New to the Volvo Forums and after having my 850 for a couple months, I thought it's probably time I joined and have some questions I hope someone could help me out with.

Though I really love the 96 850 turbo wagon I bought, it's been giving me all sorts of problems. Most recently, the shift-lock override needs to be depressed in order to shift from park and the headlights, turn signals, and speedometer have coordinated their efforts to stop working at the same time. I've seen these types of problems pop up in other posts, but did not read anywhere where all these problems happened at once.

This is my first Volvo, so maybe it's just beginners luck (or lack of it)?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

First, welcome to the forum! The problems you have are common and you'll find the solutions here.

The shift-lock issue is the cable that runs from the brake pedal to the shifter. May need adjustment or replacement.

For the lights; if you jiggle the keys when they're out, do they come back on? I'll bet they do!

 

Right you are! Everything including the shifter is working fine now, but I'll look into that cable issue and try to figure out what's up.

Thanks for the help!

 

Skid light, abs, check engine p1633, p1618, p0722, etc... Feb 01 Fixed ... did it myself... The link is below for the abs control fix. A bit of a pain to open up, took about 30 min to pull the box and open it up. Sure enough the board had a broken solder contact on one of the pins in the circuit board. Just added some solder... heated and added solder to all the pins going to the multi-plug... and sealed the box with silicone... installed it and bingo... I am a happy camper. All in all the fix took about 2 hours with 1.5 hours letting the sealant cure. This abs glitch is reallllly common from what all the tech's and threads talk about. I am hear to confirm this problem. I used a pen microscope from Harbor Freight to see the solder problem. Upon the really magnified view, I could see the improper "cold solder" joint that meant the manufacturer didn't heat the thick pins enough. Really easy to fix though. The rest of the circuit board soldering work looked good. It is just that the thicker pins need a lot more heat and time heated to be effective, otherwise this error occurs. Good luck all! Russ

Jan 31 I cleaned the connector to the abs unit and had no problem for 4 days and now the problem is back again... I am wondering if it is my abs unit or the controls for it... the traction light is now coming on in addition to the other lights... then clears up a few minutes later???

I think this explains these problems well http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...?p=46827#46827

Jan 27 Error codes 1633, 1618, 0722, no speedometer (-----), no tripometer (-----), abs light, check engine light, brake light, and sometimes a flashing upshift that occasionally results in reduced power mode on the transmission.... and then it all goes away and runs fine for day/hours/minutes? I reset the codes and all is well for a while. The one code that appears alone... at first... is the 1633. While driving the speedometer just drops out resulting in the above symptoms. Then, magically it all starts working fine again. This behavior was once every two to three months, now daily. I replace the transmission speed sensor yet didn't change a thing. Occasionally, where the dash displays the outside temp etc, I read the word "d i s c"... is there a hard drive in this car? Thanks for the help!

 

+1 FYI all, USUALLY, It's not necessary to add any solder to repair a cold solder joint. Just reheat it till it flows again (melts and gets shinny). That should be enough to close the connection. If you add solder and get too much on, you run the risk of a short to a adjoining, connection. My two cents!