95 850 AC doesn't blow cold

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 29 May 2014, 19:34

Hello friends,

I bought this car a few months ago, ac wouldn't blow cold, checked the compressor and it wouldn't kick in, charged 2 cans, ac kicks in now, fan comes on, didn't notice any leaks, checked the lines that go to the heater core, they are not cold at all.

What could be the problem?

Thanks...

Post by **combatkarl** » 29 May 2014, 19:57

I'm thinking you might have overcharged the system. The Haynes repair manual says the refrigerant capacity is 20 ounces for cold climates and 26 ounces for warm climates. How many ounces for your two cans? As for leaks, the evaporator is buried in the dash and leaks would be undetectable from it. Here's my experience from earlier today. https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=62956
Check out cn90's recommendation as well for pressure on the low port (included in the post above)

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 30 May 2014, 08:01

Thanks for the reply, I've put 2x12ounces and it is pretty warm here. I am going to get it checked at the dealer.

Doing the evaporator work is just time consuming, and could be pretty frustrated since this is an old car and all the plastic is so brittle now, therefore I hope it is not the evaporator.

Post by **abscate** » 30 May 2014, 09:12

checked the lines that go to the heater core, they are not cold at all.

These lines run full flow coolant, so they will quickly get hot and stay hot. They have nothing to do with the AC system.

A 1995 will likely have AC evap leak, rough probability of 90% if it is original equipment

The good news is the labor to replace is 'stupid work' meaning you can do it (I did!!) and save 1200 USD of labour costs for a 100 USD part.

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 30 May 2014, 19:37

abscate,

Thanks for your reply, how do we diagnose the evap leak?

Post by **rspi** » 30 May 2014, 20:17

If the compressor is ok, kicked in, you should have cool air in the cabin. The climate control system has air chambers that allow the hot air to mix with the cooler/cold air at anytime.

Does your car have MCC or ECC? If you go full cold and you feel NO cold air in the car, and your compressor is ON, you likely have a problem with your air mix doors/motors. One side should be cold, drivers or passengers.

If you serviced the system and two days later the compressor will not kick on, it is either leaking or the compressor clutch is bad. To check for leaks, service the system with leak detector freon, then purchase the glasses and black light to look for the leak. You can pull the fan resistor to see the evaporator.

Post by **rspi** » 30 May 2014, 20:19

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 02 Jun 2014, 14:02

Thanks for your input, It has ECC, checked the cabin but no cold air at all, compressor still kicks in. I am not sure what you mean by air mix doors/motors.

Post by **abscate** » 02 Jun 2014, 18:05

Inside your car, under the dash the Electronic Climate Control (ECC) makes both hot air from the heater core and cold air from the evaporator coil being pumped by the compressor.

Hot and cold air are always inside the unit.

When you ask it to give you 68F in the cabin, motors/doors move to mix the hot/cold to give you 68F.

If these motors hang up or the door linkages break - the compressor side of your AC works great, but you get no cold air!