2005 volvo S40 100000 miles


The car was fine with no error messages when I parked it 2 days ago

yesterday when I turned on the engine, It wouldn't work, and also had a "Anti Skid Temporarily Off" and a "power steering service required" message on as well.

After a few attempts, 10mins later everything was fine.


today the same problem remains. However, after a few tries( about 10 mins ) the problem's gone.

I think every time when Ive not driven for a long period (10 hours) the problem would come up

and it would go away after a few attempts


plzzzzz help

 

Have you had your battery tested. It might have a bad cell.

 

read some other posts which cited possble problems with the "clock spring" (steering angle sensor) could do this, and parking with your wheels at an angle one way or the other may set off the error. Try a quick experiment of parking with the wheels at different angles (ie straight one day, turned a crank to the right the next and finally to the left to see if the start up behavior and warning lights appearance changes.

 

The way the wheels are turned do not have an impact on starting the car.

 

just had the battery replaced, I will try again tomorrow morning, and see if the problem remains.

one more question. can it be a bad alternator, which has trouble charging the battery?

 

Well what I suspect is a bad cell. Normally a alternator don't cause bad cells but it is possible

 

Yes alternator issues can create start problems. If you have access to a multi-meter (volt meter) - even a $10 one from Radio Shack or Harbor Freight, you can do some quick self tests. With the engine off, the voltage across the battery terminals should be 12.5 to 12.6 volts. If you try to start and hear a click and no crank, it could be the battery or a cable issue. look at the big power cable from the battery to the starter to see if anything looks amiss - ie corrosion, missing insulation. Next you can try jump starting the car or using a battery charger. If the car now starts, measure voltage at the battery with the engine running. It should be 14V or so. if its still 12V, you probably have an alternator or voltage regulator issue. If you see 14V, now turn on the heater blower, lights, rear defrost etc to fully load up the system. You should still see 13V or more. Note if you see more than 15V (like 16-18V) it means you have a bad voltage regulator and your over charging the battery and system... If the voltages still look good at the battery and you still can't get the car to crank over even with a boost, then I'd look at the starter cable and the ground strap and clean up the terminals on both sides. Some starter cables also have a fuse in them. Then you may have a starter motor issue. Note if you don't hear the starter's solenoid click, that open a whole new triage process. Problems with the PNP switch (the shifter's park neutral position sensor) comes to mind. Others have had issues with their immobilizers... But to return to base here, most common are battery/terminal/alternator problems

 

I've had to replace the ignition switch on my 2005 for a no start.

Low battery voltage to the starter normally gives you the 'click, click, click' when you turn the key. As mentioned before, check your voltages first. It's quick and easy and free.