96 850 GLT N/A Heat only on one side

DBrim · Post by **DBrim** » 20 Dec 2011, 17:20

I am having an issue with my 96 850 GLT N/A.

As the subject states, I am having an issue where only one side of the car is getting heat. The two vents on the immediate driver's side still blow hot air, but the two center vents and the passenger's vent do not. Same goes for defrosting, too... only driver's side is getting warm air.

What could cause this?

I do not have access to a heated garage or driveway, so unless the job is super simple, I won't be doing this myself. How much would the repair set me back?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 20 Dec 2011, 17:36

The first thing we need to know is if you have the manual climate control unit or the electronic climate control unit. The electronic unit has the temperature markings printed out in actual degrees whereas the manual unit has graduated width red bars.

The electronic unit also has AUT settings on the fan control and the mode control. The manual unit has fan speed settings from 0 to 4.

Let us know which unit you have and we can work from there.

...Lee

DBrim · Post by **DBrim** » 20 Dec 2011, 20:21

Temperature is in degrees, so electronic.

Post by **Fish stick88** » 20 Dec 2011, 20:31

For my manual Re-do/restore (same problem) they wanted upwards of 1,500 which is what we got the car for... a small town (ford) mechanic made with what we had, i had flaps all broken and links busted. I have no control over the drivers side heat, its always on (full heat) passenger side is adjustable, i have a leak somewhere in my core, and to top that off i only have defrost, or at "your face" for directions
Cheap A$$ mechanics.
cost me 200 bucks, but it'll do for now.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 20 Dec 2011, 21:01

DBrim wrote:Temperature is in degrees, so electronic.

Since you have a '96, without the code readings that come from a Volvo Scan Tool, the best we can do is guess but the problems are usually the same.

Chances are you have either a bad damper flap motor or the shaft split on the damper flap where the motor plugs into it. Usually a visual inspection will reveal the fault.

The temperature damper flap motor is the lower motor on, in the case of your problem, the passenger's side of the car. It is possible to get to it by removing the lower dash panel but it is much easier if you remove both the lower dash panel and the glove box.

The motor is held in with torx screws and once the motor is off inspect the gear on the motor and the square splined shaft on the damper flap. The latter will be very obvious if it is broken and often you can see damage to the teeth on the gear if the motor is bad. In some cases the motor just up and quits with no visible damage but that is the exception rather than the rule.

If the shaft is broken try to save all of the pieces so that you can rebuild it in place. There are a number of fixes in the repair database but the most clever was a guy that chopped a .40 caliber pistol shell off to use as a sleeve around the broken pieces. Other methods include wrapping it with fine gauge solid copper telephone wire and glue and another that used a couple of hose clamps and a short piece of fuel line hose between the motor and the damper flap.

Replacing the entire damper flap is a nightmare since the entire dash needs to come out of the car and the climate unit needs to be disassembled.

...Lee

Post by **Fish stick88** » 20 Dec 2011, 21:13

On the topic... I don't suppose anyone has the entire procedure (pictures) Parts (etc) I was hoping to get a good look at it, and in the next couple of months, since they will be slow, order the parts and replace them as they get to me, i'd really like to restore it back to working condition.

DBrim · Post by **DBrim** » 21 Dec 2011, 05:07

Ozark Lee wrote:
DBrim wrote:Temperature is in degrees, so electronic.
Since you have a '96, without the code readings that come from a Volvo Scan Tool, the best we can do is guess but the problems are usually the same.

Chances are you have either a bad damper flap motor or the shaft split on the damper flap where the motor plugs into it. Usually a visual inspection will reveal the fault.

The temperature damper flap motor is the lower motor on, in the case of your problem, the passenger's side of the car. It is possible to get to it by removing the lower dash panel but it is much easier if you remove both the lower dash panel and the glove box.

The motor is held in with torx screws and once the motor is off inspect the gear on the motor and the square splined shaft on the damper flap. The latter will be very obvious if it is broken and often you can see damage to the teeth on the gear if the motor is bad. In some cases the motor just up and quits with no visible damage but that is the exception rather than the rule.

If the shaft is broken try to save all of the pieces so that you can rebuild it in place. There are a number of fixes in the repair database but the most clever was a guy that chopped a .40 caliber pistol shell off to use as a sleeve around the broken pieces. Other methods include wrapping it with fine gauge solid copper telephone wire and glue and another that used a couple of hose clamps and a short piece of fuel line hose between the motor and the damper flap.

Replacing the entire damper flap is a nightmare since the entire dash needs to come out of the car and the climate unit needs to be disassembled.

...Lee

Thanks for your help. I had my dash (partially) disassembled for the classic odometer fix, but this seems harder. Given the temperatures in the area, and the fact that I live in an apartment complex now (which, technically, does not allow you to pop your hood in the parking lots) means doing something like this will be pretty hard. Seems like something the mechanic would charge a bunch for, though.

At least it sounds like the driver's side isn't going to die on me, too?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 21 Dec 2011, 08:23

Seems like something the mechanic would charge a bunch for, though.

It depends on how clever the mechanic is. Most shops don't do component level repairs which, to an extent I can understand, but something like replacing the entire damper flap is going to run well over $1000.00 in labor. The labor involved in doing a "creative" repair is more along the lines of 1 1/2 hours or maybe 2 hours start to finish.

If the motor turns out to be bad that is an easy swap but an expensive part for a new one and I would take my chances with a junk yard for a replacement.

...Lee

zero10998 · Post by **zero10998** » 29 Dec 2011, 14:41

im having the same problem in my 95 n/a glt wagon with manual adjustments(non electronic)! what do u think is the issue? and how do i fix?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 29 Dec 2011, 15:03

Welcome to MVS,

Is your problem on the passenger's side or the driver's side?

The manual climate units have damper flaps that are controlled by sheathed cables with the sheath anchored at both ends. If you remove the lower dash panel on the side in question and then have someone twist the temp knob while you are looking at the damper you might be able to see where the problem is. In my case the PO forced the knob while the damper was stuck and messed up the control head part of the system. It was no joy to remove but I was able to repair it with no parts, just re-aligning the gears and cams that articulate the cable. In some cases the sheath anchor pops off which is a very easy fix.

...Lee