My AC Problem

dano009 · Post by **dano009** » 18 Apr 2009, 21:52

Last summer, I blew my hose from the condenser to the compressor. I had it replaced and the AC system recharged and I was back on the road again.

At around 70K, the previous owner had the evaporator replaced under warranty.

Soon after I had the AC hose replaced, I began having problems with my AC not cooling from time to time when I had it on auto control. If I turned the system off, and then turned it back on, it would cool again. Conversely, if I shut the engine off for a few minutes, it would start cooling again. I took the vehicle back to where I had the AC hose replaced and the AC recharged and they checked for leaks with dye and found none.

I know my heater core needs to be replaced shortly as I can smell the anti-freeze from time to time.

Now, even though I had my thermostat changed a couple of years ago, when its cool and I turn up my heat, I don't get any heat unless the temp is set to 80 or in the red.

Anyone have any ideas where I should start troubleshooting?

Dan
98 S-70 GLT 166K

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 18 Apr 2009, 22:14

I wonder if they properly evacuated the system. If not, there is air in it which means moisture- it will freeze blocking things up and your car will blow warm air during these times until it thaws again. I would get it thoroughly evacuated and recharged again-

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 18 Apr 2009, 22:17

Hopefully they replaced your accumulator/ receiver / drier after you blew the hose and drew a vacuum on the system. The accumulator really needs to be replaced if the system is open to the atmosphere for more than an hour or so unless you are in Arizona in the summer with no humidity.

That said, I think you have an A/C clutch shim issue. There are a number of ways to deal with it from fancy to ghetto, they all seem to work.

Some links on how to do it are in this thread:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... c&start=20

...Lee

dano009 · Post by **dano009** » 20 Jun 2009, 04:58

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I took my S70 to an import indy shop who told me it was my ECC module and wanted to charge me like $1100. I purchased a used one and that didn't solve my problem either. I bought some feeler gauges and checked my clutch gap which was was more than 0.6mm. I printed off the instructions on removing the clutch and re-shimming and I paid $153 for the labor to another auto repair facility. Everything works great. Nice to have constant cool air. I got $175 back of the $200 I spent for the used ECC module. Usually they don’t take back electronic parts.

Again, thanks everybody. These message boards save me hundreds of dollars. My S70 GLT is mechanically strong, but the vehicle is only worth about $4,000. It doesn’t make sense to go to the dealer or an indy and spend a thousand dollars on sometime of repair anymore.

Dan
98 S70 GLT 168K