Volvo AWD 850 Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 2/2004 850 INDEX

[<<]  [>>]


THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD




  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Vents have a mind of their own 850 1997

posted by  someone claiming to be gnoju on  Sat Jul 27 05:47 CST 2002 [RELATED]

Good day,

Has anyone come across a similar situation? My 97 850 (automatic climate) is being a bit difficult with the ventilation of the AC & Heat. Currently it's with the AC but I noticed similar problems with heat in the winter. The first and most obvious problem is the reluctance to divert any air to the feet setting. The windshield and center vents divert properly. The second, and a bit more peculiar, is the habit to 'restrict' about 80% of the airflow after about 20 minutes of operation. What I mean is that the actual air flow is lessened even though you can hear the blower motor continue to operate. A new sound also appears. It is as if all the vents shut inside the dash - you can almost hear the air being restricted. While in this state, the other vents are still divertible and there is full strength from the blower. Is it there some switch that controls the shutting and closing of vents that could be malfunctioning? Advice and comments are well appreciated...thank you..







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Vents have a mind of their own 850 1997

    posted by  someone claiming to be Mike Veglia on  Tue Jul 30 07:16 CST 2002 [RELATED]

    I sure would like to find out more on this too. Our '95 850 turbo wagon is doing what sounds like exactly the same thing. Started on a road trip with the family last week best I can tell. We had the system purged and recharged a few months ago by my neighbor (he is a certifed AC tech and evacuated the system and charged it by weight) when the 134a charge was low. AC has worked great since. What is happening on ours is after about 15-20 minutes of operation nearly no airflow comes out of any vents, no matter what position the knob is in. You can hear the fan laboring away, trying to push air through a blocked climate control system. We pulled off the road to check things out, since we were heading to the Sierras and passing through the Fresno, CA. area with no AC was really not going to be fun. I yanked the radio and Climate Control Head...wasn't able to see anything obvious. By the time we got going the CC system was blowing some cold air. Later on in the trip I discovered that if I turned off the AC manually that in about 3-4 minutes the system would return to normal. I also noticed while filling up the car and doing a pre-trip underhood check that one of the AC lines appeared to be much more frosted up than normal.

    Here's my theory. The 134a charge is such that the evaporator is freezing/frosting up to the point that it is blocking air flow. Either that or whatever controls the CC air mixing box flaps is failing. (If it were an older Audi I would simply resolder all the vacuum solenoids in the programmer and call it a day--but my 850 knowledge, not to mention patiance with this car at this point, is lacking.)

    Any 850 automatic climate control experts out there in Brickboard land who can help offer some troubleshooting advice?







<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.