S40 T5 Aircon issues
 

Hi guys,

When having my aircon on it is initially nice and cold to start of with for a few mins then it starts to disappear while I am driving. When I switch the aircon off for a bit and then turn it back on, the cold air comes back but for only a couple of mins again.

Im thinking that maybe its the compressor thats the problem?

Sounds a bit like the evaporator is freezing up so it would be worth reading for any faulty sensors on VIDA etc.

I would check that it doesn't need regassing first, could just be low refrigerant pressure. Failing that it could be the compressor clutch gap https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...Compressor+gap

I'm fairly sure blowing cold then hot, then cold is a known failure of the compressor clutch. You can read up on it. If the condensor has failed, or it has lost gas it will not run cold at all.

yeh thats whats leads me to think the compressor and that gap issue as the air con when it works is still nice and cold.

I have a regas can but it doesnt work cause of the fault with the system

Just closing this thread as issue was resolved pretty quickly.

Issue was with the clutch gap.

The Fix:

I removed the driver side wheel and wheel arch to gain access to the ac clutch. With the car turned on and the ac switch off I could see the clutch wasnt engaged which is correct, after turning on the ac switch, I could see the clutch then engage and spin but shortly after, stop spinning.

After getting a feeler guage, I saw the gap was far from the required gap 0.3 and was around 0.8.

I then took some zip ties around the clutch to reduce the gap back to 0.3. I then turned the car back on and made sure the clutch engaged and disengaged correctly.


About 6 - 7 months now and the ac is still running well.

Cr*p, missed your original post in May, would have directed you to compressor gap straight away (gone torugh this last year) sorry :/
Alternative to cable ties are also metal shims or bread-bag clips (yea! :).
glad ur sorted.

No probs at all! yes I saw those alternatives but after measuring the gap I then measured the ziptie thickness and it was perfect! So put that around all the rings.

Any pics of this re-gapping process?

There is detailed info on US forum (not sure I can link it here) or have a look at YT video, think its on V70 but principals remain the same.