Hi everyone! I'm not a Volvo guy (GM guy), but I'm trying to help an elderly neighbour with her mint 1995 Volvo 960 wagon, with ~100,000 miles.

It has been sitting for 2+ years in a very humid climate (Pacific North West). The car apparently has been fired up a few times since it was parked, but she doesn't have any memory of when.

We put a new battery in, and tried to fire it up. Nothing. There is no cranking. We have the following:

• Fuel pump is priming and kicking in
• All lights work. Signals, hazards, headlights etc.
• Auto door locks work with the fob on and off, but no beeping when hitting the lock multiple times
• Only fuse we've found that was blown was the radio
• I've swapped J relays around from things like Air Pump to Ignition system, with no luck
• There are 0 dash lights when trying to crank, which is concerning.

I've heard of faulty neutral safety switches, and tried manipulating that a bit, with no luck. The biggest issue I see is the lack of dash lights. I'm wondering if the ECU is fried? Isn't there safeguards in place to stop that from happening?

 

I don't think it's the ECU...
I'd suspect the ignition switch, those 960 locks are prone to failure, not with such low miles, but...
The Neutral Safety Switch, you tried moving it around...
Try to apply direct power to the starter, not sure how easy that is on a 960, I am more of a 940 guy...
Cars that sit for a long time develop unusual problems hard to diagnose.

 

That car has a starter relay, # 2/35, you can pull that relay and jump terminals 1 and 3 - but unless the neutral starting switch is good (#3/40) power will still not go the the solenoid to engage the starter. So check for 12v at terminal 1 on the starter relay - and if you use a jumper wire to terminal 3 - the starter will engage, unless the neutral starter switch has a problem. If so, try to start the car in Neutral rather than park.

 

[QUOTE=hoonk;495698]That car has a starter relay, # 2/35, you can pull that relay and jump terminals 1 and 3 - but unless the neutral starting switch is good (#3/40) power will still not go the the solenoid to engage the starter. So check for 12v at terminal 1 on the starter relay - and if you use a jumper wire to terminal 3 - the starter will engage, unless the neutral starter switch has a problem. If so, try to start the car in Neutral rather than park.



1997 Volvo 960's have a security alarm fuse, replace first when not starting, side fuse box 10amp