Year is 89. Bought the car 4 months ago with blower motor not working so I can't say how rest of system was before the swap. Now, after the swap, I'm having trouble with A\C system. Not surprised that the Air cond. doesn't work, nor am I surprised by my eagerness to get it fixed B4 upcoming arizona 120 deg. heat. With that said here's the prob: 1. Air blowing thru vents stays at one temp. only (same temp. as air outside, makes sense); there is no fluxuation in temp. whatsoever upon moving temp. control lever back and forth. 2. the air compressor runs continuously, as long as the a\c knob is turned to ON.
So I have luke-warm air blowing thru vents and an air compressor that doesn't want to rest. The two factors combined don't seem to make a lot of sense but then again I've seen a lot worse. Like I said I don't know how the a\c system was B4 Bcuz I bought the car that way, and I probably shouldn't rule out the fact that I may have exchanged one prob. for another during the swap. Besides the obvious fact that system may need freon, does anyone have any ideas on how to get the compressor to cycle on\off, AND the air temp. to fluxuate so it will blow CCCCCOLD during upcoming scorcher? Any sug. would be appreciated. Thank you.


By the way this is my first time owning a volvo. Have to say it was nice to find a new blower motor in the trunk when I got the car home from the auction, It quickly became obvious why it was still in there after an hour or two into the job.

Yeah I couldn't figure out why someone (auction car couldn't talk to him) would buy something as expensive as a volvo fan blower motor and then just let in collect dust in the trunk. Actually I only assumed it was expensive, as most new volvo parts are (how much are they anyway). Anyway after I was about an hour into the job it became pretty clear just why the motor had been abandoned (or the job put-off) in the trunk by the previous owner. I'm pretty certain that this job took at least half the amount of time it would have taken to R & R the car motor itself.

Is the compressor cooling....do the "freon" lines (under the hood) get cold (or hot) when the compressor is running? If it's working (turning gas into liquid), your problem is in the dash controls.
steve

I would first make sure that the heater control valve is shutting off the heat
as previous post suggests.
It is common for the control valve to go out, especially at that age, and not disengage the heating.
You should feel the lever seat itself to the far left, if not it may just need to be adjusted.
If that doesn't work you need a new heater control valve.

I did a blower motor last fall and while in there replaced the control valve.
You can't get the original any longer, they have a redesigned one that
requires some replumbing.

I've attached a link from a guy who was very kind enough to spend some time documenting the installition of the new control valve. This is very usefull because the instructions you receive with the new units make no sense.

Hope this helps if the issue is the heater control valve.
Good Luck
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=781119
--
Chapster out

I did a blower motor last fall and while in there replaced the control valve.
You can't get the original any longer, they have a redesigned one that
requires some replumbing.

I've attached a link from a guy who was very kind enough to spend some time documenting the installition of the new control valve. This is very usefull because the instructions you receive with the new units make no sense.

Hope this helps if the issue is the heater control valve.
Good Luck
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=781119
--
Chapster out


Just tell me, that it is "possible" to get the air conditioner to work, without having to dive back into that endless pit again. Even if you have to lie to me. Just kidding. Apparently it is impossible to replace the heater control valve WITHOUT HAVING TO EXPOSE THE HEATER BLOWER MOTOR?!! There has got to be another way around this. Once every few years of having to tear any car literally half-way apart is enough for me. I really don't need the heater, (hardly ever) here in Yuma, Arizona. None of the locals here could even begin to tell you how to make a snowman. With that said, isn't there a way to by-pass the heater altogether? How about running the two heater hoses together from under the hood so the water just goes around in a circle, never reaching the heater core? Or maybe something else? Is there any hope left in this situation, before I call the auto trader and place an ad?

The "climate controls", such as they are, are somewhat confusing on a 240 Volvo. That lever actually manipulates the heater control valve. Don't be fooled by the blue shaded area of its sweep - if the lever is not all the way to the left, the heater is "on" and, if everything is working as it should, gets warmer as the lever travels rightward into the orange shaded area of the control.

To use the air conditioning, position the lever as far to the left as it will go, and then turn the A/C on using the rotary knob. Turn the knob into the 'orange zone' until the temp gets ccccold, and then hit the 'recycle' button (three arrows on my '85 and forces the system to "recool" the air in the cabin as opposed to bringing in fresh air from outside) and dial the knob back to the end of the 'blue zone.'

Does it work now?

The "climate controls", such as they are, are somewhat confusing on a 240 Volvo. That lever actually manipulates the heater control valve. Don't be fooled by the blue shaded area of its sweep - if the lever is not all the way to the left, the heater is "on" and, if everything is working as it should, gets warmer as the lever travels rightward into the orange shaded area of the control.

To use the air conditioning, position the lever as far to the left as it will go, and then turn the A/C on using the rotary knob. Turn the knob into the 'orange zone' until the temp gets ccccold, and then hit the 'recycle' button (three arrows on my '85 and forces the system to "recool" the air in the cabin as opposed to bringing in fresh air from outside) and dial the knob back to the end of the 'blue zone.'

Does it work now?

No it still won't blow colder or warmer than outside air. Maybe the system needs more freon. It's already been converted to 134a so I'll add the freon myself. I'll let a shop handle any other problems (leaks, etc.) concerning a\c system. If, after adding the freon, the air blowing thru the vents hasn't changed in temp., (and even if the system is full of holes it should at least blow cold momentarily) do you think that bypassing the heater core by running the ends of heater hoses together would solve the problem? Or possibly another solution? That is, BESIDES replacing the heater control valve? Because I am not going back into THE VERY CENTER of that marshpit again, at least not until the newly installed fan motor quits in ?? many years. And that's where the control valve is located, I recently found out. But changing the blower motor in however many years won't even be an issue if I have to jump back into that endless cave, I'll just leave that up to the next person. I bought the car at a public auto auction where volvos are commonplace so I'm sure I'll find another one. I could actually sell it for more $$ than paid but would rather keep it, as I have gotten used to it and really enjoy most of it. Is there any hope left, or should I go ahead and place the ad? I appreciate all your help. Thanks for listening to my bitching and moaning.

Before getting into the air conditioning, you need to address the fact that "there is no fluxuation in temp. whatsoever upon moving temp. control lever back and forth."

Are you sure that "Air blowing thru vents stays at one temp. only (same temp. as air outside"? It should get a lot hotter than the outside air when the engine is warm. Maybe it is, and your air conditioning is counteracting it.

Repeat your tests with the temp control with the engine cold and the A/C off, and then with the engine warm and the A/C off, to see where you're at with this. Maybe you're always adding heat to the cabin air.


--
David Armstrong - '86 240(350k km?), '93 940T(270k km), '89 240(parts source for others) near Toronto

Glad you got the fan installed. You shouldn't have had to disturb the AC system much while doing that, BUT, that knob control could have been damaged. It's basically a thermal bulb with a pressure tube, and that thin tube can break while you're flexing it moving stuff around.

There aren't very many AC systems that last beyond 10 years. You need to find the leaks and fix them. The compressor clutch won't cycle if the system is low on pressure, i.e. low on freon. There's a pressure switch near or on the receiver-dryer in the right front of the car. IF it's already converted to R134a, it may be on a larger silver receiver-dryer located by the firewall.

You can have a shop check it out for leaks and tell you what you need, then buy parts, install them, and return to the shop for charging, leak testing,etc. At this point the only good option really is to convert to R134a. If the car's not set up for it already, you need to change the oil in the compressor (or the whole compressor, especially if the front of it is all black and oily), and you'll need to change all the system o-rings. Additionally, there could be a bad hose, or a bad condensor (that's the radiator type part in front of the radiator.)

I'd get it evaluated at an AC shop to get together a game plan, and see www.fcpgroton.com for some great parts prices.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!