2005 XC70 A/C not working

tylka · Post by **tylka** » 23 Jun 2014, 15:27

I have a 2005 Volvo XC70 that the air started to act up. The other day it went out while we were in traffic where the compressor stopped kicking in and so the air starting blowing warm. We went into a store for about 15 mins and came out with the air working again. It worked the entire trip home. Today we were driving and it stopped again. I turned off the air completely and used the windows until we were about 2 miles from home I thought I would try it again, and it worked. I assume a sensor or switch is going out, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else had the same issue to try and pin point the problem before buying parts. Could it be the A/C pressure switch or something else?
Thank you for the help.

Post by **jimmy57** » 23 Jun 2014, 17:45

You are listing a textbook set of symptoms for the compressor clutch wearing and the gap between the drive and driven plates getting too large. The magnetic winding is stronger until it gets warm from engine heat and from the heat of it being energized. Giving it a break lets it cool and work again for a time. There are a few fixes. I never use the "bread clip" fix myself but prefer to drop the subframe with engine and trans at front just enough to get access and remove a spacer shim that is found when you the drive plate. This shim lets the plate go back on few thousandths of an inch closer and the proper specification gap is restored and it works as designed once again.
searching in this forum using "clutch gap" will find lots of articles.

Post by **oragex** » 23 Jun 2014, 19:31

As above, search on Google about A/C clutch plate gap and check yours see if it got too large (the A/C is the lowest pulley on the accessory belt).

AusV70 · Post by **AusV70** » 24 Jun 2014, 03:11

I did the bread clip fix a few weeks ago, rather I used 3 small zip ties between the spring and clutch plate. Seems to be going fine at the moment. I couldn't remove the clutch to change the shims (which was my intention). I'm sure that it will fail if too much heat builds up on the clutch.
RL

Post by **abscate** » 24 Jun 2014, 05:10

Shimming the clutch involves dropping the compressor to access the plate, it's a lot less labour to bread clip it. You don't have to break open the AC system to do this though.

tylka · Post by **tylka** » 24 Jun 2014, 12:07

Can a new clutch be purchased or will resetting the gap last the same amount of time? The car has close to 140k miles on it and I would rather take care of the problem once so it will last another 140k miles.
Thank you for the helpful replies.

Post by **jimmy57** » 24 Jun 2014, 14:17

a clutch is close the price of a new compressor and you have to remove compressor to get enough work space to replace clutch so it is very unwise to replace clutch only.
The wear that makes the clutch have your problem is minimal. Once adjusted I would think the fix will last another 100+ thousand miles. It has on many I have adjusted on several makes of automobiles including Volvo.
I don't know how reasonable your shop is but if that car has been in TN its whole life the clutch plate will slide off with no puller so the compressor will not have to come off. The repair should not take much more than an hour. The engine is hung by a engine support that any shop should have. The rear subframe bolts are loosened 3-4 turns and the fronts are removed. The support is used to lower the engine which tips the front of subframe down just enough to get to compressor. Radiator and heater hoses have enough length to allow it to come down the few inches needed.

KBlue_V70 · Post by **KBlue_V70** » 04 Jul 2014, 15:59

I have the same problem with my 2000 V-70. I couldn't find a detailed answer in my forum. When I found this discussion I took it to a mechanic and asked him if he could do this. His response was that if this procedure was done on my car, i.e., if the shim is removed, the compressor would run all the time. True? Please redirect me if this topic is being addressed in the appropriate forum. Thank you.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2014, 17:10

False. You are returning the clutch gap to the original 0.3-0.4mm, so the clutch will not be engaged when you are done.

KBlue_V70 · Post by **KBlue_V70** » 04 Jul 2014, 17:59

Thanks very much. I'll share the information with the mechanic.