1994 960 climate control stuck on vent mode

Xanotos · Post by **Xanotos** » 03 Aug 2011, 22:00

Hi all. First time Volvo owner. I got myself a 1994 960 with 284,000, but well taken care of. Belonged to an old lady that took t every 6 months to dealership for maintenance.
The problem I seem to have is that the climate control system will not let me switch from side vent control to any other, no matter how many turns I give it to the other settings. Speed control works well, as the temp control.
Can anyone give me any suggestions on what it may be?

Thanks

Post by **billofdurham** » 06 Aug 2011, 10:37

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

The climate controls are vacuum powered and it is possible you have a leaking vacuum pipe under the dash.

Bill.

Xanotos · Post by **Xanotos** » 06 Aug 2011, 16:11

Cool. Thanks for the info!
I checked those out and they are fine. I still need to follow them just to make sure.
When I get a chance to lift the car, going to also check that vacuum box in the front of the car. I have a feeling it has a crack on it.

Post by **jimmy57** » 06 Aug 2011, 16:46

I don't believe 960's have that tank the 4 cylinder models use.
DOes it blow out defrost and floor outlets only?

Xanotos · Post by **Xanotos** » 25 Aug 2011, 04:07

Good thing you told me. Was about to get under the car and look for that box.
Yeah, it only blows from the side vents, not sure about the floor vents. Will check.

lindy8_man · Post by **lindy8_man** » 26 Aug 2011, 01:56

Can you hear any hissing under the dash? When you accelerate, do you feel the volume of air drop from the side vents?

Post by **phils94850** » 27 Aug 2011, 05:38

I believe theres a vacuum controlled solenoid under the dash that goes bad when this happens. It should be attached to the heater core housing.

Xanotos · Post by **Xanotos** » 09 Sep 2011, 00:12

Ok, I checked car (finally!) and noticed when driving, the air came out on the sides and bottom and was steady. No loss of air when accelerating.

Also phils94850, how do I change the hoses to the heater core?

lindy8_man · Post by **lindy8_man** » 13 Sep 2011, 03:10

Replacing heater hoses is a big job. Your core is behind the center of the dash board. You will have to pull the dash to get at the heater core. While you are in there, just replace your vacuum servosThere should be 3 or 4. It's worth it. You don't want to have to go in there again. Your challenge will be finding all the screws/bolts, not breaking any plastic, and getting it back together so it wont rattle.
I have the chilton manual, and I couldn't find all the screws with it. Well, I don't mean to be a downer... If you are into DIY, it can be alot of fun!

lindy8_man · Post by **lindy8_man** » 13 Sep 2011, 03:25

Here is a good write up on dash board removal. But I am sure I found all these screws...
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... l-writeup/