Who can tell me if this is normal in an 850 wagon.
I have recently purchased an 850 wagon 1995 116000 km and to bring it home drove in hi temp weather (36C- 40C )the air con was ON and recirc ON
At high speeds the temp started to rise to about 1 o'clock or just b4 the red mark,as to not cause damage I turned off the air con -after turning off the temp started to drop as predicted But I felt outside air coming in the vents.Puzzeled by the problem I turned off/on the recirc button but with out any change. Is this normal for air to continue entering the vehicle at all time or is this a fault? If so what is the cause and how can this be rectified? Does any one have any idea? I do know that ths car is fitted with a filter. Your help is much appreciated as I have read no talk on this matter.

Thanks in Advance

The engine temp and the Air conditioning should have no relationship. I guess you probably need a new thermostat. They only last about 80000 miles, which if I converted right is near the number of kilometers you have. here is link to information on that - if just doing thermostat you don't really need to drain coolant, but some will spill - http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/thermect.htm (if what spills looks bad then drain and replace - it might be the problem)

You control the outside air flow by use of the knob to the left of the center vents. Also the AC is on if using the defrost even if the AC switch is off

good luck!

I think that the "air mix" control at the top center of the dash lets outside air into the car no matter how the other controls are set.

If you want maximum AC or heat, the "air mix" control must be closed.

If your temp gauge goes over 3 o'clock for any reason, you have a problem. The guage has a circuit that keeps it at 3 o'clock until the temperature moves quite a bit from normal.

If the guage goes UNDER 3 o'clock, you probably need a new thermostat, as it has failed open.
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96 855R, 95 855,854, 90 744 Ti - 340,000 Volvo miles put on 7 bricks

It is not normal that your engine temp should rise like that. I hardly see any movement on the guage once the engine is at operating temp. There is always a certain amount of outside air that gets in through the HVAC system while on recirc, but you should notice the difference. The AC cools much more quickly with recirc on.

The recirc control is electronic, not vacuum driven. When you enable recirc, it causes a small motor to move a steel rod that closes the flap from the cabin air intake. It's pretty common for the plastic arm that connects motor to rod to snap or fall off, making the recirc useless. If you read up on removing the glovebox, then activate your recirc off and on, you'll see the whole mechanism at work and it'll be pretty obvious to find out if it's broken, and pretty obvious on how to fix it. Removing the glovebox is VERY easy, make sure you know how to do it and it shouldn't be more than 5-10 minutes after the first time. Check out the archives. Good luck!
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'94 854 N/A.