V50 air con clutch/compressor noise

[Thekilt]

Hi all, no the hot weather has kicked in, the air condition has decided to give up the ghost. On my 2006 T5, When I turn the air con on, there doesn’t seem to be the normal cut in power, and there is a “clicking” noise every 5 seconds or so. Took a video of it here if it helps:
[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/7jt-iQfceMk[/YOUTUBE]

I will get it looked at by Volvo soon when they are back up operational and also get the gas checked at quick fit. Any idea what it could be? I’ve read clutch gap, or it could be the compressor itself.

Cheers all.

[Welton]

That doesn't sound right, it sounds like the clutch is trying to engage and then failing, could be the compressor 'shims' fix? there's threads on here where people have fitted shims to close the gap enough to allow the compressor's clutch to click in and stay there.

Normal operation would be for the compressor to click in, run for a reasonable time and then click off - it all varies on the load on the system; this morning it was 13 deg's C outside and my compressor clicked in for about 5 seconds and then stayed off for about 60 seconds. Last night was 24 deg's and the compressor was running fully with only short 'breaks' of about 5 seconds.

Best test is to measure the temperature at the face vents in the car - look for between 5 and 8 deg's C for a healthy system.

[domhart10]

am in a similar boat, mine start off ice cold then turns off after about 3 - 5 mins. I then have to turn the aircon of for 5 - 10 mins and then I can flick it back and the cold air returns which is nice.

This these are all compressor issues, are they difficult to swap in? contemplating just buying a compressor and fitting it as they are just behind the wheel arch protectors i think?

[Welton]

I had my compressor changed 5 years ago by an a/c specialist repair shop - cost £595.00 including the gas and PAG oil.

I supplied new Aux Belts for them to change whilst at it

You need to deal with someone who is experienced and knowledgeable with car a/c. The reason my original compressor wore out was thanks to a previously botched mobile 're-gas' merchant who didn't add any oil (he said the oil was 'still in the system mate') took the money and buggered off.

It's really important to use quality gas too (not mixed/recovered stuff from loads of other cars) and high quality oil - seriously expensive oil, only a small cup full goes in but costs over £100 per ltr to buy.

[Thekilt]

Thanks I’ll have a look at the shim option. Is this something that the Volvo dealer Should have checked when changing the belts and doing the full service? If so I can go back to them to sort out.

[Welton]

I'm not sure a main dealer would know about this fix, they'd probably look at replacing the compressor as a whole - the shims are a kind of 'dirty fix'! to be honest although I get the idea I don't know how it's achieved reliably in practice (although I understand its fairly easy).

[Thekilt]

Originally Posted by Welton

I'm not sure a main dealer would know about this fix, they'd probably look at replacing the compressor as a whole - the shims are a kind of 'dirty fix'! to be honest although I get the idea I don't know how it's achieved reliably in practice (although I understand its fairly easy).

It wasn’t so much the shin method, more of a check to see if it was working. I have checked the “report” in the link they send through by text message and the air con was checked and passed, so they didn’t have an issue at that point. I’ve checked on VIDA and no errors popping up relating to that.

[T5R92011]

Watch SiRobb's Youtube Video on how shimm the AC clutch on his D5...

The same fix works on P2 cars (S40 etc) with D5 or T5 engine however, access to the AC clutch on P2 cars is EVEN EASIER!... so absolutely no excuses for not at least attempting to diagnose this yourself.

I believe the AC compressor is in same location for 2.0i and 1.8i as well (AC clutch looks completely different though).

- Take off drivers side wheel
- Take off wheel arch (extremely easy to remove and replace).

You then have the AC compressor directly infront of you, with all the room you could ever need to do the fix (below screenshot from an S40 T5):





You see the "Biohazard" style metal plate that I've highlighted in red above?

Put shims/thin cable ties/thin wire undernearth the skinny rounded "arms" by the rivets. If using wire, then make sure you bend them around the "arms" so they are secured in place...you don't want them slipping out and shredding your belt.

By doing this you will push the clutch disc further inwards towards the AC pulley, thus closing up the gap... others state that 0.5mm is an ok gap.

You will need a feeler gauge to determine this.

Make sure your AC clutch does cycle in and out with a hot engine after doing this fix (ie. it should spin, then stop spinning) e.g the "biohazard" metal plate should click on, and thus start spinning, then 5-10 seconds later should click off and stop spinning again.



As I say... this is not rocket science. Do not pay somebody to fit a brand new air compressor for hundreds and hundreds of pounds, simply because the AC clutch material has worn down a little bit.... Would be like buying a whole new car because your brake pads had worn down.

[Thekilt]

Hi @T5R92011, you can hear in the video the ac clutch cutting in and out every 5 seconds. This was when the engine was warmed up.
I will check the gal with feeler gauges soon and take it from there.

[domhart10]

I have just ordered some feeler guages to do this. Im a bit concerned about not being able to flatten the wire to disable the clutch when off the aircon.

With out model I think we access this through the wheel arch?