2010 V70 Air Con Problem

[jamesm182]

Hi all,

I have a 2010 V70 D5 that's I've recently picked up, and unfortunately I seem to have an issue with the air con.

It's working intermittently - it will run cold for a few mins, then ambient temperature and so on, cycling between the two while driving.

I know for sure it's not the gas level as I've had that checked.

Initially I was thinking it could be the compressor, but while looking at the car I noticed that the air con seemed to work when the fan ran at high speed. It also seemed to work when driving along a dual carriageway at speed and so increasing natural airflow I suppose.

Starting the car this morning with the air con engaged didn't seem to start the fan at all, even at low speed.

This has got me thinking it could be the cooling fan control module, which seem to be readily available for around £25-30 online.

Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?

Also, what is the normal behaviour for the fan with a/c running? I would assume high speed as that seems to be the case on most other cars?

[Tannaton]

Could be the setting of the gap on the compressor clutch - if you search youtube there are a few videos on how to check and correct this. It could also be low gas, but checking the clutch costs nothing....

Have a watch of this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOjqjR8Mz64

[Clan]

Originally Posted by jamesm182

Hi all,

I have a 2010 V70 D5 that's I've recently picked up, and unfortunately I seem to have an issue with the air con.

It's working intermittently - it will run cold for a few mins, then ambient temperature and so on, cycling between the two while driving.

I know for sure it's not the gas level as I've had that checked.

Initially I was thinking it could be the compressor, but while looking at the car I noticed that the air con seemed to work when the fan ran at high speed. It also seemed to work when driving along a dual carriageway at speed and so increasing natural airflow I suppose.

Starting the car this morning with the air con engaged didn't seem to start the fan at all, even at low speed.

This has got me thinking it could be the cooling fan control module, which seem to be readily available for around £25-30 online.

Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?

Also, what is the normal behaviour for the fan with a/c running? I would assume high speed as that seems to be the case on most other cars?

how did they check the volume of gas in the system?

[jamesm182]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Could be the setting of the gap on the compressor clutch - if you search youtube there are a few videos on how to check and correct this. It could also be low gas, but checking the clutch costs nothing....

Have a watch of this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOjqjR8Mz64

Thanks will check this out.

[jamesm182]

Originally Posted by Clan

how did they check the volume of gas in the system?

Friend is an Aircon engineer (non automotive) so hooked up all his gauges etc. Also ended up draining the system and refilling with the correct amount he weighed out.

[Tony Rama]

Originally Posted by jamesm182

Friend is an Aircon engineer (non automotive) so hooked up all his gauges etc. Also ended up draining the system and refilling with the correct amount he weighed out.

I realise this is an old thread, but did the re-gas fix it?

[monkeh]

OP was last online in 2021- I doubt you'll find an answer.

[callisr]

Ill bump this rather than start a new thread as I have the exact same problem on my D3 5cyl. AC works great until the outside temp gets over about 22degC.

Is it possible to remove the clutch plate from the compressor in situ? i havent managed to get the nut off yet - its hellish tight, its difficult to counter hold the pulley while trying to undo the nut and access is poor. Not sure there will be room to pull the plate off with the compressor in situ.....?

I've watched the video linked in a previous post but the clutch in my car is different, with its own drive belt and access is nowhere near as good as it is in the video!

I was thinking about loosening the compressor bolts and letting it hang on the pipes (I dont want to have the system drained again as I had it gassed up today after replacing the condenser).....

cheers,

Rich

[Tony Rama]

I have the same problem on the same model. There seems to be almost no room to work on the clutch. I looked at the idea of loosening the compressor bolts to lower the compressor, but the refrigerant pipes seem to be solid, so not sure what to do next. Just bought another set of feeler gauges to re-check the gap. Eye-balled it recently, but it's not an accurate method.

[callisr]

So I’ve had a tinker today and after re-measuring the air gap, I found it to be 0.8mm. I did manage to remove the clutch ‘plate’ in situ but it was a fiddle.
I took off the wheel, arch line and engine under tray and then the ancillary belt and the ac belt.
Then I managed to get an adjustable peg spanner into 2 of the holes in the plate (hopefully there will be a picture of how it goes on.
I ended up wedging the peg spanner against the aux belt pulley and undid the nut with a 14mm ring spanner from underneath the car (I put the spanner on backwards so it was cranked towards the engine if that makes sense). The nut wasn’t too tight once I’d figured out how to attack it!
I had to gently persuade the clutch plate off the clutch by gently tapping it with a hammer and punch, rotating the plate after each tap to get it to move off the splines. Again, it wasn’t too tight and came off quite easily.
There was only one shim in there and it was 0.5mm so I removed that, cleaned everything up and put it back together. I was left with an air gap of 0.3mm.

All works well except it hasn’t resolved my issue of the AC not working properly. It blew cold for about 20mins on the test drive but then started to blow warm. Even when it was blowing cool, it wasn’t nearly as cold as the AC in our fiat 500 and when it started to blow warmer, it wasn’t as warm as when I turned the AC off, so it seems that my system is trying to work.

Fairly certain the clutch remained engaged though so I think it’s time to get it booked in at a garage and be prepared to have my wallet emptied!

I’ll report back when I get some news but I expect I’ll be waiting a while to get in at my preferred garage……

Cheers

Rich