Learnt something new today. My air conditioning has not been working properly. The compressor cuts in and out before the cabin gets cold. And the cooling (radiator) fan does not come on.
I thought some sensor or relay must have blown. Refrigerant charge is normal.

It turned out to be the fan itself. The motor shorted out. The compressor kept cycling on and off because the refrigerant was not cooled down enough. I replaced the fan and everything back to normal. Compressor stays on until the cabin is cool before cutting out. And fan stayed on throughout.

Also do not trust the temp gauge. All the while it stayed right in the middle while in traffic with a burnt fan motor !

Car is a 1996 940 light pressure Turbo. I live in the tropics and use the air cond all year round.
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1974 144GL, 1996 940 GL LPT

I drove a '90 744 TI for three years before I found out that the electric fan was seized.

How do I know the fan was bad all that time? - At the same time, I found that the thermostat had been bent to stay open!

Just noticed as well, I used to get heavy knocking when stuck in traffic for a long time on a hot day. Even RON 97 didn't cure this problem.
Last week I got caught in traffic for a good hour with the new fan. Noticed that the knocking was gone. Probably the old fan was on its last legs and was not cooling enough before it finally gave out
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1974 144GL, 1996 940 GL LPT

It might be that the temp gauge is just fine and that as far as engine cooling goes there was no need for a the fan to provide additional cooling. However the A/C condenser DID need some additional air flow to bleed heat out of the refrigerant. I wouldn't be to quick to consider the gauge faulty.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)