XC70: General 'Whine' from Air Con

[Blaggy3780]

I hope this is the right place to post for a 2011 XC70 SE D5 AWD

My first Volvo for a long time after a series of Mercedes E220 estates. Purchased in early January this year. Very pleased so far, great MPG compared to Mercedes. low relative mileage of 55000 miles. Recently (passed 3-4 weeks) there has been a whine in a specific rev range...1000-1500 rpm when the air con is turned on. It's not loud, but there and very annoying and stops immediately air con is turned off. It's not the blowers as they all work fine without the noise when selecting hot and cold blowing. Always worse when the car is warmed up. Went recently to Main Dealer in Colchester who confirmed the fault and then with a suspect noisy aircon Expansion Valve this was replaced at a cost of £313 but the noise is still there which is disappointing. Before I get into a too-ing a fro-ing from the garage does anyone else have experience of this problem or any helpful advice. Having 'googled' it comes back frequently as exchange air-con compressor. Thank you.

[krzemien]

See last three posts in this thread:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...=133581&page=2

Perhaps it's worth trying?

[andyg]

For a car that is 6 years old with noisy aircon it is about 70% likely to be low gas and/or gas contaminated with moisture. The first step is to have it purged and re-gassed at a garage with the correct equipment. It does not have to be a Volvo dealer. The cost is going to be around £90. If you are lucky that will give you 4 or 5 more trouble free years.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Blaggy3780

I hope this is the right place to post for a 2011 XC70 SE D5 AWD

My first Volvo for a long time after a series of Mercedes E220 estates. Purchased in early January this year. Very pleased so far, great MPG compared to Mercedes. low relative mileage of 55000 miles. Recently (passed 3-4 weeks) there has been a whine in a specific rev range...1000-1500 rpm when the air con is turned on. It's not loud, but there and very annoying and stops immediately air con is turned off. It's not the blowers as they all work fine without the noise when selecting hot and cold blowing. Always worse when the car is warmed up. Went recently to Main Dealer in Colchester who confirmed the fault and then with a suspect noisy aircon Expansion Valve this was replaced at a cost of £313 but the noise is still there which is disappointing. Before I get into a too-ing a fro-ing from the garage does anyone else have experience of this problem or any helpful advice. Having 'googled' it comes back frequently as exchange air-con compressor. Thank you.

more than likely the AC Pump bearings ... especially when you said " stops immediately air con is turned off" gas noises tend to keep going for a second or two after turning off and sound like a gurgle rather than a rough bearing .
what is the chassis number ? last 6 of the VIN ...

[Model flyer]

I'd go with andyg on that one especially if the system doesn't get as cold as it should. Aircon systems can loose gas very slowly be when low the pump cavitates causing a whine. I had a Kia that made a whine when the pump was on that stopped as soon as the desired pressure / temp was reached. Kia wanted upwards of £500 for pump ! I had a local air con garage purge and regas the system and it was silent and much much colder. It's amazing how you don't notice systems failing bad it's so gradual. If it still gets icy cold then budget for a recon pump or new bearings .

[Blaggy3780]

132066 ?
Thanks

[Blaggy3780]

When the expansion valve was replaced the A/C refrigerant was drained and refilled is that not the same as the gas?

[Blaggy3780]

Originally Posted by Model flyer

I'd go with andyg on that one especially if the system doesn't get as cold as it should. Aircon systems can loose gas very slowly be when low the pump cavitates causing a whine. I had a Kia that made a whine when the pump was on that stopped as soon as the desired pressure / temp was reached. Kia wanted upwards of £500 for pump ! I had a local air con garage purge and regas the system and it was silent and much much colder. It's amazing how you don't notice systems failing bad it's so gradual. If it still gets icy cold then budget for a recon pump or new bearings .

Originally Posted by Clan

more than likely the AC Pump bearings ... especially when you said " stops immediately air con is turned off" gas noises tend to keep going for a second or two after turning off and sound like a gurgle rather than a rough bearing .
what is the chassis number ? last 6 of the VIN ...

last six are 132066 Thank you.

[Blaggy3780]

Originally Posted by krzemien

See last three posts in this thread:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...=133581&page=2

Perhaps it's worth trying?

Thank you for these. I'll take a look

[Blaggy3780]

Originally Posted by andyg

For a car that is 6 years old with noisy aircon it is about 70% likely to be low gas and/or gas contaminated with moisture. The first step is to have it purged and re-gassed at a garage with the correct equipment. It does not have to be a Volvo dealer. The cost is going to be around £90. If you are lucky that will give you 4 or 5 more trouble free years.

Thanks for your advice.When the expansion valve was replaced the A/C refrigerant was drained and refilled is that not the same as the gas?