No Klaus, the system was cooling some, so there was refrigerant in the system, and i did not want to have to evacuate it completely to do a vacuum test on it. It took one can on refrigerant to get to the right pressure, and the total capacity is 3 - 4 cans. I have only owned my 850 wagon for 6 months, and have only used the AC in the last month or so, therefore I have no way of knowing if that loss of refrigerant was sudden or if it happened over the life of the car. It has been almost four weeks now since I did this and the AC is cooling great, i am keeping my fingers crossed.

You do not say what is the reason you are recharging? if the system is leaking or was open, you need to fix the leak and make sure everything is tight by applying a vacuum. I am speaking like I knew what I am talking about but I just did my first AC job, reassembled the AC system in my 240 wagon, and luckily I had no leaks, pulled a vacuum for about an hour to remove moisture, then recharged it. it works beautifully. My '94 850 wagon was cooling marginally and the compressor was cycling on and off, which I found out happens when the system needs refrigerant. I hooked up my little connector/gauge I bought at AutoZone and it ended up eating a whole can of R134a before the pressure came to the right range. Now it is cooling great.

Is your 850 a Turbo?
I don't have any suggestions....I'm just trying to figure out if the Turbo has a different port...nothing seems to be working
thanks and good luck

Have you done this before? Was the can cold before you started?

The first time I did this, I screwed the hose end on to the can too hard. I backed off the can about 1/2 turn and I was in business.

Look in my profile and give me a call.

Klaus
--
Common sense trumps a PhD

Did you short the low pressure switch? If not, you probably have to do that. Its the switch on the hard line on the passenger side, near the firewall. If you are standing directly in fron to the car, if you look at the first 'V' in Volvo on your valve cover, then look towards the firewall, that's your switch. You need to disconnect the connector and jumper across the contacts of the connector. When you are done charging, unjumper the connector and put it back on the switch.