Air Con: 70: Air con problems and unavailable parts

[mlh420]

Hello,

I have an air con problem on my 1998 V70 T5 CD manual. I have had the car since 1999 and it has been serviced by a local Volvo specialist in Bristol for most of the time (main dealer prior to that).

The EML has been on and signalling a faulty barometric sensor which has been replaced. However, the light remains on and the air con is not working (it's not a re-gas problem). They wanted to change the pressure sensor which is fitted in the OSF, but some the pipe is corroded and they are worried by removing it, it will make matters worse, as that pipe (accumulator to evaporator - I think!) is apparently no longer available in the UK. Though I have seen one on a US site for $540..!

Unfortunately they don't seem that keen on trying to resolve the problem and seem resigned to the fact that it's an old car, the air con has stopped working and that's that... So does anyone know of a garage where they are keener to resolve these sort of issues, even when Volvo no longer supplies factory parts? Or a supplier who can source harder to get parts so I can get this sorted.

I also have a separate issue with the sunroof, currently working ok, but at some stage will need a new cassette (again no longer supplied by Volvo).

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

[Clan]

Originally Posted by mlh420

Hello,

I have an air con problem on my 1998 V70 T5 CD manual. I have had the car since 1999 and it has been serviced by a local Volvo specialist in Bristol for most of the time (main dealer prior to that).

The EML has been on and signalling a faulty barometric sensor which has been replaced. However, the light remains on and the air con is not working (it's not a re-gas problem). They wanted to change the pressure sensor which is fitted in the OSF, but some the pipe is corroded and they are worried by removing it, it will make matters worse, as that pipe (accumulator to evaporator - I think!) is apparently no longer available in the UK. Though I have seen one on a US site for $540..!

Unfortunately they don't seem that keen on trying to resolve the problem and seem resigned to the fact that it's an old car, the air con has stopped working and that's that... So does anyone know of a garage where they are keener to resolve these sort of issues, even when Volvo no longer supplies factory parts? Or a supplier who can source harder to get parts so I can get this sorted.

I also have a separate issue with the sunroof, currently working ok, but at some stage will need a new cassette (again no longer supplied by Volvo).

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

are you sure they are no longer available ? It may not be locally with volvo but they have a classic warehouse where all the old stock went ... might be worth a try .They usually keep the vital parts there if not minor ones .

[mlh420]

Hi,

Thanks for that. Do you know how I can contact the classic warehouse to see if they have these parts?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by mlh420

Hi,

Thanks for that. Do you know how I can contact the classic warehouse to see if they have these parts?

You do it through a volvo dealer who has parts staff who can be bothered to check , the longer established ones will be more helpful , such as FRF or Keith Price . If they say it is NLA then you can get a pipe made up at an AC specialist . I remember fitting an AC pipe to a 940 about 18 months ago that was from volvo .

[mlh420]

Ok thanks very much for your help. I'll give that a try.

[ITSv40]

+1 for what Clan has said.
Also for aircon issues you need to find a local specialist, not b*gger around with a general garage outfit, they will either not be interested or will farm the work out to a specialist. You need to go direct and have the conversation with the people who can most likely solve the issue.

[byootox]

I don't even use my local dealer as there not interested in the older cars.
I've found FRF very helpful with older cars in particular.
Even if the pipe is corroded the sensors aren't that tight to remove anyway on them.
It's like a schrader valve in the pipe underneath that the sensor pushes against so you can actually replace them even on working systems.
As I see it if the A/C isn't working then there's nothing to be lost by at least trying to fit the sensor in the pipe.
I've done mine already, it's a 5 minute job so the charge for it should be low.
Also consider a 2nd hand pipe out of a scrapper if your reasonable with tools or even get the breaker to do it for you.
I've seen plenty good bits like that on breaker ones.

[DrivingOnTheSofa]

I have had a 99 V70 for 5 years. The aircon never worked, and like the garage you mention, I never expected it to either! I'm curious to see if you solve this.

[Luxobarge]

These cars do really need aircon IMHO, without it I found mine misted up a lot in winter and was like an over in the summer, so I've spent a lot of time and money getting mine working and keeping it that way, including needing a new condenser which still leaked until they replaced the O-rings again, and later on a new compressor. However, all good now for over a year.

Gotta agree with the advice above - try FRF for spares, failing that a breaker might well be able to help, or indeed a decent aircon specialist who can make up pipes to fit virtually anything and most specialists will take a real interest in the car and get it working reliably in a cost-efficient way in my experience. I very much doubt you'll get much joy from your local Volvo dealer and they will charge £££ for not a lot, your decent independents are definitely the way to go - unfortunately most of the aircon system isn't a DIY proposition if emptying and re-gassing is involved of course.

By the way I got my spare condenser and new compressor from my local motor factor, Camberley Auto Spares - I'd probably steer clear of Euro Car Parts personally, but any decent factor has got to be worth a try I'd have thought.

If the EML is on it won't have anything to do with the aircon, get the codes read and post them up here as it's very likely you have two separate problems here.

Keep at it, there's not much on these cars that can't be fixed with a bit of thought and effort and as I say it's well worth it.

[mlh420]

Thanks all for the advice. I will check the codes again and make a note. Will try FRF and probably an air con specialist. Having had the car since nearly new, I am happy to continue keeping it all up together. (And driving through France last August in 37C wasn't much fun without air con, so don't want to repeat that this year...)