Hi everyone new here.

got a 2003 s60 T5 from my co-worker and things have been good you could say. I knew there were issues with electrical before I got the car. My buddy is a mechanic and I help at the shop and we flip cars. We have put in a new battery, and spent 250$ to have the cluster repaired from a local reputable company. When the cluster did not work after getting back I brought the car and cluster to him and he troubleshot that there was power on both sides of the lights on the cluster, a short is happening somewhere as there should only be power to one side of the cluster lights.

also to add that the headlights and taillights are always on as soon as I start the car, I can turn the *** on the dash to “turn the lights on and hear the relay clicking” but it still stays with the lights on at all times. I’m not talking about daytime running lights, but the main driving lights and brake lights.

i have researched a ton on the ecm under the drivers side dash and removed and cleaned with electrical cleaner, let dry and reinstalled all relays as they were before, no change.

one thing to note is that when it’s super hot the radio seems to go for a frizz and only the Center channel up front will play music. I took the car for a road trip last weekend and all was good until it was hot out and the radio kept cutting in and out. I had the ac on for the floor and vents so I know the ecm under the dash was getting cooled. Apparently lots of issues with the ecm otherwise as researched.

the CEM under the hood on passenger side tho is my main concern which I have yet to address and take out to inspect. The box lid is bubbled like the plastic got too hot and has caused an issue.. looks like power steering fluid may have gotten in.

main question is, with the headlights and tail lights always on at all time, and everything else working perfectly fine in the car, and it drives very nice.... love the turbo.... what should I be looking at now? The cem under the hood is all I haven’t removed and cleaned.... but I also haven’t check all ground connections either which a lot of people are saying to look for “. And with power on both sides of the lights on the dash cluster I would assume that it’s more likely a bad ground vs a bad CEM. Xenodex offers a remand CEM for 900$ and I’m not looking to pay that... any input would be great.

 

did you ask XeModel for a fee to rebuild your CEM? Also check Midwest ABS as I believe they will also do the same. Most CEMs failures are one of two things a) a blown relay internal to the CEM b) a cracked solder joint on the board. Rebuilds will resolder all the connections and replace any failed components.

 

I haven’t asked what a fix would cost, the only thing they have on there website is about getting a re-man and copying the info from the old to the new and that’s 900CAD