Hi there, I was wondering if all you Volvo fans could help me, its a bit long winded unfortunately.

I am 25 and a long time volvo fan, and have bought my first car, a volvo of course :) (850 2.5 20V GLE early 94) but as it is an old car, I have a few problems/niggles that I would like to solve if possible. Unfortunatley I am not a mechanic or an electronics eng, so laymans terms are how I need them in if possible. Thanks again.

1. The aircon doesnt seem to work at all, I have seen no leaks or heard any noises when I switch it on. The switch does do something because the LED changes and the engine revs go down when I switch it. I was told when I bought it that the aircon had only been used a couple of times. It was a cold day when I bought it and it seemed like cold air, not frosty admittedly:(, but now its summer just hot air comes through, its colder to have the windows open. Might it need refilling/recharging or will it be mechanical? I have tried it with windows open, closed, reircuating air on and off, and with auto on off, nothing seems to work. (The unit is a dual climate control)

2. Only the top half of the rear demister works, is it a double pole circuit? Would it be easy to fix?

3. There does seem to be a lot of trim rattle, looking at your pages this seems to be a common problem, is there any way to secure the ratling trim sections?

4. Is there anywhere that sells the rear light cluster (top and bottom) in clear plastic. I think it would look better with coloured bulbs instead of coloured platic.

5. Do the new LED indicator and brake bulbs work? are they any good? Where to buy compatible ones online?

6. Is the fog lamp kit expensive/easy to install?

7. The paintwork on the front and rear bumper seems to flake off really easily showing the black plastic underneath, what can I do about this?

8. The rubber bumper and door trims seem to have been bleached by the sun or by oxidisation, now they are blotchy, patchy, and faded. Aanything I can use to restore the finish and keep it?

9. Are parts cheap from volvo direct (UK)?

10. Is it easy to install a CD changer in the boot(The connector is already there)? If so which models would work with the standard head unit?

Sorry there are so many questions, and I hope I havent bored you too much :)
Any answers to the above questions would be much, much appreciated.

Regards

I have traded my '94 850 Turbo wagon for a new '04 V70 2.5 but still have intereste in the 850 and actually miss it...sigh....I agree with the other guy...most likely the AC is the Evaporator. I had to replace mine too at about 55K...bought the car at 51K (right after warranty was gone) in the winter time like you. But, don't pay $1500 for it. Ask other Volvo owners wherever you live and most likely you will be directed to a shop that is reputable. The dealer will get all the $$ they can from you so avoid them unless absolutely impossible to. I found a shop here in Knoxville that took the dash out and replaced my Evap. unit and other essential parts...all totalled about $900. As far as the weathering lining, etc., I really can't help you because our 850 never had those problems. Rear Demister might be clogged...try taking the hoses off and blowing back through them...with compressed air fixed mine. Unfortunately for your Head Unit on the radio/CD, unless you get Alpine (what most Volvos that year used) it won't match up. We ended up with a Pioneer changer under the passenger seat, using an FM station as the input which didn't excite us...but was the best/cheapest solution at the time and it didn't sound bad at all. Go to PepBoys and buy "BacktoBlack" (I think that's the name...works pretty well) for rubber bumper and door trims that are bleached out. Funny thing...before I traded my 850, I didn't have any more of the above mentioned product left so I took a thick point Sharpie and spend about an hour "painting" my door handles...seemed to do the trick for the short while anyway...lol. How are your roof stripping holding up...you know the ones that run the whole length of the car on both sides? Mine flaked really badly and the dealer wanted like $75 a piece for them. I found that if you carefully take them off (there's like a stopper at the rear of each and then they slide and clip out of place) without bending them and then use a paint stripper and sand paper to them and then spray paint them with glossy high temp. auto paint, they look as good as new. Hope this info helps...By the way, I have a Haynes repair manual for this car if you're interested.

Hi,
air condition problem for most other 850 owners turns out to be the evaporator leaking, very common more like epidemic. the evap is under the dash board requires remove entire dashboard and climate control unit $1500.00 - $2000.00 job here in US or obtain sealer for about $ 30.00 and recharge with r134. probably get diagnosed first. ( ive had our 94 850 for about 2 years and spent over $2000.00 already and do most work myself!
Volvo of houston has good prices on dealer parts for US cars, they have a kit to add CD 6disc player in glove compartment about $ 150 - 200 not a tough install and works good (Alpine for volvo i think)If you are in UK not sure about parts and models matching etc.owned volvos for 25 years repairs are non stop
good luck
frankd
south florida
jambrf ( aol.com)

Concerning the AC. The unit you see with the dual climate controls is the Electronic Climate Control Unit. (I fondly remember the day smoke came out of mine 2 weeks after I bought my used '93 850 GLT!) This unit controls damper motors that direct the air and mix cold and hot depending on desired temperature. This unit can fail in various degrees. If the "rec" and "ac" leds blink continously for about a minute when you first start the car, then there is some problem with the unit. Could be minor to major. The first time, once the smoke cleared, nothing would work. I called Woodfins 1 888 883-4466 (great customer service) and got a used replacement and it worked great. Since then, I obtained a spare locally when opportunity put one in my lap. (Here in Florida, AC is essential to life.) Yesterday, mine started blowing hot on the driver's side and cold on the passenger's side! I installed my spare and I am back in the cool zone. I will be looking for another spare immediately.