Hi Everyone. I was needing some help with my 2008 XC90. I'm not sure if all this is related, but here goes. I bought the car used after a mechanic inspected it before purchase. Everything was fine according to him. Right before the sale was completed, we noticed the high beams were not working. The seller took the car to the Volvo dealership and it looks like they did something to the wiring under the steering column and made them work. So, we purchased the car.

Not long after, we noticed the front wipers would not work. If you put it on high, they will come on, but they won't park. Intermittent and low do not work. Also, there are error messages regarding the brake system and engine system. Occasionally, the cruise control button does nothing as well.

So far, we've replaced relays, bought a new wiper stalk and tonight tried the new wiper motor - all for nothing. If anyone can provide some ideas, it would be great. Thanks.

 

my guess is one of the wires/feeds into the relay is open. did you look at all the odd fuses? next step would be to check voltages going into the relay(s) to see if you have a wiring side issue. After that I'd suspect an ignition switch or connector. Dunno if your model has these features going through an ECM (a electronic control module which houses a set of relays and switches). In fact your model may have more than one - they are typically under the dash... you may get some ideas by looking at the wiring diagrams at volvowiringdiagrams.com

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but this is exactly what is happening to me. Front windshield wipers will only work right when the car is first turned on, and only in the high position. If you switch them to anything other than high and then to try to go back to high, most of the time they won't get going and will just stay stuck where they were before. Rear wiper works perfectly well. I've replaced the wiper stalk to no avail. I have to believe the motor still works, as it will run on high for quite a while (tested a minute) with no issue if the car just started.

I've checked the fuse and they seem fine. I don't currently have a way to check the relays. I also do not have any error messages.

Has anyone else had this happen and found a solution? I know the worst case scenario is the CEM, but everything else in the car seems to be working properly, and I'm not experiencing any other weird anomalies that others had seen when their CEM was going out.

 

I should add I also have a 2008 XC90 with 108K.

Any chance it could be the relay ST1 (Wiper High/Low) from the engine fuse compartment? I've swapped the ST2 (wiper on/off) and ST3 (headlamp washer) relays since they are the same to no change in performance.

 

For anyone curious, it did end up being the CEM. It's possible for it to go bad and just impact a specific area of the car. Mine was water damage, although it looked clean from the outside and there wasn't any evidence of water under the cowel or on the seals for the cover. Regardless, I sent it in to Xemodex and got a refurbed unit. $650 and back to me in 2 days. Install isn't too bad. Took about 30 minutes to carefully put everything back together. Working like a champ now. I'd highly recommend going the Xemodex route as opposed to the OEM route. First off, they are cheaper and the product has the same 1 year warranty, but secondly they add additional heatsinks to the CEMs, so the likelihood of them overheating and failing is reduced. Apparently water damage and heat are the two enemies of the CEM.

 

My rear wiper is stuck i dont know how maybe i accidentally left it on now it won’t move anymore any help