Originally Posted by Hudini

I simply bought mine online for a 2005 S40 and swapped the old for the new. No programming needed. No extra dealer costs. Just old one out and new one in plus all the normal swearing and cussing that goes along with the process. Did you say what year Volvo you own?

Originally Posted by JesS40

It's a 2006 S40 I guess the part has an immobilizer which needs to be programmed?

Originally Posted by Khaaaaann

I have a 2006 volvo s40 with 140k miles that turned out to be suffered from a faulty ignition switch that I was able to remove, clean, and re-install. Using suggestions from other posts and internet searches I went through a very painful diagnosis process until the actual culprit was found.

Symptoms-
The first sign of the issue was intermittent starting, I would insert the key and in the first and second position there was no issues but when I would turn the key to the third position (which activates the starter) nothing would happened. When I would attempt to turn the key again it would start right up, so I did not really pay attention to it as it only happened twice within a month...

Just two months ago it happened again but this time the car would not start no matter how many times the key was turned. I called for a tow-truck but before it arrived I disconnected my battery and reconnected and the car started right up. Once I got the car home and shut it off it "died" completely and no matter what I did (and I tried everything) the car would not turn over or even try and crank.

I took the car to a dealership who told me it was the starter and it needed to be replaced, which at the time made sense to me given the symptoms. The dealership wanted $900 to replace which I thought was crazy seeing as how I could buy a brand new starter for under $200, I had the car towed back to my home and ordered the starter installing it myself. Once I had replaced the starter the car started right up and I thought I had solved the issue. The next week I was again stranded when the car would not start, but this time instead of simply not starting the car would attempt to turn over but it was very rough and seemed to set off all of the in dash warning lights when it was trying to start (this should have pointed to an electrical issue, but I was not thinking clear due the frustration that comes with a broken down car).

I did some searching on forum posts and called a few dealerships and heard about a common issue with the fuel pressure regulator going bad and causing similar issues. So I ordered the part and installed it with no change other than now when I would attempt to start the car I would get an immobilizer message.

At this point I was out of ideas, so again I had the car towed to a dealership (a different one than I took it to before) and I was floored by their response "We have no idea whats causing the issues". They suggested that I messed up something while installing the starter and that they would start by replacing the starter again. I had to have spent an hour arguing with the tech trying to get them to look at something other than the starter and the starter wires running from the battery (which I had checked and rechecked). Eventually I again had my car towed back to my home so I could spend my weekends trying to figuring out what was wrong.

My breakthrough came after testing the wire going to the solenoid from the ignition system and found that when I turned the key to the third position I would not get a reading at that wire. I did some more web checking aimed at the ignition system to find that some of the early 2000's Volvo's had issues with either bad wiring coming from the ignition switch or a bad contact inside the ignition switch itself. I removed most of the dash and removed the ignition switch which was a F'ing nightmare (there is one security screw that if you have to fully remove the ignition switch will be the most difficult part of the job). I disassembled the switch to find one of the contacts looked corroded, I cleaned it and reassembled. Before re-installing the switch I inspected the wires coming off the connectors that plugged into the back of the switch and noticed two small pin hole sized voids on a couple of wire casings. I repaired the voids with electrical tape and installed the switch, the car started right up the first time and every time since.

For anyone experiencing similar issues I have the following recommendations/knowledge to share,

1.Get a voltage meter or electrical tester and test the small wire going to the starter solenoid, you should get a signal from that wire when the key is turned to the third position (just make sure to remove the wire from the solenoid before testing due to the off chance the car does start when your hands are next to moving parts).

2. Be careful not to jump to conclusions before spending money on parts, learn from my mistakes of replacing the starter without having it tested first.

3. Take your time and try and find instructions before removing dash components, I almost drove myself crazy trying to get the ignition switch out before finding instructions online.

4. Don't forget to check the wires coming from the connectors that plug into the ignition switch! Shortly after cleaning and re-installing my switch I had the car pull a no start again but I looked at the wires that I noted as having small voids and had just wrapped them in electrical tape. This time I cut away the bad sections and properly connected the wires which fully solved the issue.

5. I found the Volvo dealerships I went to a total waste of time and money, they never listened to what I was saying and only suggested repairing the most basic items even if I could prove they were not the issue. My total out of pocket cost for the entire job (x4 tows, a new starter, a new fuel pressure regulator, and x2 sets of security bits) ran me $600. The first dealership would have charged me $900 just to replace the starter which would have not solved the issue.

6. To remove the ignition switch you will need a T25 bit and to disassemble the switch itself you will need a T6 bit.

7. Finally, shoot me an email if you have a question. The info I found on this forum was the ONLY quality information I ever found in my web searching and ultimately led me to the real root cause of my issues.

Big thanks to all the people who have posted to this site! It really helped me get my car going again, THANK YOU!!

Originally Posted by Khaaaaann

I have a 2006 volvo s40 with 140k miles that turned out to be suffered from a faulty ignition switch that I was able to remove, clean, and re-install. Using suggestions from other posts and internet searches I went through a very painful diagnosis process until the actual culprit was found.

Symptoms-
The first sign of the issue was intermittent starting, I would insert the key and in the first and second position there was no issues but when I would turn the key to the third position (which activates the starter) nothing would happened. When I would attempt to turn the key again it would start right up, so I did not really pay attention to it as it only happened twice within a month...

Just two months ago it happened again but this time the car would not start no matter how many times the key was turned. I called for a tow-truck but before it arrived I disconnected my battery and reconnected and the car started right up. Once I got the car home and shut it off it "died" completely and no matter what I did (and I tried everything) the car would not turn over or even try and crank.

I took the car to a dealership who told me it was the starter and it needed to be replaced, which at the time made sense to me given the symptoms. The dealership wanted $900 to replace which I thought was crazy seeing as how I could buy a brand new starter for under $200, I had the car towed back to my home and ordered the starter installing it myself. Once I had replaced the starter the car started right up and I thought I had solved the issue. The next week I was again stranded when the car would not start, but this time instead of simply not starting the car would attempt to turn over but it was very rough and seemed to set off all of the in dash warning lights when it was trying to start (this should have pointed to an electrical issue, but I was not thinking clear due the frustration that comes with a broken down car).

I did some searching on forum posts and called a few dealerships and heard about a common issue with the fuel pressure regulator going bad and causing similar issues. So I ordered the part and installed it with no change other than now when I would attempt to start the car I would get an immobilizer message.

At this point I was out of ideas, so again I had the car towed to a dealership (a different one than I took it to before) and I was floored by their response "We have no idea whats causing the issues". They suggested that I messed up something while installing the starter and that they would start by replacing the starter again. I had to have spent an hour arguing with the tech trying to get them to look at something other than the starter and the starter wires running from the battery (which I had checked and rechecked). Eventually I again had my car towed back to my home so I could spend my weekends trying to figuring out what was wrong.

My breakthrough came after testing the wire going to the solenoid from the ignition system and found that when I turned the key to the third position I would not get a reading at that wire. I did some more web checking aimed at the ignition system to find that some of the early 2000's Volvo's had issues with either bad wiring coming from the ignition switch or a bad contact inside the ignition switch itself. I removed most of the dash and removed the ignition switch which was a F'ing nightmare (there is one security screw that if you have to fully remove the ignition switch will be the most difficult part of the job). I disassembled the switch to find one of the contacts looked corroded, I cleaned it and reassembled. Before re-installing the switch I inspected the wires coming off the connectors that plugged into the back of the switch and noticed two small pin hole sized voids on a couple of wire casings. I repaired the voids with electrical tape and installed the switch, the car started right up the first time and every time since.

For anyone experiencing similar issues I have the following recommendations/knowledge to share,

1.Get a voltage meter or electrical tester and test the small wire going to the starter solenoid, you should get a signal from that wire when the key is turned to the third position (just make sure to remove the wire from the solenoid before testing due to the off chance the car does start when your hands are next to moving parts).

2. Be careful not to jump to conclusions before spending money on parts, learn from my mistakes of replacing the starter without having it tested first.

3. Take your time and try and find instructions before removing dash components, I almost drove myself crazy trying to get the ignition switch out before finding instructions online.

4. Don't forget to check the wires coming from the connectors that plug into the ignition switch! Shortly after cleaning and re-installing my switch I had the car pull a no start again but I looked at the wires that I noted as having small voids and had just wrapped them in electrical tape. This time I cut away the bad sections and properly connected the wires which fully solved the issue.

5. I found the Volvo dealerships I went to a total waste of time and money, they never listened to what I was saying and only suggested repairing the most basic items even if I could prove they were not the issue. My total out of pocket cost for the entire job (x4 tows, a new starter, a new fuel pressure regulator, and x2 sets of security bits) ran me $600. The first dealership would have charged me $900 just to replace the starter which would have not solved the issue.

6. To remove the ignition switch you will need a T25 bit and to disassemble the switch itself you will need a T6 bit.

7. Finally, shoot me an email if you have a question. The info I found on this forum was the ONLY quality information I ever found in my web searching and ultimately led me to the real root cause of my issues.

Big thanks to all the people who have posted to this site! It really helped me get my car going again, THANK YOU!!

Originally Posted by Khaaaaann

I have a 2006 volvo s40 with 140k miles that turned out to be suffered from a faulty ignition switch that I was able to remove, clean, and re-install. Using suggestions from other posts and internet searches I went through a very painful diagnosis process until the actual culprit was found.

Symptoms-
The first sign of the issue was intermittent starting, I would insert the key and in the first and second position there was no issues but when I would turn the key to the third position (which activates the starter) nothing would happened. When I would attempt to turn the key again it would start right up, so I did not really pay attention to it as it only happened twice within a month...

Just two months ago it happened again but this time the car would not start no matter how many times the key was turned. I called for a tow-truck but before it arrived I disconnected my battery and reconnected and the car started right up. Once I got the car home and shut it off it "died" completely and no matter what I did (and I tried everything) the car would not turn over or even try and crank.

I took the car to a dealership who told me it was the starter and it needed to be replaced, which at the time made sense to me given the symptoms. The dealership wanted $900 to replace which I thought was crazy seeing as how I could buy a brand new starter for under $200, I had the car towed back to my home and ordered the starter installing it myself. Once I had replaced the starter the car started right up and I thought I had solved the issue. The next week I was again stranded when the car would not start, but this time instead of simply not starting the car would attempt to turn over but it was very rough and seemed to set off all of the in dash warning lights when it was trying to start (this should have pointed to an electrical issue, but I was not thinking clear due the frustration that comes with a broken down car).

I did some searching on forum posts and called a few dealerships and heard about a common issue with the fuel pressure regulator going bad and causing similar issues. So I ordered the part and installed it with no change other than now when I would attempt to start the car I would get an immobilizer message.

At this point I was out of ideas, so again I had the car towed to a dealership (a different one than I took it to before) and I was floored by their response "We have no idea whats causing the issues". They suggested that I messed up something while installing the starter and that they would start by replacing the starter again. I had to have spent an hour arguing with the tech trying to get them to look at something other than the starter and the starter wires running from the battery (which I had checked and rechecked). Eventually I again had my car towed back to my home so I could spend my weekends trying to figuring out what was wrong.

My breakthrough came after testing the wire going to the solenoid from the ignition system and found that when I turned the key to the third position I would not get a reading at that wire. I did some more web checking aimed at the ignition system to find that some of the early 2000's Volvo's had issues with either bad wiring coming from the ignition switch or a bad contact inside the ignition switch itself. I removed most of the dash and removed the ignition switch which was a F'ing nightmare (there is one security screw that if you have to fully remove the ignition switch will be the most difficult part of the job). I disassembled the switch to find one of the contacts looked corroded, I cleaned it and reassembled. Before re-installing the switch I inspected the wires coming off the connectors that plugged into the back of the switch and noticed two small pin hole sized voids on a couple of wire casings. I repaired the voids with electrical tape and installed the switch, the car started right up the first time and every time since.

For anyone experiencing similar issues I have the following recommendations/knowledge to share,

1.Get a voltage meter or electrical tester and test the small wire going to the starter solenoid, you should get a signal from that wire when the key is turned to the third position (just make sure to remove the wire from the solenoid before testing due to the off chance the car does start when your hands are next to moving parts).

2. Be careful not to jump to conclusions before spending money on parts, learn from my mistakes of replacing the starter without having it tested first.

3. Take your time and try and find instructions before removing dash components, I almost drove myself crazy trying to get the ignition switch out before finding instructions online.

4. Don't forget to check the wires coming from the connectors that plug into the ignition switch! Shortly after cleaning and re-installing my switch I had the car pull a no start again but I looked at the wires that I noted as having small voids and had just wrapped them in electrical tape. This time I cut away the bad sections and properly connected the wires which fully solved the issue.

5. I found the Volvo dealerships I went to a total waste of time and money, they never listened to what I was saying and only suggested repairing the most basic items even if I could prove they were not the issue. My total out of pocket cost for the entire job (x4 tows, a new starter, a new fuel pressure regulator, and x2 sets of security bits) ran me $600. The first dealership would have charged me $900 just to replace the starter which would have not solved the issue.

6. To remove the ignition switch you will need a T25 bit and to disassemble the switch itself you will need a T6 bit.

7. Finally, shoot me an email if you have a question. The info I found on this forum was the ONLY quality information I ever found in my web searching and ultimately led me to the real root cause of my issues.

Big thanks to all the people who have posted to this site! It really helped me get my car going again, THANK YOU!!