ETS light on my 1999 S70
 

My car has been having all kinds of lovely lights coming on randomly. The lastest is the ETS. it has been the most consistent of all of them. I also get my ABS, Check Engine, and the little swervy car one. Occasionally the brake light comes on too and then I loose my speedometer. I've taken my car in and they've put it on the computer to get the codes, which they tell me are all over the place. One mechanic thought it was because there was a loose connection to the battery. The lights went out for a couple of days that time, but they came back on.

This pesky ETS light seems to be the most consistent. Does anyone have any ideas what I should be looking for or what I should be asking the mechanics to be looking for? I could really use some help with this.

A bad electrical portion of the ignition switch comes to mind. Try to jiggle the key a bit the next time your warning lights all come on and see if things change.

...Lee

Thanks! Thats a good suggestion since my headlights and blinkers dont work unless the keys are in the just right position. I'll give it a try.

This seems to be yoru ABS Module being bad as well as a problem to do with your electronic throttle module

Random lights
 

Is there only one ABS module or are there 4? The computer doesn't give any information with the codes.

I have had my car in the shop and they went through cleaning the throttle body and replaced some gaskets in an effort to fix whatever is causing the ETS light to stay on. It didn't work. :( The also replaced the ignition switch to see if that would help the other lights.... ABS, Brake, Check Engine and the swervy one. Those lights are still coming on randomly, but the good news is I don't have to jiggle the ignition just right for the signal lights and headlights to work.

Does anyone have any ideas of what we need to check next? I'd sure love some help with this!

There's one ABS module on your car , don't mistake this with ABS sensors, the module is different.

This is a very common issue and I am sure it's your module so do your research, as well is the ETS(ETM) issue with these cars.

I have a 99 S70 myself and just two days ago the car left me stranded on the side of the highway becuase I had the ETS light on, then it went off and then the engine started shaking with the CEL(check engine light) on.

Hate my car right now.

Thankfully I haven't been stranded on the side of the road! So sorry that happened to you! I just want to get this figured out so it doesn't happen to me. All of this electrical stuff is a pain!

So what I'm hearing you say is, the ABS light is probably because of the ABS module. That would make sense. I'm guessing you don't have any thoughts about what could be causing the ETS light to be so consistent. Right now my mechanic is thinking he wants to replace the dashboard cluster. He is thinking there might be a short or a bad connection in that because I have a rattle in my left front dash. Maybe something has come loose.

I think I will have them do the ABS module for sure. If you find out anything about your ETS problem, let me know. So far having it on doesn't seem to cause any problems with my cars performance.

Good luck with your car!!

Hey , why would your mechanic think it's your cluster? those lights come on for a reason, for costly ones normally. :(


The symptoms of a bad ABS module are exactly what you explained: speedometer cutting out, ABS light, engine light, traction control light, those are the symptoms, and the ABS module sets them off. So believe me I am 99.9% sure it's your ABS module.

Now the ETS light is a different situation, mine came on, then went off and then I had a really shaky engine with no power and an engine light on. Took the car to the mechanic and the diagnostic showed a misfire in cylinder #2, we changed the plug and coil and he checked the injector and came to the conclusion it's my valve, he was really surprised about it too because he knows I take care of my car which is a piss off. THE LUCK!! He said it's rare especially because I use synthetic oil on time and take pretty good care of my car. This is an expensive job I am really thinking if I put money into this what's gonna come up next.


Honestly it's pissing me off, all this money could be spent on much better things. Wish I knew how to attack a valve job myself since I have the time right now.

Hey, any updates on your conditions? I just had this issue coming from work this afternoon.

First the SRS light came on, and then the TRAC light along with the ABS light came on (first intermittently, then stayed on.) As this happened, I started losing power to the engine. The speedometer stopped working. Had to rev up to over 2k to even start moving. And in NYC traffic that sucks. I did feel the pulsating throttle more and more until, 2 blocks from home, the gas didn't work at all and I coasted to my place. Had to push it the last few yards into a parking spot. Now the car won't start at all. I'll try again tomorrow but if I get it started, I'll drive it to a shop.

I'm really hoping I don't have to go to the dealer because they rip you off so I'm curious to know what you guys found out so I can learn from your experiences.

EDIT: my car is a 2000 V70 XC SE, but it's close enough to the S70

My mechanic did all kinds of things to try to make it work without having to replace the ETS module, but to no avail. Finally he replaced the ETS module and my car works wonderfully! I got the module from XeModex in Canada that rebuilds them and they were fabulous to work with. I can't find the link to their site, but I got it from this forum.

Hope that helps! Good luck with your car!

The TRACS/ABS light coming on intermittently is usually caused by broken solder joints in the ABS module; common problem for this vintage 850/S/V70. Google "volvo ABS module repair" and I am sure you will find links for places that can repair them for about $100 or DIY. That may also fix the issue with your SRS light but no promises.

Fixing that may address your running issue but more likely you'll need a xemodex ETM as well; another common problem on this vintage car.

I also have a 99 s70 with 230,000 miles on it. Tonight, it started shaking, check engine light, then ETS light. What happened with yours?

YES light
 

So funny thing I lost cylinder 1 on Oct 31 replaced the coil pack and all good. So 2 days go by and now the ets light is on booo so the srs lights have always been on every Volvo we have owned so we never messed with it cause we really don't care. The cat is randomly hard to start too. After reading this I'm now worried lol. Any advice?

Valve
 

Can you tell me which value it was?

you posted on an old post - not likely the OPs are still following. Step one would be to read up on symptoms of a failed ETM or ABS.

Volvo ETM ETS Problems is a good source - Victor also has good content on ABS module faults.

Step two is to go to Autozone and "rent" (usually for free) a fully featured OBD2 code reader or have a friendly shop pull your codes. You can clear the codes if you like - but if in all likelyhood they will reset within about 50 miles of driving. You can post up the codes and compare to the typical symptoms.

ARD Tuning (ardideas.com) also sells an ETM contact repair kit.

Another shop that rebuilds ABS modules is midwest ABS but I'd start by working on the ETM.