2002 S60 Base - A/C won't cool for long

[borimrr]

So I'm thinking it just needs freon but the auto CCM my car has is not the original nor is it the correct one. I know this because it has the heated seats button which my car doesn't have and it also have the auto recirculation button which is a feature my car (it can only do 2 settings, on for a few minutes or always on).

That said, here's what happens:

- I put the A/C at 72ºF for both driver and passenger.
- After a few minutes no more cool air coming out and the air flow has decreased. The temperature inside obviously starts going up
- I move both knobs down to 68ºF for both driver and passenger.
- Cold air again but same thing happens after a few minutes.
- I move both knobs down to 64ºF for both driver and passenger.
- Cold air again but same thing happens after a few minutes.
- I move both knobs down to the coolest setting (62ºF?) for both driver and passenger.
- Cold air again and fan is at max speed but same thing happens after a few minutes.

At this point I won't have any cold air anymore until I turn the A/C or car off for a good amount of time. I'm hoping it has nothing to do with the CCM and I'm assuming the system is just getting too cold because of the lack of freon and it shuts down.

Any ideas/questions? Thanks, this the car my wife will be using when our baby daughter is born next week and I need the A/C working.

[coflynn]

Move more Northern, and A/C isn't as big a deal

In all seriousness - it sounds a lot like the worn clutch issue. Basically there is an electromagnetic clutch that turns the AC compressor on. There is some clearance here, and as it wears it requires more strength to pull the clutch in.

When you turn on AC it initially has enough strength to engage. When the electromagnet heats up it doesn't have enough strength to keep the compressor engaged anymore, so you loose A/C. A key point is that if you leave the A/C turned on the electromagnet is being powered and still heating up. You won't regain A/C until you turn it off allowing the electromagnet to cool.

If the issue was just low refrigerant or something else, I wouldn't expect that second symptom, where it won't work until you actually turn it off. I would expect it to kick in and out by itself, as it's purely a mechanical (or whatever you want to call it) issue.

Search 'S60 bread clip fix' for lots of posts about an easy solution, and how to measure the gap. It's extremely easy to measure with a feeler gauge ($5 if you don't have one).

[flukey]

+1 on that reply. Been there and done it. But the bread clip fox wont last long. If your system is full of r134 and ya still have the problem, ya might want to consider re-shimming the compressor. It lasted for me for quite a while. I sold the car before it failed again. but my guess is that it will last a long time.Not that hard to do. Youtube vid is available.

[vtl]

Either compressor clutch is worn, as already stated, or system is leaking and previous owner put wrong amount of A/C agent into system: pressure on high side goes above threshold and the system shuts down. Pressure difference between low- and high pressure sides is not enough to keep air cool. Easy to check with reusable dispenser+gauge from Arctic Freeze kit and cheap IR thermometer:





Better do it in the morning, when both sides have equal pressure.

[borimrr]

Move more Northern, and A/C isn't as big a deal

In all seriousness - it sounds a lot like the worn clutch issue. Basically there is an electromagnetic clutch that turns the AC compressor on. There is some clearance here, and as it wears it requires more strength to pull the clutch in.

When you turn on AC it initially has enough strength to engage. When the electromagnet heats up it doesn't have enough strength to keep the compressor engaged anymore, so you loose A/C. A key point is that if you leave the A/C turned on the electromagnet is being powered and still heating up. You won't regain A/C until you turn it off allowing the electromagnet to cool.

If the issue was just low refrigerant or something else, I wouldn't expect that second symptom, where it won't work until you actually turn it off. I would expect it to kick in and out by itself, as it's purely a mechanical (or whatever you want to call it) issue.

Search 'S60 bread clip fix' for lots of posts about an easy solution, and how to measure the gap. It's extremely easy to measure with a feeler gauge ($5 if you don't have one).

Ok, I figured I'll measure the gap at home since it's the cheapest troubleshooting solution right now. I found this locally: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/kd-t ... 22988112-P

What measurement am I looking for?

[borimrr]

Either compressor clutch is worn, as already stated, or system is leaking and previous owner put wrong amount of A/C agent into system: pressure on high side goes above threshold and the system shuts down. Pressure difference between low- and high pressure sides is not enough to keep air cool. Easy to check with reusable dispenser+gauge from Arctic Freeze kit and cheap IR thermometer:

[imgff]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D0Eh ... 14_HDR.jpg[/img]

[imgff]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vy6D ... 95_HDR.jpg[/img]

Better do it in the morning, when both sides have equal pressure.

This issuse has been going on since March 2013 when I bought the car. I assume the system wouldn't be working at all at this point if there was a leak of some sort.

[vtl]

If A/C system was recharged with addition of sealant, it would stop small leak. Sealant can be pre-mixed with A/C agent right in the can.

[oragex]

Move more Northern, and A/C isn't as big a deal

In all seriousness - it sounds a lot like the worn clutch issue. Basically there is an electromagnetic clutch that turns the AC compressor on. There is some clearance here, and as it wears it requires more strength to pull the clutch in.

When you turn on AC it initially has enough strength to engage. When the electromagnet heats up it doesn't have enough strength to keep the compressor engaged anymore, so you loose A/C. A key point is that if you leave the A/C turned on the electromagnet is being powered and still heating up. You won't regain A/C until you turn it off allowing the electromagnet to cool.

If the issue was just low refrigerant or something else, I wouldn't expect that second symptom, where it won't work until you actually turn it off. I would expect it to kick in and out by itself, as it's purely a mechanical (or whatever you want to call it) issue.

Search 'S60 bread clip fix' for lots of posts about an easy solution, and how to measure the gap. It's extremely easy to measure with a feeler gauge ($5 if you don't have one).

Ok, I figured I'll measure the gap at home since it's the cheapest troubleshooting solution right now. I found this locally: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/kd-t ... 22988112-P

What measurement am I looking for?

It got to be actually quite thin. Perhaps a 0.02" would work. There are 3 or 4 shims to place, if I remember. These spark plug gap gauges are perfect for the job. Don't cut the shims too short, you want them to bent over that curvy metal part of the clutch plate, because when the clutch spins it will trow away anything that's not solidly fixed. by bending the shim at both ends over that clutch metal piece, you make sure it will stay in place.

[coflynn]

For the initial gap: it should be 0.012" to 0.024", source: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=S60+AC+clutch+gap which links to https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =9&t=42234 which shows you where to measure as well.

[IdahoBob]

As was offered by Coflynn, above, if the gap is too large, try the bread clip fix. There are some good write-ups on this site on doing it. The good news: 1) Congrats on the baby!, and 2) You're somewhere warm enough that your wife is stressing over AC, in January.