i recently bought a 97 850 with only 86,500 miles, and have only driven it a handful of times, but it's been driving beautifully. However, after not driving it for 2 days, it will not start. I had someone jump it and it started up and i let it sit for about 10 minutes, but did not have a chance to drive it around that day.

The next day, dead again, but this time jumping it only gives it enough power to turn on the interior electronics/lights. How long should I leave it hooked up to the jumper cables to get it working, if that would help at all?

Also, it seems like the hazard lights may be staying on by themselves, what could be causing this and could this be why the battery is dead?

Also, the battery is new. please help!!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There is a battery draw thread somewhere on this site, look on the Hot topics - DIY thread.

If you don't drive the car much it will drain the battery. When you jump it, do not hook both battery post to each other, you should hook them up like the photo below (the car is the picture of the weak battery). Also, let the good car run for at least 3 to 5 minutes to charge the dead car a little.
https://www.customers.volvocars.com/...14.html#pg4.14


Once you get the car started, you will need to let it run a minimum of 30 minutes to charge the battery enough to start it the next day. Some have said that it takes 3 hours for a car to fully charge a battery, a guy that worked at Sam's Club tire and battery center said that the car can fully charge the battery in less than 1 hour.

You can also take your battery to a auto parts store to have them charge it for free. Try not to let it drain all the way down or it can damage the battery.

If you don't think you'll drive the car at least once per week, you may want to get a battery quick disconnect.
Battery Disconnect Switch

 

The hazard lights are flashing all the time? No that is not normal. Either the control switch on the dash or the flasher relay are bad.

Leave the running jumper car hooked up with the engine running for a few minutes. Your battery is so dead that it is drawing all the current that you have available through the jump cables, leaving none for the starter.

I was at an event recently and some people in a V6 minivan had left their lights on, and a F350 6.0 diesel was trying unsuccessfully to jump them off. After they gave up I pulled over there with my NA wagon, hooked it up and let it sit for 5 minutes. Cranked right up. They were pretty happy about it. :P

 

If the hazard lights are flashing, is there an immobiliser on the car? Maybe that is playing up?

 

I over looked the hazards light thing. They are part of the security system. Once they start flashing, that means your alarm is going off. You need to reset your alarm by locking and unlocking the car with the remotor or key in the drivers door.

 

thanks for the advice. i realized the hazards went off after I used the key to lock/unlock passenger door. they may have been the cause of my battery going dead- not sure, but i charged it up and it's running for now