My girlfriend has a 2004 S40 T5 AWD with 26K miles on it. She drives about 30mi each way to work, mostly highway.

Apparently the battery died today. No power to run any accessories, lights and when you tried starting the car you'd hear a bunch of fast clicking noises.

Nothing was left on to cause the battery to die.

We called AAA and got a jump. The AAA person told us the battery was "bad"; a bad cell he clarified and that we should go to the dealer and have it replaced. It should be under warranty.

So at that point I thought I should be able to drive it home and we could drop the car off at the dealer in the morning. (As long as it started in the morning, but I could always jump it again if needed)

But I didn't make it home. I made it most of the way but was shocked when the car went completely dead at 20-30mph after navigate a right hand turn. I had just made the right hand turn, downshifted
to 2nd and got back on the gas when the car died instantly. I had enough momentum to get to the side of the road. At this point the battery didn't have enough juice to run anything, the instrument cluster barely lit. I certainly didn't have enough power for hazard lights or the dome lights, etc..

This car still feels brand new to us, and it sucked to call for a tow truck and watch it being towed away.

Our Volvo dealer is the only Volvo dealer within a ~60mi radius and they warned us they're booked till Wednesday!

Can a "bad" battery cause the car to die while running? Is it shorting?

What are the chances that I have some other electrical problem?

I didn't check the belts or the alternator, yet.

I'd hate to be without the car for days if it was just the battery. But they should replace it for free and hopefully check for other problems too.

The other issues we've had with the car were software / electrical bugs relating to the door locks. Using the remote not all of the doors
woud lock / unlock. The dealer ended up doing a few software upgrades and did something with wiring in the door.

Thanks!

 

Bummer.Hopefully everything checks out okay and its just a battery, but don't be surprised if the alternator is bad.

I had a similar experience in an old car I had way back when. One morning, on the way to work the headlights were dim as was the dash. Next thing I know I am asking fora jump. Turns out it was a bad alternator. Without that constant charge from the alternator, the battery will go dead fairly quickly.

 

If u got the 2nd generations S40 model yr 2004.5 to current... Check for tech net note at dealer at battery drain for no reason due to ICM draining battery. If applies may have software upgrade at no charge if vehicle under warranty period. I hope that helps. For your door lock issue it would have to be the fretting corrosion on door connectors (recently release a tech net note for it) not an easy job may need to drop car off at dealer for a day if wiring harness and connectors are not back ordered. hope that helps

 

This car has two seperate belts= one for the A/C compressor and one for the alternator. It may seem a stupid question but is the belt for the alternator still there?
The ICM issue should only effect a car when it is off.
The drain on the battery may have caused it to go 'bad' but I would think it was a effect rather than a cause.