Heat issues... I think

GumboJones · Post by **GumboJones** » 25 Aug 2016, 17:54

I'm still trying to comb through the site looking for similar problems that make sense, but here's what's going on so far.

I own a 2000 V70 with 148K miles on it. I'm not sure if my problems are related, or if I just happen to have multiple problems adding up.

Problem 1
The air conditioner wont stay on when the out side air temp is 95+ which would be nice since I live in the Mojave Desert. When it does kick on the outside air temp in the dash jumps up by around 10 degrees. The air conditioner then kicks off if the air temp reads between 95 and 117 degrees. I know that the the air temp is not tied to the air conditioner, but it's the only thing I have to judge by. This is at a 70mph at about 2500 rpm with the cruise control set. I thought that it could be the clutch gap issue, but at night or when the temperature is low, the air conditioner will stay on no problem. I recharged the air conditioner last year and the problem was still present, but improved. I haven't checked it recently, but last time I checked maybe 6 months ago it was ok.

Problem 2
My idle can get really erratic and kill the car. I replaced the MAF and the forward 02 sensor and that seemed to fix 95% of the issues (and increased my MPG by 3.2), but it still comes back occasionally. This also seems to be heat related, since it only seems to do it on hot days or after a lot of short trips. But even that isn't true all of the time. Like the air conditioner issues the out side air temp reading gets weird after the engine dies or right before it dies. The reading will spike up to around 115 degrees and slowly cool off. The only post I saw that had similar symptoms and was heat related, replaced the fuel pump to fix the issue.

I have verified that the auxiliary fan does operate, but I can't really tell when it kicks on. I know it kicks on when I put the AC on 100%. The radiator looks fine from the outside, I'm going to try and clean out some of the bug guts when I get a chance.

Post by **scot850** » 25 Aug 2016, 23:09

Have you had the A/C pressure checked? Could be it is a little low and when working hard it shuts down which the compressor is designed to do when pressure is low to prevent damage.

As to the weird temp reading fluctuations I'm not sure what is going on there. There are 2 temp sensors under the front bumper. The positions can vary depending on the vehicle version, but usually one either side of the radiator area. Check that they are positions correctly and have not fallen out. Also you could try removing them, and cleaning the contacts. I only have pictures of my 2000 R which has a different bumper to your car, so they are possibly in different places, but hopefully they may point you to here yours are placed.

: 2000 V70R LH temp sensor

: Closer detail LH sensor

: RH sensor on RHS behind main grille

Finally, you may be having problems with the ETC temp sensor or the connections causing the weird running conditions.

Rough running issues may be the ETM is failing or starting to at higher temps.

Neil.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 25 Aug 2016, 23:14

The air conditioner problem is likely due to the clutch gap on the compressor being to wide. We have several variants of the "Bread Clip Fix" in the repair database. I use zip ties.

The outside air temp reading jumping when the air conditioner is on is somewhat normal due to the proximity of the sensor to the air conditioner condenser coil. I wouldn't read a lot into that one.

...Lee

GumboJones · Post by **GumboJones** » 29 Aug 2016, 17:47

Thanks guys! I'll take a look at where the air sensors are bouncing around right now. I bet aftet 16 years in the desert the plastic clips have disintegrated.

Also I just found that the Radiator has a leak in it... The horn assembly at some point got bent back to a point where it was rubbing on the radiator and now if has finally rubbed through it.

-Gumbo

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 29 Aug 2016, 18:14

I think the radiator behind the horn is actually the condenser coil for the air conditioner, the engine cooling radiator is the last item in the sandwich. If it actually rubbed through then the air conditioner will not work at all.

...Lee

GumboJones · Post by **GumboJones** » 29 Aug 2016, 18:39

I was just watching some removal video's on Youtube and realized that I ordered the wrong part. I need to call and change that quick!.

-Gumbo

GumboJones · Post by **GumboJones** » 06 Sep 2016, 21:45

So a little update. I JB Welded the condenser and it hung in for about an our in 95 degree heat. I also found where the air temp sensor was bouncing around in front of the condenser and zip tied it in a new location where I can actually see the out side temp. I also replaced TPS sensor with the contactless one. I was getting a 1.37v reading off of the new TPS and called that close enough. So far I haven't had any issues, but I'll know more after a few more trips.

Post by **rspi** » 07 Sep 2016, 08:55

Did you measure the clutch gap?

GumboJones · Post by **GumboJones** » 07 Sep 2016, 14:45

No, I decided that regardless of what the clutch gap is, it's a smaller problems then the erratic idle. It did hang in for about 50 miles the other day in 95 degree heat. Though when I turned it on today it didn't seem to blow as cool.

So bad news. I drove about 10 miles with the AC on and stopped shut the engine off and it was back to the old issue of not starting. I went in and got some lunch so I'm hoping that it will be fine when I go back out there. So this leads hopefully one other option. The fuel pump... Does anyone have any thoughts before I start ripping things apart again?

Post by **scot850** » 07 Sep 2016, 22:47

For the A/C, have the clutch gap checked, and then have the system loaded with dye to see if the condenser fix is holding or it needs to be swapped out. If you have to replace the condenser, then the dryer also should be swapped out.

What brand of MAF did you use for the replacement? Anything other than Bosch or OE is usually a waste of time on these cars.

For the fuel pump see if you can get the fuel pressure read when the car is warm and see if you are getting at least 43 psi.

Neil.