My 1991 745 turbo's a/c works fabulously most of the time, but when I turn it on for the first time of the day, I push the "a/c off" button (letting it protrude, a/c on), and then turn on the fan to 3 or 4 and the fan blows but the a/c doesn't come on. I turn off the switch, turn it back on, turn off the fan, turn it back on, and after fussing for awhile with those switches (while trying to stay on the road), it usually starts to blow nice and cold after a few minutes. Sometimes, when I have turned the "a/c off" switch off (that is, a/c on) - this switch is very counter-intuitive - when it is ON, the a/c is off - the blower sometimes slows way down an then gradually comes back up to speed and the cold air blows with it.

I realize I should just take this to a reliable air conditioning shop, but how do I go about finding one? My local Volvo dealer seems pretty shaky when it comes to accurate diagnosis of problems (they will probably try to sell me a new compressor or something), so where does one look?

(I realize that there is another similar post running just a few before this, but it isn't exactly my situation.)

Thanks a lot for the help.
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Darius in Albany NY '86 744 GLE (175K, given to my mother-in-law); '91 745 Turbo (167K-my 'Little Red Wagon')