Hi, I've got a problem with my 2004 S60R. It has 92,000. Runs great but has a battery that wont stay charged. It has had about 4 new batteries in the past 18 months and a new alternator. I would say about 75 percent of the time the battery will drain within a few hours of driving the vehicle. And by drain I check with a voltmeter and it reads about 5 volts and was 13 when I shut it down. If I disconnect the battery it stays charged.

So to try and make the story as short as possible I took it too a local Volvo/BMW shop in Phoenix area and they kept it for three days, charged me $300 bucks and said they have no idea what the problem is and if they keep looking it will get expensive fast as they pull the dash apart etc. Here is what they documented on their invoice:

1. Performed Parasitic draw test - Test finds Parasitic draw of 560MA
2. Removal of fuse by fuse under hood did not diminish draw
3. Disconnecting FRT fuse box from circuit eliminates draw
4. Needs Buss System Module Troubleshoot

On a tight budget I picked it up and have been doing some of my own troubleshooting of my own and lots of web searches. Here are some additional things I have discovered. Some of this info may mean nothing but I'll add it just in case.

1. 2 weeks ago, After driving for an hour or so I got home and tested battery voltage. It was 12.8. A couple hours later I was walking by the car and heard a loud screeching noise in the very front of the engine bay right behind headlight on passenger side. I grabbed key and it was so dead I couldn't unlock with key button. I stuck key in door and noise stopped. I opened hood checked battery and it was 5.2 volts. The component making the noise was either the ECU or TCU whcih sit right next to each other. Both were extremely hot and I had others assisting me that confirmed. I pulled both units out and recharged battery. I cleaned a little dirt off terminals and put both units back in. After battery was charged It started right up and next day battery was dead again.

2. I called the shop who had worked on it unsuccessfully and talked to fairly knowledgeable owner. He said that was a big find and said he suspected a relay was opening after the car should be in its "sleep mode" or whatever they call it. He said it enters this state approx 20 min after engine is shut off. He said try the main body relay which I couldn't locate. I did find the ECU relay in the under hood fuse box . He also said it might be a bad ECU. He didn't think TCU was issue. Im not positive on how to test if its a relay issue so this is where I am right now.

3. A few other notable issues it is having.
- Car stereo lights do not work about 90 percent of the time. It has no lighting and adjustment of the dimmer or turning on headlights does not make a difference. Stereo is Cassette/Single CD Double Din Model. I'm not sure what speaker system it has but is a great sounding stereo.

- One night last week the car alarm was going off. Lights flashing followed by alarm noise right at ECU location plus ECU noise and ECU heat. It had been charged a few hours earlier and battery was so low that the key buttons would not unlock doors or deactivate alarm. Battery read 6 volts. I pulled ECU again and also pulled fuses 23 and 6 under the hook to reset ECU. I finally pulled fuse 38 in interior fuse panel right inside the drivers door on side of dash. That is the alarm siren fuse but the owners manual indicates removing it will set off the siren. When I pulled it the noise stopped but the battery was so dead it may have just been the battery died.

- Yesterday when driving and sitting in rush hour traffic with AC full blast the low "battery Voltage Low" light came on in the left side text window. I had never seen this before and I had been driving for about 30 min before this happened. I know I said the alternator is fairly new but I haven't ruled it out or any of its components.

So I am guessing/hoping it might be on of these items:
1. ECU - I found some used replacements online for around $100. Not sure what it takes to swap these out?
2. Relays - Not sure how to test or isolate the relays. Also any tips on finding replacements?
3. Stereo Deck - Would be a good excuse for a new stereo and figured if it didn't fix the issue I could say the problem started when the stereo was installed and get some free troubleshooting Joking on the second part of that one.

I appreciate any thoughts anyone might have. Right now when I do drive it I just put a jumper box in the trunk.

Thanks!!!!!

 

Well, you've pretty much taken all the steps that I would have taken up to this point. I'm not sure how to help you actually track down the problem at this point, but I can offer one thing; you might want to consider getting a battery cut off switch (used mostly in marine applications) to use until you find the problem. Deep discharging your battery repeatedly like that ins't good for it. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CDwQ9QEwBg
At least then you wouldn't have to carry the jump box around if you didn't want to.

 

any update on this, I seem to be having a battery drain issue I can't locate....

 

your siren module is acting up and causing the parasitic draw. Common failure.


The siren is in the right wheel area, need to remove the right wheel and peel off the plastic liner.

Disconnect the siren module, and see if the battery is still being discharged.

 

I agree with the siren module at fault.

 

thanks, unfortunately you were both wrong, worth a try though. I'll keep looking.

 

May be wrong for you, but sounds like it may be the issue for the original poster.