Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Hello, I've been having a very strange intermittent electrical problem w/ my '95 855 T5R. This has been happening for at least the past 4 months and seems to be completely random in nature. Here are some of the symptoms.

Basically it won't start sometimes, and has no power to anywhere in the car. No dash lights, no ding when the key is in, no interior lights, etc.. But if i wait an hour or so, i put the key in and the dash lights and rest of the electric to the car works. I turn the key forward to just before igition and everything dies (dash lights, headlights, etc..) and i can't even begin to crank the engine over. Again, if i wait an hour or so, this repeats as the lights come back on but get killed agian after trying to start it.

I've already replaced the electrical portion of the igiition switch (to fix the flickering Tracs and ABS lights).
I have checned the Battery, and it's fine.

I hooked up an amplifier in the back when i first got the car. The previous owner had an amp and took it out so all the wires were already there. I don't think the amp is the problem, but around this time is when i first noticed the igniition issues.

The car will work flawlessly for weeks at a time and this problem seems to be pretty random. I have noticed that when i hit bumps or take corners sharply i will get some loud pops from the speakers...like there is a wire loose somewhere. One time i also could hear the alternaor whine through the speakers, which makes me think it's a loose ground connection, but i have no idea if this could cause the entire electircal system to temorarliy not work..

PRobably the strangest thing that's happened was when i stopped the car once and my turn signal was on. I shut it off and took the keys out of the igition quickly, but my headlights and turn signal stayed on. I could not get these to go of, even when turning the headlight switch to off. I tried rocking the car back and forth and they suddenly turned off.

As it stands right now the car is in my garage in it's not starting state. It will have power for a bit, but as soon as i turn the key 2 clicks forward....i loose all the power. I can hear some type of click when this happens and it sounds like it's coming from the front RH side of the car.
I have tried disconnecting the amp cable from the battery and it still gives me this problem...although i didn't wait an hour when doing this.

Anyone have any ideas on what this could be caused by or how to troubleshoot the problem so i can fix it? This is my winter car and snow is just around the corner, so i want to try to get this resolved before i get stranded in a snowy parking lot sometime.

Thanks!

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

have you checked your battery cables, make sure they're tight? i know i had this problem on my nissan, not exactly, but the no power on the key, then there was, turned out to be a selenoid. i dont know enough about my volvo to tell you exactly, but my personal experience, check the battery cables

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

I did check the battery cables...pulled them all off, cleaned them up w/ a wire brush and re-connected them very tightly. Didn't seem to help the issue.

I tried to check the ECU codes last night and i wasn't able to even do that...could never get the red light under the hood to light up. It's pretty much totally dead right now. Well, it does the same thing where i have what looks like power (clock is on, and red light for alarm is on). But when i turn the key 2 clicks forward, they slowly fade away.

I'm pretty much out of ideas...unless gremlins really do exist and are living in my car. I really don't want to have it towed to a dealership, but if i cant figure this out soon, i might be forced to go w/ this option.

Do you guys have any ideas how i could troubleshoot this problem better?

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Possible loose grounds???

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Loose ground wires may be a possiblity. I really don't have a clue when it comes to car electronics. Does anyone know which ground wires i should check and where they might be located?

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

I am new to the Volvo world, so I don't know the exact locations.

I would start with the negative battery cable, and then get under the car looking for wires with star washers bolted to the frame. Also, I would make sure ECU is grounded securely.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Anyone know the locaiton of the ECU? i thought it was the plug under the hood near the LH strut tower, but found out that it's the ABS module.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

It is on passenger side under the plastic cover by the washer fluid fill.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Ok, another strange symptom I noticed last night. This problem seems to be somehow tied into the doors being open/shut.

I had set the interior lights to stay on all the time...when the door is closed they are on, but as soon as i open any door, the lights fade away and there is no more power to anywhere in the vehicle. After i close them, the lights don't come on right away...but it takes the typical 20-40 minutes for them to come back on.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Check the connectors in the door jam. There is a plug on the outside and on the inside. You will see the turn ring.It will have a small torxes screw in it. Sometimes the ring will break and the plug wil back out some and go wacky.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

I don't know if it would be the door connectors because it does this same thing when any of the doors are opened, and I'm guessing not all 4 doors would go out at the same time. I'm going to check the doors and battery terminals and grounds today.

I may also try to swap the battery w/ my other car to see if that has something to do w/ it. I noticed that i have 4 cables coming off of the positve battery terminal. 2 large wires and 2 smaller ones. I think one of these is for the amplifier, but am not sure what the others are for. I'm going to try to disconnect anything that's not necessary to try to track down the problem. Does anyone know how many wires there should be from the + terminal?

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

You should have the MAIN wire at the terminal. Then there should be a clump of wire that is like 4 wires to one connector. That should be about it. I may be off by a wire or so. They changed things around a couple of times.

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

well, i think i got it all taken care of... I pulled everything from the battery and had to clean up the main + wire as it was badly corroded. After reconnecting everything it started up first time with no problems. And I was overjoyed to take it for a spin w/ the new suspension on it. I had no idea how much of an improvement it would be, but total night and day difference. Most of the rattles and clunking are gone now (expect for the tailgate rattle, which is on tomorrows to do list.

Thanks for all the help!

RE: Strange electrical / igntion problem
 

Gald you got it. Hopefully that is the end of it.