More '93 240 A/C Questions - Electrical

I have been trying to figure out why the A/C doesn't work properly on
our newly acquired 240. So far I have determined with a pressure gauge
that the freon was a little low and I added enough to get the low side
running pressure to around 40 PSI.

The problem now is that the compressor cycles on and off rapidly. I
tried bypassing the low side pressure switch as some suggested and that
made no difference.

Then I used a sharp probe to check voltage on the compressor clutch wire
at the white plastic connector under the intake manifold. Voltage is
~13 volts when the compressor is engaged, but drops to zero when the
compressor disengages. So, I conclude that something upstream from that
point is cycling on and off. Unfortunately the Bentley manual is no
help at all on this.

I deduce that there must be sensors, switches, logic and one or more
relays which determine when the clutch engage line is powered or not.
Can anyone help point me in the correct direction? Is this a likely
relay problem? Is there a circuit breaker in this line somewhere?

TIA for any help!

John

 

I'd exercise some caution at this point. Go and burn up the compressor
and you'll have compressor debris spread throughout your system and
need to start replacing major components.

Do you have R134 or R12? If R12, i'd consider doing an R134 conversion
with new oil, expansion valve, drier.

To me if the compressor just started working with a little freon added,
you have enough to cycle but not enough to meet requirements. Go and
add the wrong amount of freon and you'll fry your system. Cycling the
compressor is bad for it and over filling will kill it.

You need to decide what you have on your hands and where you want to
go. If the freon was low, there is a reason for that. maybe just dried
o-rings, or maybe a leak.

On my 1987 740 I had a drained system and R12 system. While the system
was dry I did an R134 conversion myself, replacing all o-rings, new
drier and expansion valve, draining and refilling the compressor. My
plan was to replace all of this and address leaks as needed. Oh, I
flushed the condensor too.

Be careful just jumping in and trying to get it running on the cheap --
it may cost more down the road.

 

As far as the cycling goes, it's controled by the air conditioner knob
(on my 89) that goes from low air to high (the blue range) or max air
(the orange range). When the contol is set to high or max there is very
little cycling. when it's set to low temp, it cycles to keep the temp
down. there's a thermostat kind of device in the cabin that controls
this and sends the 12v DC to the compressor. So the whole thing is
dependant on air temperature and the setting of the air conditioner
switch. You may have a problem with the thermostat control or you may
just have a low outside air temp. and the switch set to minimum which
would cause cycling (but not rapid cycling I would think). I tend to
think you're still low on freon. Seems like I read the low side
pressure should be 30 or 35. Don't have access to a manual right now. I
agree you should have it checked by a pro for leaks etc.

 

A correction to my post, I ment low inside cabin temperature and switch
set to minimum and be carefull not to overfill with freon! I ruined a
compressor on a chev truck that way. Also check this post

http://www.volvo-forums.com/t10268-air-conditioner-help.htm

Doug at Lakeview has a good description of how the system works.