control valve or variable fan control module.
I am a student and cannot afford an expensive fix. I would love to solve this problem with the help of this great forum rather than from mechanics taking guesses.
Anyone dealt with similar issues? Please respond with any help, thank you
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 5,113
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From: GA
What are the low and high side pressures when the system is not cooling properly? I'm assuming the system is properly charged with no moisture or air in it.
For reference the low side pressure is roughly the temp of the refrigerant - and a normal ac system should produce ~45 degree or lower air.
So an easy test is to carefully feel the low side pipe at the compressor - it should be cold, if not, there will be no cold air in the car.
If your low side pressure is too high a common reason is the displacement control valve. I have replaced many to solve ac cooling problems with symptoms like yours. Easy to replace, just need appropriate snap ring pliers and a ac machine to empty and recharge the system.
For reference the low side pressure is roughly the temp of the refrigerant - and a normal ac system should produce ~45 degree or lower air.
So an easy test is to carefully feel the low side pipe at the compressor - it should be cold, if not, there will be no cold air in the car.
If your low side pressure is too high a common reason is the displacement control valve. I have replaced many to solve ac cooling problems with symptoms like yours. Easy to replace, just need appropriate snap ring pliers and a ac machine to empty and recharge the system.
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