Hi everyone,

I have a 2001 V70 T5 with a very very weird problem with the rear "position" lights.

It started like this:

"position light bulb failure" in the information window.
I checked the connections, banged the side of the car, the light came back on for a while, message went off, all is ok.

After the holidays, I picked up my car again (to discover that someone used it while I was away and got stopped by the police for driving with no rear lights, but this is another story).

I thought OK I need to sort out these lights, another bulb must have blown.
I bought a pair of Phillips (same design, only these are rated 21/5W instead of the original 21/4W that had blown on the right) and replaced them together.

The bulb on the other side (left) still looked OK so I kept it and put it down to a bad connection.

Now when I turn on the lights, the front works, there are no lights at the back of the car.

I checked the number plate light bulbs (they are OK), but no matter what I do no lights come on ever again.

I read many many threads on the internets, and did the boot slap, side slap, change the relays with that of the fuel tank door, to no avail.

One evening (I dont remember the full procedure that got me there though), I manage to get the lights working again by starting the car first, and changing the bulbs with lights on and car running.

You will have guessed that when I turned the car off and on again the lights were gone for good one more time.

Front lights: OK
Rear fog light: OK
Turning indicators: OK
Brake lights: OK

Read position lights: OFF
Registration plate lights: OFF
Fuel tank door: DOES NOT LOCK WITH THE REST OF THE CAR.

Can anyone please help me trace the source of this problem?
I am happy to go to Volvo to get the right type of lights, (1W difference!) but somehow I dont think that it would solve my problems, because I managed to get those to work, and the registration plate lights are off even though the bulbs are OK.

Thanks in advance.

Nik

 

The fuel door does not lock when the doors are locked. The fuel door locks automatically when the car is driven away. You can hear it lock as you pull away.

 

Probably a poor ground somewhere. Look for a ground stud with a nut that's only finger tight, for example.

 

Thank you both for your input.

I will check the ground tomorrow.

 

Also, try some bulb grease ($1.29 at Autozone). Cleared up my problem.

 

What problem and how did it clear it up?

 

The silicone bulb grease prevents corrosion and water infiltration. Don't use petroleum grease--it's flammable and will damage plastics.

I have had one bulb which had a broken filament which would sometimes make contact.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Greetings, Long story short, my very similar problems ended up being the tailgate wire being pinched (and blowing the fuse constantly). The wires run up inside the tailgate on the driver's side gate hinge, after the gate being opened and closed for 10 years several wires got tired of being kinked and severed and/or were shorting out.
To Fix this - pop out the rear speaker and the plastic cover on the hinge(there is a thing you can undo behind the speaker to gives the wire so more room to work with) , peel back the mesh business that keeps all those wires together, "hopefully" you will see where your problem is.
In my case the rear wiper, defrost, plate lights and the passenger side running lights were not working/severed/shorting out. Once I mended the wires and used extra plastic conduit and tape to protect them, no more blown fuses, all lights, wipers and defrosts work, no distressful messages on the dash, no fear of getting pulled over for something stupid like this!
Good Luck, Nik

 

Thanks simonefatcat for the suggestion and the instructions.
I am going now to check all this.

Nik

 

not to drag up an old discussion, but I fought this one all afternoon today. This post kept popping up so it's prevalence seems to lend it to be the best place to bring this info to table. My bulbs were fine, sockets were fine, changed the passenger side tail light assembly (it was cracked anyway) and it was fine, ultimately checked fuses in driver's side door and BLAMMO - number 31 was blown.

Just in case anyone else runs into this combo. I must have spent hours reading about how people slap the lenses or change the bulbs, but no mention of the fusebox :facepalm: