i have a volvo 850 and a while ago the gauges on the instrument panel wouldn't work when i started it right away then they would work after a few seconds, but when i started driving they would go off and not work unless i was stopped and the orange gear indicator arrow was flashing. this problem went away for a few weeks then just started again, how can i fix this and what could be the problem?

 

The flashing arrow "indicates that there is a fault in your automatic gear box": https://www.customers.volvocars.com/....html#controls This happened to me when I was driving with the shifter no in the right gear. I was between D & 3. When I got home, I cleared the code with my scanner and all was well.

Not sure about the dash gauges.

 

If your car is a 94 or a 95, you can check the gauge cluster codes under the hood. The port is A7 for the gauge cluster codes.