2000 S80 Turbo Air Conditioning

dgentry · Post by **dgentry** » 16 Jul 2009, 19:07

A/C works fine when I first start the car. If I come to a stop and let the car idle or am in stop and go traffic it will stop working (fan keeps blowing, just not cold air). If I don't have to slow down it will still stop working within 5-10 minutes. If I turn it off (and the fan) and then turn it back on about 5 minutes later it will start working again and I go through the same process as described above. The repair shop wanted $1400 for a new compressor, but why do it work sporadically if the compressor is bad?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 16 Jul 2009, 21:52

Welcome to MVS.
More that the compressor it sounds like either you have a low amount of gas in the system or your compressor's clutch gap has gotten too big- things warm up and the gap expands even more, not allowing the compressor to engage... it cools down and things are better again. There is a clutch gap fix in the repair database that is not difficult, although it's not for an S80. It could be however that yours is the same as other Volvo's so it's worth a check.

Crito · Post by **Crito** » 16 Jul 2009, 23:53

I'd get the right amount of PAG oil and 134a refrigerant put in it first. Low oil is actually the #1 cause of compressor failure.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Jul 2009, 05:56

I would definitely go for the gas but the oil- well, it depends. Unless you've had a substantial leak, these systems don't usually lose oil...at least not enough to impact the compressor- I would still say it's probably the clutch gap...but check all.

Crito · Post by **Crito** » 17 Jul 2009, 07:28

These systems are very sensitive to overfilling, actually. So if you try and add a little 134a yourself there's a good chance you'll overcharge and the pressure cutoff switch will activate when it's hot. In fact, since it happens more frequently when you stop than moving, that's a definite possibility too.

I'd have it completely drained and filled with fresh compressor oil and refrigerant first. You can't tell how much is in the system by PSI.