I drive a 2004 S60, and I've been experiencing a strange sequence of events at seemingly random times. While driving, or even stopped at a light, the engine seems to cut out for a second (at higher speeds it feels like I've hit something), the headlights will dim and brighten, the clock will display this --:-- (doesn't recover), and sometimes the windshield wipers will go on by themselves. Another time the in-cab lights turned on. Each time this happens I hear a "click" somewhere behind the instrument panel (like a relay switching). I've taken it to my mechanic twice, and to Volvo once, and the problem hasn't been resolved. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

WOW, that sounds very odd. Did Volvo or the Mechanic try changing anything? If so, what have they already tried?

 

Sounds like an electrical issue

 

My mechanic took it to Volvo and they said they found an issue in the instrumentation panel (not much more specific than that), and apparently they fixed it, but I had the same problems a few days after I got it back. The problem worsened yesterday, where the same issues occurred but this time all gauges fell to zero, and all lights on the panel shut off. Everything returned to normal a few seconds later. This happened about five or six times within 20 minutes.

 

I plan on replacing the battery

 

I have a problem with my '05 s60 2.5T randomly not starting, and i've been through the same headaches with the dealer - its been in 4 times, had repairs done, and still the problem persists with my volvo dealer totally unable to fix it.

my best advice to you is to try and find a performance shop in your area that tunes volvos and see what they can do for you. i took mine to one after trip number 3 to my dealer, and they found the problem in less than 2 hours. unfortunately, its a software issue that only volvo can address, and my dealer still claims not to be able to find this problem even after i told them what to look for.

the dealers are thieves, and generally dont put too much effort into checking thoroughly for these elusive "electrical problems". avoid them at all costs.

 

Any fault codes? My money is on arcing within module connectors. I had a bunch of codes along with the supernatural...

 

Did you ever get yours fixed? Just curious because I'm having the exact same problem with my 2004 Volvo S60. And by the looks of the internet....There are many of us with Volvo's experiencing the exact same problem and even Volvo can't diagnose the problem!! It's crazy. First someone thought the CEM needed to be taken off and sent off to be remanufactured. Then turns out that wasn't the fix either. And this only happens in the summer time with my car.

 

i had the same issue. overheating seems to have been the issue. my only "fix" to it so far has been to crank up the A/C at the feet. i also removed the panel under the steering wheel in order to let the air flow a bit more. so far so good, no more sudden jerks or electrical failures.

 

check alternator which refills battery ...

 

I know this is an old thread but for anyone who is still looking for a solution I think I have one.
2 years ago I was having several random error messages and failures on my 2005 Volvo V50. It almost certainly seemed like electrical issues.
I ended up removing and cleaning every single fuse, main harness connection and ground wire I could find. After cleaning every electrical connection I could find under the hood and inside the cabin fuse box area the problems went away.
It's been now 2 years with no issues.
Visually inspectiong the connections did now reveal any issues. It must have been just corrosion causing strange electrical issues which lead to a wide range of random warnings and failures.
Good luck.

 

hi mathanas - something similar happened to me yesterday with my 2008 C30. did you find out the issue? i was driving 75mph & the entire dashboard panel, radio, navigator system went black & the car lurched as if i hit something & i couldn't get any power to come back for a few seconds until i pulled the navigator out of the cigarette lighter. i was having weird electrical problems for the past few months ever since i started using a navigator system that was plugged into the cigarette lighter & i used a splitter (one of which was broken) so perhaps it's an electrical short that shorted out the entire system?

 

I have had the exact same problems last few weeks. It started with a sudden jerk on the freeway. Engine temperature too high. Replaced the old thermostat. Now after two weeks same thing happened. Cant be the thermostat again. Airbag service warning on also. What do you advise? New TCM or ECM needed? Or just an electrical fault that a mechanic can fix? Only seems to happen in high heat.

 

High heat + oddball behavior from your car normally equals an overheating CEM. There are lots of creative ways to address the issue ranging from installing an inline CPU fan to rerouting AC to a rebuilt or replaced CEM. Which option you choose probably depends on how creative / stubborn / cheap you are

 

i found out the issue to my volvo problem - it needed a battery replacement. it was old & simply needed to be replaced. everything was back to normal after i got a new one.

 

First check if your battery is getting charged from the alternator

Second check if you have a good working battery

Third use electrical spray on all relay/fuse connectors in the fuse box in the engine department - pull the fuse/relay one at a time spray on the female connector in the box and put the fuse/relay inplace - repeat 3-4 times to get rid of all corrosion - forget about visual inspection

Forth don't go to the dealer to get ripped off

 

2004 Volvo S80. Totally random loss of many facilities in the car at totally random times and more often than not in the heat. Dealer replaced the DIM. I replaced fuses (all 10 AMP). Nothing fixed it. Then lo and behold I went to a private mechanic with lots of Volvo experience (you would think the dealer would have the expertise - not so much). At any rate, he chased all the wires down to no avail. But he also nailed down the battery was compromised. Go figure. He replaced the battery and I have not had an issue now for months. Appears fixed to me. I'll know more once the hot weather comes in but I am 99.99999999% confident it is fixed.

 

It seems that I am having the same corrosion issue at some points of my volvo s60 2004. Which chemical did you use to clean all the connections? Do you have any youtube video to refer me that will help me to know better how to do it? Thank you very much in advance

 

Wow I had exactly the same problems with my 940. Did you solve it?

 

I did solve it. It drove me crazy until I figured it out. I just put a $7 computer fan on the CEM that is over the pedals, behind the dashboard. This unit overheats, especially during summer time. Let me know if you need more help or details.