We have a '97 850 GLT which we recently purchased and ran fine for a few days.

The car came with one key (we think it's the service key -- doesn't unlock the trunk) and a 3rd-party lock remote without a battery. The car ran fine for a few days, albeit with shorter trips (After about 30-minute trip home after purchase). We then bought a battery for the remote (but as far as I know, at this point, it didn't work).

My wife accidentally parked in a no parking zone, and only noticed after shutting off the engine. Upon attempting to start the engine, the alarm went off. Not having a clue how to disable the alarm, it went off at least 3 or 4 times. I drove down to help figure out what to do, and after a few calls learned how to disengage the alarm by unlocking with the key 3 times. After doing this, turning the ignition on didn't trigger the alarm anymore, but the battery was now dead (click, click, click...).

I called the local volvo dealer's service department to ask about any kind of immobilizer, and he wouldn't/couldn't tell me about it, but he claimed to not know of anything that would cause the engine to not start.

I then successfully jumped the car using my other vehicle, and we drove the car home (and now, I realize, should have driven it the 30-60 minute extremely round-about way home, or to a mechanic).

Now it won't start, and the alarm is triggered by turning the key in the ignition (position II). There seems to be a drain on the battery, and I suspect the alarm since this only started after trying to use the remote. I bought a battery charger, but with Today's high of 25ºF and lows below 0, charging doesn't seem to be working. I measured the voltage at the battery, and in that temperature, it measures 12.5 V after an hour of the charger being disconnected. I don't have a good wrench (of all things!) to remove the battery, or even disconnect a terminal to measure the drain current.

Things I've checked:

1. Glovebox lamp - I'm fairly sure the bulb has been removed, and if not, the light doesn't come on, so it's not always on. Could the door could still be causing a problem, even without the bulb in (The bulb is loose in the glovebox I think, it's a very small bulb or even LED, not sure.)
2. Doors and Trunk are all closed. The locking gas latch has been removed (if it ever existed)
3. Though I haven't verified it's not a bad battery, it's supposedly been replaced recently. I'm not sure if the charger I bought is working, but it's so cold right now, and I read charging batteries in the cold is difficult and/or dangerous.

Assuming I can measure the current:

What is a normal current? Something around 20 mA?

From what I've read, the best places to start looking for a drain are the central locking/alarm fuse (6?). If we remove that fuse though, we won't be able to open the trunk if the car is ever locked. In that case, how much is a new master key likely to cost?


I had a thought that it was possibly an immobilizer, but if there is an immobilizer, and it's disallowing the starter from turning over, why would I have been able to jump it?

I've read similar situations where people have used the remote to lock/unlock 5 times and then it started. Since I don't have a working remote, is there any way to completely reset the alarm with just a key?

I'm not mechanically inclined, so quite frankly an engine and just about everything under the hood is a mystery to me. I'd like to rule out a simple power drain or bad batter before troubleshooting an alternator or other parts of the charging system (which would likely mean a trip to a mechanic)


Thanks for any help or ideas you can give me.