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'98 V70 MCC Air Conditioning Relay Not Engaging

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
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bmdubya1198
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'98 V70 MCC Air Conditioning Relay Not Engaging

Post by bmdubya1198 »

Trying to diagnose an AC issue with this '98 V70 base I've been working on. I've looked at the diagrams, and from what I can tell, the MCC unit sends 12v to the ECU, then the ECU grounds the AC compressor relay, sending power to the compressor clutch. I manually activated the relay, and the clutch engages. So everything there seems to be fine.
The low pressure switch is closed, so the charge and switch shouldn't be an issue. When I tested for voltage at that connector however, I got about 10v on my multimeter, and nothing on my test light. Interesting, I just had the same problem with a '93 940. That system is MUCH simpler to diagnose, though.

Now if my thought process is right, the MCC unit should be the problem here. However most failures of the MCC include lots of thing acting up. The unit itself works perfectly fine... AC light turns on and off when I press it, same with recirc, and the blower works perfectly at all speeds. The only problem is that I don't have power (or enough power) at the low pressure switch connector.
Obviously there are multiple modes of failure, but I wanted to get others' input on this, and that I'm understanding the MCC AC system correctly.

I repaired the 940 by re-soldering the joints on the relay within the MCC unit. Maybe it's a similar issue? I told the owner I would likely have to source a replacement, and as you all probably know by now, they're not easy to find. Shoulda grabbed the ones I saw at the JY when I could! Every now and again they'll get a couple cars in with MCC.
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

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Post by abscate »

Grab those MCC control units, they aren’t easy to find.

I’ll have a peek at the circuit and see if I can offer advice
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
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bmdubya1198
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Post by bmdubya1198 »

Yeah, I’ll definitely start grabbing them. Not easy to find at all.

That would be awesome, thanks!
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

User avatar
abscate  
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Posts: 35310
Joined: 17 February 2013
Year and Model: 99: V70s S70s,05 V70
Location: Port Jefferson Long Island NY
Has thanked: 1506 times
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Post by abscate »

This is from a 1999 but IF it’s DENSO it is probably the same

1, MCC sendssignal to ECM from MCC pin B22

2 It has to makeup through the closed low pressure switch , jumping this switch won’t turn on the compressor like your Uncle Buick, it just enables the ECM to turn in the compressor. A well meaning friend putting voltage here can cost you a lot of money.

3 the ECM received the signal on pin B32

4 if software agrees,it grounds the compressor relay at pin B44

5 compressor relay powers ACcompressor

6 the compressor makes cold molecules and sends them to you in the cabin

Very Swedish
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Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread

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abscate  
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Post by abscate »

So your troubleshooting has been perfect

Try key position I, then pushing the recirc twice to read the little flashing lights on the MCC CONTROL UNIT and see if you get 5-1-2 low voltage
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Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread

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bmdubya1198
Posts: 6338
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Post by bmdubya1198 »

I'll take a look for errors on there today, thanks!
Although jumping the connector at the switch won't trigger the compressor clutch directly, it should still provide the ECU with the required signal to ground the compressor relay. That signal should be 12v, right? Because that's not what I'm seeing there.

Should be the same though looking at that diagram, although 1998 NAs are M4.4.

I love the bottom illustration.
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

User avatar
bmdubya1198
Posts: 6338
Joined: 30 December 2014
Year and Model: 2K V70R M56
Location: Charlotte, NC
Has thanked: 304 times
Been thanked: 517 times

Post by bmdubya1198 »

It seems the ‘98 may not be able to read MCC codes that way. Every time I try I get nothing.
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

User avatar
abscate  
MVS Moderator
Posts: 35310
Joined: 17 February 2013
Year and Model: 99: V70s S70s,05 V70
Location: Port Jefferson Long Island NY
Has thanked: 1506 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by abscate »

Yes, the 1998 might be different

The signal through the low pressure switch could be 12v or 5v logic , since it’s actually controller to controller signal

10V doesn’t sound Right though

I’ll check Abbys after CHE beats ARS this morning
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread

User avatar
bmdubya1198
Posts: 6338
Joined: 30 December 2014
Year and Model: 2K V70R M56
Location: Charlotte, NC
Has thanked: 304 times
Been thanked: 517 times

Post by bmdubya1198 »

I thought it could be a 5v reference, but the fact that my meter showed 10v led me to believe it should be 12v.
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

User avatar
abscate  
MVS Moderator
Posts: 35310
Joined: 17 February 2013
Year and Model: 99: V70s S70s,05 V70
Location: Port Jefferson Long Island NY
Has thanked: 1506 times
Been thanked: 3820 times

Post by abscate »

What’s the part number on the MCC controller?

With kpII I turned on blower and AC, and the command voltage at the low pressure switch went from 0mto 3.5V

That’s probably a TTL signal from MCC controller to ECM
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread

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