Hey everyone,

Just joined up volvoforums and am pleased to have found it. So far I've had some frustrating problems answered just by combing through this database and thank you all for it. Now I'd like to post the information I've gathered and see if those of you reading concur.

I have a 1999 Volvo S70. Have owned and driven for almost 10 years now with approx. 100k miles. Has an aftermarket alarm, speakers/amp and fog lights. Also has custom 15" rims installed. Love this vehicle but a few years ago I began having some intermittent issues that have been extremely hard to diagnose. I like to compare it to my intermittent medical issue I have that no doctors can seem to figure out. Frustrating and expensive, however, that doesn't mean I'm giving up!

So on with the symptoms and what I've learned from volvoforums as well as experiences trying to track the culprits down.

Issue #1: ABS, Warning Light (Triangle w/ Car Inside Symbol) and Brake light flash on for 1-4 seconds while driving. This causes my speakers/radio to go silent and the vehicle either decelerates slightly and/or TRACS (the driving mode when I press the W next to my shifter. Without the Arrow light coming on.) becomes engaged. The warning lights will then go off and the car will resume playing the radio as well as returning to its normal rate of travel.

Possible Solutions to Issue #1: Bad ABS Control Unit or battery cable in the relay box dropping voltage. I am looking to get this properly diagnosed and see if either are the source of this issue. If the ABS unit is indeed bad I plan on sending it to Victor to repair/modify.



Issue #2: All lights flickering (dashboard/headlights/brakelights/interior lights/anything with a light pretty much). I can get this to occur pretty often by simply not driving/turning the car on for a short while then starting it up. The lights are totally fine for at least 5-10 seconds then they will range from a mild flickering to a very violent flickering. The flickering will get very bad and from my observations I've noticed that usually right before it gets really bad, thats when Issue #1's biggest problem kicks in (car sort of "restarting").

Possible Solutions to Issue #2: No clue yet. Have replaced my Alternator twice and battery once due to bringing this issue up. A Volvo dealer at one time increased the amount of grounding on my vehicle. The issue seemed to alleviate for a brief period but too difficult to tell how much it was really gone.



Issue #3: This issue deals with the speakers/amp/radio. When the car is turned on and while I am driving, I can hear a buzzing/chirping/static-like sound that ranges from mild to very violent. It seems to correspond with Issue #2 and when the lights in the car flicker, this buzzing/chirping sound persists at the same rate in unison. When Issue #1 hits its worst point, the chirping/buzzing is gone for the brief period that my car is having a mini panic attack. They do seem to relate. Sometimes the speakers will start chirping very loudly then without warning shift to an insanely loud screeching noise. This usually scares the **** outta me and my wife.

Possible Solutions to Issue #3: The screeching I can usually solve by giving my dashboard a quick thump with my fist. I've spoken to a few Audio guys and they think its a bad wiring job (I took my car to two separate places. Once to get the speakers in the back installed. The second time to get the front.) Recently, one Audio guy suggested I take the Fuse out for my amplifier and drive the car for awhile to see if I have the same issues. When taking it out, I don't hear the chirping/buzzing/static-like noise, but Issues #1 & 2 persist unfortunately. It may range from a bad amp to a terrible wiring job. When I took Issues #1 & 2 to be diagnosed by a local Volvo dealer, they discovered that the radio wiring was "spliced" and that they would not continue to diagnose other issues until that had been properly addressed.



Conclusion: I apologize for any of these issues being ones previously answered on this forum. I did my best to comb through and find the most information I could before tailoring up this post. I truly appreciate those of you who take the time to read it and definitely want to hear honest opinions here. I absolutely love this vehicle and would hate to see it go. I've shelled out quite a bit with no solid fixes/leads from Volvo dealers to local mechanics (I've been in Florida, Texas and now Chicago). Honestly, I've learned more today from this forum than any of the mechanics I've encountered. Probably just bad luck with mechs, heh. If the answers are somewhere, I have confidence they are not far from volvoforums.

Thanks in advance.

 

Almost all of your problems sound like either a bad Power or ground connection.
Make sure the power wires at the Alt. and starter are good and tight.

Also has the ignition switch been replaced?(Electrical part)

 

Hey tech,

Funny you mention the ground. After writing all this out I spoke with the next mechanic I'm trying and he immediately said the same thing. This Tuesday I'm taking the Volvo to Maggio Auto here in Chicago and we'll see how it goes. Had a long conversation with the owner about my quest to solve this issue.

During that conversation I recall a Volvo dealer in Sarasota, Florida I went to diagnose/repair my sporadic problem (which started after I took it there for service). They are the ones that did so many terrible things from making me replace my battery, alternator and then realizing it was bad grounding. The last time I took it to them (I don't know why I went back) they replaced my brake pads. On the drive home, I suddenly heard a MASSIVE grinding sound....yea, they put the pads in backwards..lol..

Despite that long-winded sidenote, recalling the incidents with them made me think that they probably didn't do a good job of repairing the ground connection. The potential of a power cable dropping some voltage could be the case as well and I hope Maggio will find the root. I'm pretty confident either will alleviate the issue.

As for the ignition switch, it has not been replaced. Do you think that could be a potential problem area? Another mechanic in Texas, however, replaced the dimmer switch though. And the Volvo guys in Florida made my car have daylights (during that first service where afterwards the issues began) even though I didn't request it, which I'm still annoyed about to this day. Prob should do something about that.

Thanks for your response tech!

 

If the electrical part is bad when you wiggle the key the car can stall or you can loose the headlights/have the SRS light stay on and shiftlock not work.

 

The mechanic finally gave me a call today (he's had the vehicle for 2 weeks now just about) and has admitted defeat. I'll get a detailed report on what exactly he tested/did to attempt solving the problem but I'm pretty bummed that he was unable to do anything.

He could see the extreme issues I am dealing with but could not diagnose it. From the conversation, it seems like he tested the Ground rigorously at least. Once again, I'll hit this forum with the update. If he didn't try to look at the possible issues you pointed out Tech (which I told him about) then I'll have to resort to trying to do it myself.

Stay tuned!

 

I will be waiting to hear back.

 

Ok, a delayed update but after speaking to the mechanic, here is what I gathered. He tested the ground intensely, leading us to believe it is not an issue with that. He did some checks to see if voltage was properly being fed through the vehicle and confirmed that it is dropping voltage sporadically.

He said that his instincts told him it was the Alternator, however, he was unsure since I had replaced it a few years back already. When I went to start the car, it needed a jump. Once I got home I left it sitting overnight, got to it the next morning and boom it was dead. It didn't start and the unlock clicker chirps from the car sounded pitiful hahah. Like a dying robot. So I now see the battery is dead.

He did also mention that since its a 1999 Volvo he wasn't able to interface with the computer (proprietary Volvo software since that year?) and he thought there might be a chance it was the control module. He seemed to focus more on the grounding than this possibility, however.

What do you think? Could it be the alternator once again after all? When they replaced it initially and then increased my ground all I had was the little sound in the speakers (which an audio technician here in Chicago said was caused by engine noise and could be improved by adding some kind of filter). Should I ask the mechanic to replace my alternator? My battery?

Thanks!!!

 

Have him check exact voltage output at the Alt itself and at the positive terminal.
See how much of a difference there is between the 2 and let me know.

FYI it should be charging at atleast 14.25 volts. Also have him check it hot. These alternators are known to fail when they get hot.

 

Another update. He performed the checks you suggested, tech, and I also had the battery replaced. Once replacing he checked for any potential problems that could cause the volvo to be sucking the battery dry. It hadn't been replaced for awhile and now the car starts up consistently.

It was actually running pretty nicely for the first couple days but then the same old issues started popping up. Namely the random stalling and the buzzing in the speakers. When he checked the alternator it seemed to be doing well and charging/outputting properly. I haven't called him just yet to tell him that the issues have returned but it sure does become frustrating after awhile.

The other day I remembered your question about if the ignition switch had been replaced and if you wiggle/move it around, it could cause issues. I do notice that sometimes when I start the car, I have no problems. Other times, however, I will have extremely serious issues while most of the time, its moderate. I then wait for those 5-10 seconds to see if I have a good start on my hands. If its really bad I just turn the car off and try again until I don't hear the chirping.

So, right now, I'm thinking of getting the codes "officially" read (and try to have them not charge me ridiculous) as well as potentially getting the ignition switch checked. If anyone else has suggestions, I'm open ears but I'll keep updating this thread as I continue to pursue the cause of this phenomenon.

Thanks for your help so far again tech.