1997 850 AC weirdness...

thedancingfiddle · Post by **thedancingfiddle** » 01 Jul 2014, 20:59

Hey all,

I've been using the air conditioning recently, for the first time since I bought this car last Dec. It works (gets nice and cold), but makes some noises and things and I just wanted to get an idea of what is normal on these cars. (My last 850 that I had for 5 years never had working AC).

It seems to click on and off every 10 sec. or so - you can hear an audible click if the car isn't moving fast. Also, it makes noise, a sort of fan like sound that is definitely not just the fan, since I only hear it when the AC is on. It's like a low pitched whirring.

The other thing is that when it cycles on and off when I'm going at highway speed it feels like it's taking a lot of power from the engine. It feels as is I had pulled my foot abruptly off the gas pedal - I'm assuming this is when it clicks on.

Are these types of things normal on 850 AC systems?

Thanks!

Post by **abscate** » 02 Jul 2014, 01:48

If your system is overcharged the compressor will be working hard, whir, and you will feel it take load from the engine . You will get the same if the compressor is worn or corroded inside

Any history of adding Freon or a long time with no Freon?

thedancingfiddle · Post by **thedancingfiddle** » 02 Jul 2014, 05:51

I got this car from the original owner, and have all the service receipts. I can't find anything about the AC system anywhere, so my guess is that it hasn't been serviced in a long time, or never. There are a lot of service receipts here, so I may have missed one, but most are in order and I looked as far back as 2004.

Should I get it checked out and/or Freon added? I don't want to kill the compressor!

obayha · Post by **obayha** » 02 Jul 2014, 07:00

Mine was cycling on and off last year, as yours is,every 10-20 seconds, a little noise , but not noticeable power loss from the motor. I purchased a can with a gauge on it and added an amount for the temp of the day. In all respect, I think the amount added was to much and will fix the situation soon.
I was looking at the bread clip fix, but adding the Freon seemed to fix the cycling on and off.
Good luck and post if you fix the problem. Seems these systems are running out of time as they get older.

thedancingfiddle · Post by **thedancingfiddle** » 02 Jul 2014, 17:07

Thanks for the tips. I'm getting it looked at next week, along with some other small things, and I'll let you know when I know more!

thedancingfiddle · Post by **thedancingfiddle** » 15 Jul 2014, 06:22

Got the AC recharged, which fixed the cycling on and off. My mechanic didn't find anything else wrong with it, so hopefully that will do it.

I haven't yet had a chance to drive it on the highway to check for power loss, but I might not notice it now without it clicking on and off constantly. It still does make some whirring noise when the AC is on, but if the compressor is worn, it's just a matter of time before it dies, right?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 15 Jul 2014, 06:35

The whirring noise is perfectly normal.

...Lee

Post by **abscate** » 15 Jul 2014, 08:14

thedancingfiddle wrote:Got the AC recharged, which fixed the cycling on and off. My mechanic didn't find anything else wrong with it, so hopefully that will do it.

I haven't yet had a chance to drive it on the highway to check for power loss, but I might not notice it now without it clicking on and off constantly. It still does make some whirring noise when the AC is on, but if the compressor is worn, it's just a matter of time before it dies, right?

It is a matter of time, measured in decades, if you have stored sufficient karmic points. The good news is it will give you good warning of impending death.