So I've been driving my 2000 S70 (65Kmiles) with no problems. Earlier today, I parked it and a few minutes later when I came back out, the car wouldn't start. I had lights, everything worked but the car wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Jumping didn't help, and I disconnected the battery terminals and popped the starter fuse to see if it was bad. After hooking the battery back up I tried starting it again and after holding the key in the start position for a few seconds it started. Only problem is now I have a mean looking "check engine" light glowing at me. Any idea what the problem was, or if it will happen again? Is it a security issue or maybe the key is messed up. Please help, I hate when things go wrong with my daily driver.

Thanks,
Justin

 

The same thing has happened to my 2000 S70 quite often, but as of 3 days ago, I can't start it at all. I'm pretty sure the problem is the immobilizer antenna ring. It's the green light that circles the key hole, in the steering column. I'm picking up my replacement from Volvo today, and they quoted me at $47.

I've heard you can clean the contacts and tighten them up, but my car has 208k miles on it, so I figure it's time to replace the damn thing anyway. A way to check if this is your problem is to look at the red immobilizer light in the dash, and see if it flashes rapidly when you try to start the car.

A trick you can try first is to step outside of the car, with the doors closed, and use the key to lock/unlock the car five times in a row. This might re-program your immobilizer chip in your key, so that you can start the car. (That might not be right... you might have to put the key in the ignition, and then use the fob to lock/unlock five times...)

Anyway, try a few of those things, and let me know if anything works for you!

 

Thank you so much EEaudio08. It worked, I tried everything and what seemed to work was sitting inside with the key in the on position and playing with the door lock/unlock button. It reset the car and now runs fine.

If only I could get rid of the service light for the after-market intake I'd be all set. Also the radio isn't working. I have the code, but it's displaying the "off" message. Websites say to let the car sit with the key in it for 2hours, but I don't wanna risk anything. Any fuse tricks around this. Thanks again man, I hope you stay on this forum awhile.

 

Awesome! Glad it worked. To reset the service light, put your key in the ignition, hold down the odometer reset button, and turn the key to position 2. Keep holding the odometer reset button for 10 seconds, until the service light begins to blink. Then boot up the car, and it will be reset!

Not sure about the radio, as I have an aftermarket unit installed. It's been a long time since I've messed with the stock unit...about 6 years now.

 

My car won't start now, and I'm in the same boat you were in. I bought a new immobilizer antenna ring and installed it, and still no dice. I put the key in the door and lock/unlocked five times, and no dice. I put the key in the ignition in position 0, 1, and 2, and did lock/unlock on the door control 5 times, and still no dice.

My remote has been dead for about 3 years. Did you use your remote when you finally got it to work? I can't seem to figure out how to start my car, and it's an extreme hassle. Let me know what the winning formula was for you - door control, or remote fob. I'm going to go get a new battery for my remote tonight, and hopefully that will solve my problem. Man, this is really bothering me.

 

Now yours won't start? What the heck? I hope this isn't just a temporary solution lol. I put the key in position 2 i believe and then lock/unlocked the door with the switch. Then it made noise and all the lights shut off. After starting the car, it was good to go.

I did however disconnect the battery before all this, that's how I was able to drive home. Try disconnecting the battery (disc. the neg first the the pos), and touch the negative and positive lines together. Wait a few minutes and then reconnect them (pos first then neg). This should bypass the security issue you may or may not be having. Then try the lock/unlock thing.

Also your radio will say code. If you don't have the code don't try entering random numbers, it will disable the radio and getting it to work is an even more timely process after that. Let me know if that works for you. The service light advice worked as well, thank you for that. Good luck.

 

Well, I found out what the problem was. Stupid error. When I removed the ABS to send it in for repair, I took out the two ABS fuses. The high current fuse, and the 10amp fuse. Little did I know - or realize - the 10A fuse is for the ABS and the immobilizer. That's why my car wouldn't start.

So I got that fuse plugged back in, and it started (with a jump from a fresh battery), but the idle is really rough now. I don't know if this is because I pulled out the ABS, or if it's because the car hasn't been run for a few days, but it's quite annoying.

Once I get my ABS re-installed - hopefully Monday - I'm going to take my car to my local mechanic and have him take a look at it. This car is giving me a lot of grief lately, but I really don't want to throw down money for a newer car.

 

I know how you feel man. At least you got the starting problem fixed. Good feedback if nothing else. Good luck with it, at least there's a forum with good info to check in with.