|
You can tell if the A/C clutch is engaged when your problem occurs, by looking at it. If disengaged, the black plate will not be soinning. If it is engaged and you are not getting cold air out of the vents, your problem is not the compressor or the clutch.
If the clutch plate is not spinning, disconnect the wire connector at the compressor. Using a 12 volt test light, clip the test light clip to ground or the negative battery cable. With the engine running, and the A/C switched on, touch the probe on the test light to the connector on the source side of the wiring (not the compressor side). If the light lights, there is power to the compressor clutch and there is a problem with the clutch. Measure the gap between the clutch plate and the pulley. If it is more than .020, it is out of spec. If it is .040" or more, that will cause a problem. If the test light does not light, there is a different problem, such as low refrigerant.
While it may or may not be true that a compressor clutch problem means tha compressor failure is not far behind, That does not seem to be true on S/V70 Volvos. My 99 V70 has had compressor clutch problems twice in 70,000 miles, and the compressor seems to be doing just fine. If the problem can be solved by removing shims from the clutch, I would certainly try that first. Even if you are paying somebody else to do the job, it shouldn't cost more than 2 hours labor (if they are willing to do it without completely removing the compressor), rather than almost the same amount of labor plus $800 or more for a compressor, plus $100 more to evacuate and charge the system.
|
