Fan Noise & Check Engine Light

[cetaft]

Any help would be appreciated for our 2000 XC70...

1. The fan for the A/C consistently sounds quite loud on "auto" (even after the car has cooled down) and ever louder if I manually move it up the sliding scale to "high.".

Is this generic to XC70s or do I have a problem? Any suggestions on how to resolve it, or at least dampen the roar? Is this fixable? If so, is it expen$ive?

2. The "check engine" light came on this afternoon. (Car has 81K on it - I just bought it & don't know the service history, but it did just pass the stringent NY State inspection.)

The manual says to have a dealer check it (although I can drive it) & that it's related to the emissions controls.

Has anyone experienced this? Any clues as to what's causing it? Can my indy mechanic resolve it, or must I go to the neare$t Volvo dealer? Any ideas if this is going to be a biggie for my wallet? :eek:

Thanks.

[BillAileo]

Is the fan noisy when the a/c is off, or just when the a/c is on? If it's noisy all the time my first guess would be debris somewhere. If it's only noisy when you're using the a/c then one of it's components like the compressor could be causing the noise.

As to the check engine light, I assume you do mean check engine and not the service due reminder light. A check engine light can mean any number of things. Any decent mechanic with an OBDII tester ought to be able to plug it in to your Volvo and read the error alphanumeric. In our area, AutoZone stores will read error codes for free during daylight business hours.

This is probably more than you want to hear about the check engine light, but here goes anyway. The check engine light comes on when the On Board Diagnostic II (OBDII) system records one or more error codes. ODBII systems became mandatory on all cars and light trucks in 1996. It is really an incredible system, it doesn’t just help with diagnosing problems, it actually helps cars to some extent cope with their problems. A code consists of a letter followed by four digits, such as P0202

Let me describe the relative meaning of each of the four elements (Although there is a letter and four digits, the code is really a letter and three numerical components (“P” “0" “2" and “02") as described below). The code can be interpreted by looking at it as follows .

The possible letters are P (Powertrain), B (Body), C (Chassis) and U (Network Communications).

The first digit is either a 0 or a 1 and indicates the type of code, 0 (generic), 1 (proprietary, i.e, defined by the manufacturer).

The second digit should be between 1 and 8 and indicates the system affected by the fault: 1 (Air/Fuel control), 2 (fuel system), 3 (Ignition), 4 (Auxiliary Emission controls such as EGR, CAT), 5 (Vehicle Speed/Idle Control); 6 (Computer systems), 7 (Transmission or transaxle), 8 (Transmission or transaxle).

The last two digits are generally looked at together and are the specific code number for the particular fault.

If you know the code and have a listing of the fault code meanings, you can learn a lot about the car quickly.

For example, consider the sample reading I mentioned above: P0202.

Just by having that number we know:

It’s a powertrain problem (the P (i.e.engine and/or transmission fault));

It’s a generic fault (i.e. this is a code defined for use by all manufacturers (the first 0); and

it’s related to the Fuel system (the first 2).

By accessing a chart of generic fault codes you would learn that the specific meaning of a P0202 code is “Injector Circuit Malfunction in Cylinder 2".

Good luck,

Bill

[cetaft]

Thanks, Bill.

The fan noise is whirring loud normally when I have the A/C on temperature maintenance. When the A/C has to automatically kick in to lower the temperature to the pre-selected degrees, the sound is louder (much louder).

Best comparison I can make is that at "normal," it sounds like a room fan at a fairly low setting; at "high," it sounds like a room fan located in your ear. :)

When the A/C is turned off or the fan is taken off "auto" & put on "off" on the selector slide, the sound stops.

Does this help narrow it down? (Our 245's and 745's didn't sound like this, fer shur.)

Thanks again.

[tgrumaj]

Charles,
One thing to check is the interior air filter. Do you know when it was changed last? I don't know where it is for the 2000. For the 1999 it is under the black plastic cowling right below the front window on the passanger side (under the hood) There are some pictures on Bay 13 site of how to remove and replace (see the link below). If this filter is very dirty and clogged then it can add to fan noise. But your problem sounds much wose than I would expect from JUST a dirty cabin air filter. It's easy to check...just use the torx driver that's in your Volvo tool kit and remove a couple of screws and lift the plastic cover. You'll see the filter and can determine if it needs replacing. Volvo maintenance says replace every 15,000 miles but could be shorter if lots of dust and dirt where you drive.

http://www.volvospeed.com/pollenfliter.htm

Just an FYI, I believe that some model years had thier pollen filters inside the cabin and required a removal of some interior parts to access. The instructions I provided above do work for the 1999 but I'm not 100% sure on the 2000. Given that they are almost indentical I can't imagine there's that much difference in where it's placed.
Tom

[tgrumaj]

Charles,
One other thing. Suggest contacting Volvo NA and asking for info on the original dealer who put the car into service. (at the same time you can ask about any recalls and whether your vehicle had the recall work performed) Then call that dealer (you can use the internet to search for phone numbers for both) and ask them politely for a copy of the vehicle service history. If the car was serviced by the dealer while under warrenty (very likely if it was a lease vehicle), then they will have a complete history of EVERYTHING that they did to the car. I was able to track down the dealer for my car from Volvo NA and then called the dealer. I offered to pay them or cover costs as they were a bit reluctant at first, but they finally went ahead and sent it to me for no change. It's great info to have and will help your mechanic understand what's gone wong before.

[cetaft]

Yes, I had the cabin filter changed 'cause we all have major allegies. (It hadn't been changed since 2001 & was filthy!) On the 2000, it's in the same place in the engine compartment.

I'll contact Volvo NA and the original dealer for the other info. <fingers crossed>

As always, thank you!

[cetaft]

Took the car to my Volvo guy & turns out it was a false positive in the emissions area. He checked it with the hand-held computer, reset the light, and checked it again. No light now. (Whew!)

Thanks, all, for the information! Best of both worlds: I'm smarter now AND the car didn't cost me money! :)

[tgrumaj]

Charles,
What did you guy say about the fan noise when you had it in?

[cetaft]

Of course, it wasn't making any noise when it was in the shop. :(

It's been behaving the past few days, so maybe I got lucky.

[cetaft]

(Cross-posted in 2nd Gen forum)

Well, the fan finally died completely, so I took some vacation hours & brought the car to Volvo.

The work ticket reads "fault trace blower motor circuit, replace blower motor," which they did which they did (P/N 9171429-5). It's only been 2 hours, but so far, so good. :)

Three notes of interest:

(1) I used Bay Ridge Volvo (Brooklyn) and was quite happy with their service,

(2) the latest VCOA magazine lists dealers who give a discount on parts for members, & I got 10% off today, and

(3) My Eagle "Liberty" Extended Warranty did NOT cover the fan motor - it would have covered the compressor, but not the fan motor. I hope it WILL cover major items in the future, or I've wasted a whole heck of a lot of money...

[Bluegrass-XC]

Shall we all pause for a moment of silence in remembrance of cetaft's fan motor that has tragiclly been on it's deathbed for some time now. (sniff). :D

[tgrumaj]

Last week I took mine in for the intermittent Fan motor failures (see past posts). They found 411 and 433 fault codes and required replacing both the Fan Motor and the resistor. $500+ later I have a fan the works all the time (So far no intermittent fan failures) and a much quieter fan. What I really wonder is if it was the connectors (oxidation or something) vs. the actual fan or resistor. They swear it was not connections. Who knows.

The interesting thing is that I have owned a lot of cars....and I keep them a long time. I've never had a heater/AC fan fail. Seems odd that Volvo has this problem in first gen XCs.

[Bluegrass-XC]

Well - my fan finally died. This make three of us on this board alone? Haven't taken it to the shop yet, but I'll need to do it soon since I need the A/C AND the fan. I need to check my extended warranty to see if this is covered or not. I also need to take it in for scheduled oil change this week so I may ask how long it will take to fix this. The only problem with that is that I didn't buy the car from an "authorized" Volvo dealer - they're an import dealer, but they specialize in Subaru's. Hopefully it won't cost me an arm and a leg.

[cetaft]

Well, maybe just an arm. :eek:

My fan (with labor) was about $450 & was NOT covered under my Eagle extended warranty. :(

I think Tom's fan was less, but he needed another part on top of it to make his blower whole again.

BTW, if you have an extended warranty, be sure to tell the service guy up front. He may have to call for "permission" before beginning work. (Honest.)

Keep us posted, eh?

[Bluegrass-XC]

Checked the pile of papers in the XC file and it turns out that my extended warranty WILL cover the fan blower motor and a host of other stuff :D (way too much to list here). Now all I need to do is wait for the radiator fan recall notice and I'll be off to the repair shop! :rolleyes:

[cetaft]

Just called Volvo NA and was told my 2000 XC was not affected & would not be recalled. They also said they hadn't heard of a widespread a/c blower problem. :(

[Bluegrass-XC]

Just called Volvo NA and was told my 2000 XC was not affected & would not be recalled. That's good news! What info do they need when you call? VIN? Where did you find their phone number?

[cetaft]

http://www.volvocars.us
Tel: 1-800-458-1552
Email: [email protected]
Hours: 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST, M - F

(have your VIN available)