To those of you who must park for extended periods and are unsure if status of battery drain I would disconnect the negative terminal lead on the battery.
Keep a 10mm wrench in the vehicle.
Go to an auto parts store and have them do a cell check on the battery.

My problem was most likely the "Volvo" battery. A cell went bad in 16-months.
Volvo will replace up to 24-months.
I was out of town and without time to find a Dealer when mine died, so I bought a non Volvo battery. Volvo is not in the battery business. They are in the "bring your car in so we can up sell on services" business.

As a precaution I still pull my 20-amp locking fuse at the end of the day. Next time I have to park at the airport for greater than 24-hours I will still disconnect my negative battery terminal. Just make sure you know your radio code.

 

that's pretty crazy. if you're convinced it's volvo's crappy battery at fault, now that you've got a non-volvo battery, move on and call it a day...

 

I was gone for ten nights and my car started upon my return. Of course, it is a brand new battery so I am not 100% sure the problem has been fully resolved. I will be gone again in November for ten nights and I am going to attempt to let my car sit an additional few days before starting it. This is definitely encouraging!

 

that's good news. what brand/model new battery did you use for those who are near needing a new battery?

 

Having had this problem for a number of years and now it has got serious after 70 mile trip next day wouldn't start. Will take a charge and fire up within 10/15mins so battery o.k.
After removing fuses and bulbs and new battery it now seems that the problem probably lies within the alternator after having done tests which show alternator ok but rectifier down (you can get good info from Eric on Youtube)
We are going to replace the rectifier on the alternator and will post again hopefully with good news.

 

Just got back from a 5 day vaca. i have a 2010 c70 (just purchased a month ago). my wife put the key in and it's dead. after reading the threads here i am going to have the battery re-charged and call dealer to get more info. one thing is that the key won't come out. is this normal and have others experienced this? i don't want to force it out but just wondering.

 

I just returned home after being gone ten nights. My battery is dead. This is a new battery (battery #3) and this is after the new dealership "fixed it" with a software upgrade. The biggest problem is you have to be gone for more than a week to "test" the fix. Back to the dealership tomorrow after having Volvo come and give me a jump start.

 

Key will not come out until the car starts. Really bad news because if you don't know that and attempt to start now you have to leave the key with the car.

Starting to think this car will never be fixed.

 

Neighbor has a battery re-charger and spent the day recharging. Seems ok this am. (May invest in one) will talk with dealer and see about update as I don't think it was done. Side note question off- topic about oil - any pro- cons about synthetics? Thanks for the feedback all.

 

I still don't know if it's car problem or battery problem...

So I will do a simple test to find out:

1. Fully recharge the battery with a charger;
2. Measure current draw from the battery by the car when it's in parked condition;
3. Compare this current with other cars I have and see if there is any significant difference.

If there is, then it's C70 problem; and if there isn't, then it's battery problem. But in any case, it's Volvo's fault because they chose the battery too...

 

Dealer informed me of a second service bulletin which fixes a drain caused by the Sirius radio. They gave me a rental and they are performing the software upgrades now. I don't subscribe to Sirius but since the car is equipped with that radio it is apparently causing the drain.

 

I finally found some time to finish this test. And here is the result:

When you first press the lock button on your remote, the current draw is 1.22A. It will drop to 0.80A and finally stabilized at 0.05A (50mA) after a couple of minutes. I monitored this current for a couple of hours and it never changed.

I then did the same test on my Bronco ('94) and found it stabilized at 0.04A (40mA) as soon as I closed all the doors.

So the conclusion is C70 doesn't have any significant current draws from the battery when it's in parked/locked condition. The problem is the German made battery.

Note: I may have updated firmware installed because the one came with the car didn't work with my phone very well and I asked the dealer to update it.

 

Despite the exclusive title, I am encouraged at having spotted posts here by V70 brothers. So the jury is still out, no consensus on why, but we have established that Volvos generally draw power from batteries to a degree that they fail to start at some point.


Curiously, no one’s problem matched mine. I had been having/creating a problem leaving the lights switch in the central position (fewest lights) after shutting down (excuse: hate/consider running lights wasteful). The engineers’ oafishly designed the system to continue to power the lights at this setting when the engine is off. Really?


This left me with no start/resort to AAA 3 separate times, and once to a friendly, well-equipped stranger, before I finally found a mechanic to de-activate one of the 3 light settings to an honest OFF.


Problem solved, right? Nope. Next morning, no start. Immediate suspicion was the reprogramming mistakenly created a new problem. Took it back to same mech, who was astonished to find the battery had frozen! He said the inner workings (can’t recall tech nomenclature) had ruptured.


Okay, admittedly the Rocky Mountains are cold. But Volvos are designed by Swedes, who are reportedly accustomed to the concept. I asked and was told that, despite the hype, there is no real battery designed to thwart cold. If no such wonder-battery exists on this planet, my alternate fix (which I suggest to all) was to look for a battery with a multi-year warranty, so that at least when a freeze inevitably happens again, it can be replaced.

Incidentally, the non-starts happened in warmer climes, too, so the freeze issue only applied to the 5th non-start.


This member’s idea interests me, as I am always more interested in applying nuisance to the deserving parties. I’m sure AAA has begun hating me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VLVO

I have stopped calling AAA and started calling Volvo for my jump starts. When they came the last time the guy said he had just come from a C70 on the call right before mine.

Query: Is this jump service a consequence of a new car being under warranty, or can anyone get involved in bothering the guilty party?

 

Temp fix for dead battery after long time parked. Go to HF get the battery kill switch for the battery terminal. Park @ airport etc turn switch to off, no battery drain. Come back days later, open hood turn switch to on. Must lock/unlock doors with key.

 

Something my Pittsburgh resident brother suggested, get in the car and turn the lights on to warm the battery for about 30 to 60 seconds, then start the car.

 

I am overdue with this posting. I reported earlier that Volvo replaced the air conditioner/heater assembly many weeks ago.
Since that posting the car has not had the battery drain issue. I went to Hawaii, the car sat for 11 days, no issue. My wife was ill over the the holidays, the car sat for 14 days, no issue.
Have your shop look for the latest updates to the software, when reinstalling the ac/heater parts they had to "reload" the software for the car including all recent/late updates.

My wife, once again has faith in her C70. Heck, I might convince her we need another since 2013 is the reported last date of manufacture for the C70.

Cheers, Ragtop

 

Since posting this my car again sat for twice for once for ten days (started with brand new battery) and a second time ten days (it would have started but I just turned the ignition to aux to use the battery) I was trying to get signal on a portable GPS before giving it to a friend to use. After three minutes a warning came up on the display "Low Battery." The car is back at the dealership.

I posted on the VOLVO facebook page and Volvo responded telling me to call or email customer care team. 800-283-0117 or volvoNAcares@volvoforlife.com I emailed and a few days later I got a phone call. They called the dealer and are working with them to help resolve the issue. I am at least happy that this dealership acknowledges the car has a problem. The first dealership did not!

Someone else posted in the thread: "If you do not subscribe to Sirius radio, that could cause issues with the RDAR module draining batteries. People with current subscriptions aren't having this problem. Take it to the the dealership and have them disconnect the RDAR power and install a fiber optic loop." I have since sent that information to the dealership as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Vivor

Query: Is this jump service a consequence of a new car being under warranty, or can anyone get involved in bothering the guilty party?

Yes, the roadside assistance is part of the warranty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSGTUSMC

Temp fix for dead battery after long time parked. Go to HF get the battery kill switch for the battery terminal. Park @ airport etc turn switch to off, no battery drain. Come back days later, open hood turn switch to on. Must lock/unlock doors with key.

If my car were not under warranty without a doubt I would be getting this installed.

 

I have the same problem with my '96 wagon. After several days of sitting I have to jump it. Nobody can figure out the problem. Have had electrical problems pop up then disappear, no answers as to why or how to fix it.
I love the car it drives like it's new even though it has hundreds of 250,000-300,000 miles. I would love to drive this car forever.... open for suggestions
I would just like to hear from someone I can trust and likes working on these cars

 

This wont help you volvo-boy but it may help others.....my granny has a volvo that she bought new in 2001...over the last 10 months or so the battery would go flat if left for a few days...if she drove the car daily it was not a problem.....several trips to the dealer and two new batteries later the problem continued.....

The clue here is that she never drives at night.....
I happened to be at her house one night and went into the garage without turning the garage lights on as i was just grabbing a trash-bag....

I see a very faint light coming from the car....it was the reading light above the right rear door seat that someone had left in the on position....
She has never used these lights so im assuming that the car-wash guys hit it while wiping down the interior.....

All is back to normal and she has regained her trust in the volvo.


two batteries and several dealer trips for nada....amazing that her dealer mechanics did not trace this drain to the elec-system....

 

The battery disconnect switch shouldn't void a warranty. It is cheap anti-theft device if you park in a questionable neighborhood, like Norfolk or Portsmouth, VA. near me or south of I-10 around Pass Road in Gulfport, MS.