I have a 95 Volvo 850. I bought it used from a private owner. He did not have the original car manual. I have been trying to figure out what all the buttons and lights mean. The red light that lights up next to the temp gage...what is that? Anyways. I have been unsuccesful in finding a used manual to explain all these things. I was told to go to VolvoNA....nothing! Any suggestions to find one that won't cost an arm and a leg?

Question #2. My check engine light came on. I have had this car since the end of July. I have had a private mechanic look at my cars engine to make sure it was in good running condition recently (needed a new radiator and new struts in the front as well as needing new brakes in the back). Now the lights on and I'm use to being able to go to any mechanic and have them plug it in and read the results. Here in Cedar Rapids I so far only have 2 choices. The dealership and and European motors. Both who want to charge me $80.00 an hr for labor and tell me it will take an hr to read. I have seen those machines. Some are hand held..you plug it in and in 5 minutes it tells you if something is misfiring or ? SOOOOO....does anyone know if this is a fair price to pay or what it other options I have...what to check, etc! OR...if anyone lives in Eastern Iowa...do they know of a mechanic that is reputable and does not charge a months income to look at the car!

HEELLPP!!

 

Oh...I also have the VADIS software....how much would it cost to buy the reader??

 

Ebay for the owners manual. You can get OBD readers off ebay or at places like Autozone, Advance Auto, etc. Yours is a 95 so it is probably an OBD 1, but could be an OBD 2.

 

The red light next to the temp lights up when it is near freezing to warn you the roads could be icy.

I bought my owners manual on eBay, however I did see some in the gloveboxes at the pick-a-part yard I went to.

John

 

There is one on ebay right now, about $7 - $8 with free shipping. Search Volvo 850.

 

BTW, how does one lose the owners manual? You should always just leave it in the glovebox...[8D]

 

Go here to learn how to read your check engine code.

http://volvospeed.com/CheckEngine.php

Once you have the codes, you have to know what each one means:

According to this website, there are 3 systems. Someone else here could better answer, or perhaps a search would be good too:

The Fenix 5.2 system is used on the 10 valve non turbocharged 850
The Motronic 4.3 system is used on the 20 valve turbocharged and some non-turbo'ed 20 valve B5254 S engines
The Bosch LH 3.2 Jetronic system is used on the 20 valve non-turbocharged except some B5254 S engines using Motronic.

List of codes for each system:
http://au.geocities.com/OZBRICK850/c...odesvolvo.html


Out of curiosity, I have a 1995 850 GLT. I believe it says "20 Valve" on the cover of the engine. Anyone know which system it would fall under? (sorry, thread hi-jack)

 

Try here for owners manual.

http://www.analogstereo.com/volvo_owners_manual.htm

 

Hi Jks2...

I was on Ebay and I found a "96" 850GLT for about $10.00 But that was all they had. Would a 96 work since I have a 95? Was there any major differences between the years that would make a huge difference?

I'm also going to check the other places others have posted on.

Thanks so much for your guidence!

 

Hi Quincy...

I bought it used....the owner bought it used from a private party. He did not have it when he bought it...about 2 yrs ago. Have no clue why someone would remove it and not leave it in the glove box.

AND THANK YOU for letting me know about the red light. Yes, on days it comes on, it is in the 30's....Whew! One thing I can for sure say I know what it means...LOL

 

The 96 manual is very close to a 95, maybe identical.

By the way, the dealers here are double the rate you are talking about.

You can read and erase all the codes on your car, and reset the service light without any scanners or reset tools.

 

There is one at the top of this forum. In the stickies.

The red light lights up when the temperature is below or at 36.

 

O.K...you got my curosity up...how do I read my car without scanners...and most importantly, how do I reset. I found the manual online....What a lifesaver!! It stated that when the check engine light came on, that something could be amis with the emisson area....WHICH would make sense as I was going out and starting up the car to warm it up....Have been doing this for almost a week and on Friday the check engine light came on as I was going home from work.

I feel enlighten and strong for a volvo owner thanks to all your wonderful imput and insight for this model and year.

 

Thank you so much!! It all makes sense now!!

 

http://www.troublecodes.net/Volvo/
That will tell you how to read and erase the codes.

 

In front of your shifter (under the coin holder) is an OBD-II port. You can go to Autozone and get codes read from that also.

 

You can get a free and complete online copy of most Volvos dating back to the 70's on the American Volvo site.

http://www.volvocars.us/tools/OwnersInfo/

If you register there, log in, and click on "Volvo Library" on the left hand side. You can then select the year, model, and what document you want. Not sure if you can download them though. But they're there.

Hope this helps!