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A/C problem or Overheating problem ??? V70-XC70 1998

posted by jguerra3235 on Wed Aug 11 18:54 CST 2010
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last visit: Mon Jul 28 00:20 CST 2014

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My car (1998 V70 T5 auto w/ electronic climate control) has always blown ICE COLD air since I bought it last March. A couple of months ago the air will suddenly blow warm air. I turn the A/C off for a few minutes then back on and it will blow cold again for a few minutes. I thought it might be the clutch on the compressor so I tried the bread clip trick. Not a chance, the clutch is so tight that the bread clip would never fit. I noticed that this problem only occurs when it is EXTREMELY HOT outside, like 95 degrees F. and above. In the morning when it's cooler it blows ice cold. I took it to an A/C mechanic whom I trust one morning. It was about 80 degrees that morning so the A/C was blowing very cold. The mechanic said that he really needed to see it when it was blowing warm air. He did check it out and said that it had plenty of refrigerant and no signs of leaks any where.

As part of my routine maintenance I was doing a complete coolant flush. The old coolant didn't look that great. Even though the previous owner said that they flushed the coolant when they changed the thermostat and engine coolant sensor. I took the car to the car wash and pressure washed the condenser to get out all of the dead bugs and dirt. While doing this I noticed that my engine seemed very hot. The upper radiator hose was too hot to even touch. My temperature gauge needle is always at a 90 degree angle while driving. Here in South Texas we daily get temperatures well above 100 degrees.

I'm wondering if the previous owner could have put in a thermostat for normally aspirated engine instead of one for a turbo engine? N/A engine use a 92 degree Celsius (197.6F) while a turbo engine uses a 87 degree Celsius (188.6F). Also Auto-Zone shows no difference between turbo and non-turbo and recommend a 192 degree thermostat. Could this be enough of a difference to affect my A/C? Could this also make my engine seem like it running hot? The engine running hot could be me being paranoid I guess.

After pressure washing the condenser and doing a coolant flush. My A/C still cuts off but not as often. I have yet to take it on a long drive though. As soon as my 8 inch T-40 bit comes in I'll change the thermostat.

Any ideals, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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I'm having a similar problem. V70-XC70 1998

posted by mormit on Sat Aug 14 14:17 CST 2010
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last visit: Sat Jun 7 18:36 CST 2014

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Are you accelerating when the AC cuts out? My 98 V70 T5 very similar car just started doing this occasionally but only when it is very hot out and it happens when I accelerate. I'm suspecting it is the AC relay because many modern cars are set up to turn off the AC compressor when at at full throttle. Mine has been doing this occasionally at moderate, even light throttle and does not come back on. Sometimes gunning the gas and letting off quickly restores the AC for me.

I've had my V70 for a little over 4 years with no AC problems regardless of outside temp. This just popped up recently.

How is your temp gauge reading? Right at mid-range or a little high?

mormit
--
02 S40 , 98 V70 T5 Koni FSDs, IPD swaybars and HD Endlinks, 85 245DL 278,000mi V15cam It takes a licking and keeps on ticking

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I'm having a similar problem. V70-XC70 1998

posted by jguerra3235 on Sun Aug 15 15:04 CST 2010
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last visit: Mon Jul 28 00:20 CST 2014

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My temp. gauge always read right at the mid-range mark. But I can tell it's running hot. It proved so the other day, my radiator blew off the upper hose neck. Probably from some shade tree mechanic making the hose clamp as tight as he could. So a new radiator and upper hose is on the way. I took out the old radiator and inter-cooler. While out I cleaned the inter-cooler and condenser, they were very filthy. So when all the parts come in I will get everything back together. I hope that a new radiator, thermostat, and cleaned inter-cooler and condenser will solve my A/C problems. If not at least I won't be worrying about my car overheating and I guess that's more important than my personal comfort for now.

Is there a way for our temp. gauge to more accurate? It seems that just as long as it's in a certain range the gauge always read at the mid range mark. Even after my radiator blew my temp. gauge still read at the mid range mark. I pulled over because of the low coolant light came on.

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A/C problem or Overheating problem ??? V70-XC70 1998

posted by LilHelpHere on Thu Aug 12 07:06 CST 2010
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last visit: Wed Oct 15 22:09 CST 2014

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I was about to try the bread clips with same symptoms. My guys drained all the AC freon and replaced at the proper pressure. Now things have been great for weeks. Go back to AC guy?
good luck
--
'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's

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A/C problem or Overheating problem ??? V70-XC70 1998

posted by tmannian on Thu Aug 12 06:19 CST 2010
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last visit: Sat Sep 20 10:31 CST 2014

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The 87 to 92 thermostat is of little difference down there in south texas. Since your engine is going to pretty much always be hot during the day you drive it doesn't matter if it opens at 180 or 190. It will usually be over that. However, up north where it gets quite chilly, having a 190 will make a big difference in the winter time as to how fast you get heat.

Now an OEM and a 3rd party thermostat, the difference there is important. A failed thermostat that is shut will cause the coolant to boil in minutes resulting in a pressure spike that will usually blow the head gasket. That is not a fun fix.

As a side note, with the way volvo designed some of the things to fail first on the car to save money (like the linkage on the AWD's to the rear axle that is supposed to break and leave the bevel gear intact) you think they would have done something similar to prevent head gasket blow out. I'm not sure of the best way to do this, but perhaps a pipe with a blowout pressure of 25-30psi or even blowoff valve a couple of psi above normal operating pressure (which i believe is 15psi)...

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A/C problem or Overheating problem ??? V70-XC70 1998

posted by KlausC on Thu Aug 12 05:17 CST 2010
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:15 CST 2014

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I run a 92C thermostat in my V70R. Make sure when you buy a thermostat that it is OEM. Other makes tend to fail in the closed position and will cook your engine.

Check out the engine fan relay, it should engage when ever the AC is on.

The compressor has a thermostat switch which will shut down the compressor if it gets too hot. I forgot where it is, but it is part of the wiring around the compressor.

Klaus
--
Two good Volvos, a 220 and a V70R

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