Hi all.

I am in the process of bringing a '95 850 5-speed base wagon back to life. It's got 215k on it, but is fundamentally quite sound, clutch, brakes, suspension, timing belt, and exhaust have all been replaced, front-end rebuilt, and it rides great.

I recently took a complete rear hatch off a 2000 V70, and had it painted and installed. It fits and works perfectly, but now when I hit the brakes, the dashboard bulb indicator comes on, When I let off the brakes, it goes out. All the brake lights seem to be working fine.

The hatch was installed by a Volvo Master tech, and even he is scratching his head???

Anyone ever have this problem before, or have any idea what might be causing it?

Many thanks!

 

The bulb warning indicator reads resistance to current, and is calibrated to a particular amount of resistance. The 850 and V70 use different 3rd brake lights- the one in the V70 has multiple small bulbs or even LEDs, so the different 3rd brake light is throwing it off, making it think there's a burned- out bulb. Transfer the 3rd brake light from the old hatch, and the problem should go away. Or, if it can't be transferred, perhaps you could add resistors in series with the 3rd brake light... not sure if this would work, though, it's just a wild guess. Assuming all else is the same, (I can't remember), you might be able to swap out the bulb failure warning relay (it's in the fuse box under the hood) with one from a 98 V70, and have that solve the problem.

 

I agree with Carrots, look at your 3rd brake light. Getting the bulb malfunction relay from the v70 would probably take care of your problem. Otherwise look at your favorite auto parts store near the LED replacement brake lights and you'll find those resistors Carrots mentioned.

 

Thanks for the speedy response.

The old hatch is long gone, so I'll have to try the bulb failure warning relay from a V70.