Volvo :: 1991 740 Battery Drain / Dashboard Lights Started Going On And Off Intermittently While Driving
Jun 6, 2013
Just trying to get a list of possible reasons my car is acting funny. I may have one problem or more than one problem.
-The dashboard lights started going on and off intermittently while driving. I could feel the power steering was off but the engine never shut off. This happened first while I was running the A/C, but eventually started happening when the A/C was off. When the A/C was on, the car made a funny squeal sound then more of a grinding. The A/C stopped blowing cold air.
-The same thing would happen when driving through water/rain (the dashboard lights would come on and it felt like the car died but it didnt).
-The other night, the SRS light came on, cars electrical started shutting off. Car died. Jump started it, it ran for a couple miles, then died again. This happened the whole 12 mile trip home.
-Mechanic came over, said it was my battery. Replaced battery. Car died again 3 days later. I noticed the lights on the dashboard came on more while making a turn, but they came on while driving too, so idk if that is a good assumption.
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Driving home yesterday and my dashboard battery light started flashing intermittently. This morning it came on and won't go off.
So far I have...
1. Tested alternator and battery with a multimeter and the results appear to be within normal ranges.
2. Pulled out the alternator and had it tested. It went through 7 test cycles on the bench and passed all of them.
3. Swapped out the battery with a new one.
4. Checked the charging system fuse.
5. Thoroughly cleaned the battery cables.
6. Cleaned the battery to chassis and engine to chassis ground cables.
The battery light stays on no matter what I do. What am I missing?
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I have a 06 sonata v6 with 120k. Today while driving the car started to lose power then the lights on the dash board flickered radio went nuts and the car lost all power. What could be causing this? Moved battery a little bit and got power back but then started driving and it did the same thing. I did have the heater on 2. You can feel it lose power while accelerating.
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I’ve been having an engine misfire issue for a number of months. The dealership first changed the plugs, ignition cable kit and wiring, and that fixed it for a while. Then it came back and dealership couldn’t figure it out. They tested the O2 sensor and drove it around for a week to no avail. So I kept driving and have noticed a few trends. First the car drives better in overdrive, or when the rpms are 3,000 or above. Second when the car stalls, if I am trying to restart it immediately I have to give it some gas. Third it doesn’t mind idling in park. And fourth I’ve been having a battery drain. To solve the battery drain I’ve been charging the battery every night, and that definitely works, but I only get about 20 miles before the misfire comes back, and sometimes the misfire is just there immediately regardless. So I just replaced my alternator, and that didn’t solve the issue either. So what else could be the issue? I'm kinda at a loss and driving the car on the highway when the misfire starts is not exactly safe.
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My battery drains to 8v volts when I turn the key to the on position, not starting the car just turning it to the on position. I have done the key off parasitic voltage draw and there is none. This only happens when I turn the to the on position or start the car. The battery will only stay charged from a full charge to 8v or till car shuts off for less than 5 minutes. This is a huge draw! Okay it has a new battery and a new alternator, and I took battery out and did an ohms check received 14 ohms between neg and pos cable with battery out. I was told that was fine or normal. So any clues on what would cause my battery to drain so quickly? When I hook up my DVM to the battery while car is running I get 1 volt or more drop per minute only while running.
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My 1996 Volvo 850 has a relatively new battery but every few weeks it will go completely dead. A typical situation is this: the car will start fine and we will go to a restaurant but when we come out the battery is so dead that the digital clock is off and the radio pre-sets are lost. The shop has done a lot of diagnostics and replaced the alternator but the problem persists. They have determined that the battery is fine and the current drain when the car is off is within normal specs. And, yes, they have disconnected the light in the glove box. They have done everything they can think of but because the problem is so intermittent it is proving impossible to track down.
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1995 Volvo 850 stationwagon has been dying when it sits for 3-5 days. At first I thought that it was due to the cold weather, so I was sure to drive it daily when it was snowing. But as it warmed up, my battery still drained after sitting for a couple days. Every time, I would call AAA and they would get it started no problem. I took it to a mechanic who did a basic "used car check" and didn't find anything with the starter, transmission, etc that would cause a battery drain.
My next step was to replace the battery, which I did a couple months ago. But alas, the battery has died once again. My thought is that it is due to an electrical issue? I have noticed that when driving, the speakers fade in and out based on whether I'm going uphill, or turning right or left . I thought that this was just a quirk but perhaps it's indicative of a greater electrical issue? I'm not sure what my next step should be?
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1 have a 1996 Volvo 850 GLT wagon with the following problems and issues. Should I pay to get the major issues fixed, or use the money towards another car? This is my second car, it gets driven on a once-a-week basis, and I would probably replace it with another 10-year younger Volvo wagon or similar. * Check Engine light with "incorrect ratio" code - my mechanic suggests replacing the speed sensor, flushing the transmission, and hoping for the best; will cost at least a couple hundred dollars. Web searches turn up PnP replacement might fix this.
slow battery drain - replaced the battery harness as per Volvo's instructions, but there is still a slow battery drain that kills the battery in a few days, which I cannot diagnose. If I want to use the car, I make sure the battery is charged the night before. Unknown cost to permanently fix - solar panel in the front window?
odometer broken - the odometer broke at 125 K, the car has approximately 130 K miles on it. Mechanic estimates fixing the odometer is $500. due for a new timing belt - Last timing belt change was at 52 K; mechanic estimates $800 after doing "everything they like to do at this time, like the water pump." various and sundry broken interior cosmetic panels Should I do the repairs and hope to get to 160 K miles, or put the money towards a new car?
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I was driving my 91 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon yesterday morning when, out of the blue, the warning lights came on and the engine shut down. I was still able to utilize the wipers and radio as I sat there for an hour waiting for a tow, but whenever I attempted to start the engine, I got a few rumbles but the engine would not turn over. All belts seem to be in place. I just had the water pump replaced. I replaced the alternator 2 years ago when I first bought the car and installed a new battery about 1 year ago.
Any thoughts on what could be the root problem here?
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1991 740 Wagon 2.3 I4 with turbocharger and an intercooler.
My rear taillamp brake lights do not come on.
Of the 4 red lights on both taillamp cluster, only bottom two red lights stay on when I turn on the head lights. When I step on brake pedal with both headlights on or off, all 4 read lights do not come on.
I only get the middle small red light on. (which probably means the brake light switch on the pedal is fine.) I do have the lamp malfunction warning on when I turn on the headlamp or signal lights on.
I changed the lamp malfunction relay (big red cylinder) but things are the same. Found the bottom right red light had one of its filament broken so replaced the bulb but things are still the same.
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I have a 1997 volvo 850 that has started intermittently stalling. It usually happens when i'm idling, like at a stop sign or traffic light, but recently it did it on the freeway. I have taken it 6 times to the mechanic (5 times to one and finally having learned my lesson the last time to a new one) and they say it is one of 4 things, but can't figure out which of those 4 things it is until it stalls on them. which it hasn't done. it acts perfectly when at the mechanic's and then they always give it back to me, only for it to happen again. the last time the car ran beautifully for 6 weeks before stalling out on me again....... oh, and once they replaced my fuel pump which seemed to work for a while.
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My 1991 240 always had 2 working back up lights. After one of two garage visits recently (with them not working on my lighting), one of the two stopped working.
The last visit (a different garage) I just made with this time the mechanics working on a tail light issue as well as other stuff now has me with the 2nd back up light not working. Since one mechanic lost me the use of one and another mechanic lost me the use of the other.
How I can troubleshoot this and get one or both "back" on my own?
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A friend recently replaced the alternator on my 1991 740 Volvo GL. I got a used one that was a B230FT system, although not sure what that means. I think my 740 GL model is actually a B230F? Anyways, the alternators looked different, the old one was a Denso and didn't have blades. The new one is a Bosch with blades and slightly larger than the original. My friend had to make some modifications to the connections, basically clipping off the end of one of the wires, and exposing the wire so he could connect it to the new alternatlow beam headlights are too dimor.
My car is running, but my to see anything at night so I have to use the brights. And the dash lights, clock, and radio no longer work. The radio does not have "code" on it. It doesn't turn on at all. My mechanic says we have the wrong alternator on there, that the electrical system is different. But other sources said it would work fine. Is this true? Could the wire that he stripped and connected not be fully grounded resulting in these weird electrical failures? I'm still driving the car to work, but it makes me nervous.
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I first thought it was just a cold thing, but now it's not starting at all in a warmed garaged. The electrical system seems to go in and out, makes this crazy clicking kind of noise, and eventually will make the dashboard lights go entirely, the message system saying then the breaks have failed, pull over, etc., On a cold morning it won't crank, and when it finally does it will immediately shut off. Once I finally overcome it, the electrical system clicks and clicks, and eventually will lose dashboard lights and functions... no turn signal, nothing.
If I can get driving for 15 minutes or so without the electrical interference happening, it will run fine like normal and I can restart the car fine the rest of the day... but the next morning (especially if cold) I go through the process again.
Now it's just not cranking at all...it's clicking, but it sounds like a louder clicking than a dead battery... it's like the electrical system is overriding it entirely and won't let me get the car started at all.
Other symptoms: when I get the key near the ignition (not putting it in) the clicking of the electric system starts. Interior lights flicker, etc. Today it won't start.
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On my way home tonight, I received several messages on the screen that a battery drain is happening and I should start the car. However, it WAS running!
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My mechanic put in a button starter which works pretty good. It is "touchy" and I need to hit the gas just right to get it to catch. Once it starts it runs beautifully but the battery seems to drain instead of charge while driving. When I turn the car off,and then try to start it again, the battery sounds really low, and often dies before I can get it to turn over again. It fires right up with the first sign of a jump. The mechanic has looked for an ignition (says he cant find the right one). Other people have suggested an alternator or voltage regulator....or a short somewhere.
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I have a 2007 LS460L. It hasn't been driven in three or four days. Today we found the car was completely dead. I had to get into the car with the manual key. The battery is one year old. The AAA person found that the light switch was set on parking lights rather than automatic. Could that have drained the battery. I thought that the lights turn off after you leave the car.
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I have a 2003 Camry. Recently, the dash board signal has started to turn on i.e. Battery,abs,brake, etc. when I accelerate. Around 1000 rams the light come on,then will turn off below the 1000 rpms. Now, at 2000 rpms the heater fan will increase speed to maximum.
I had the battery tested and it checked out ok. Could this be the alternator?
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At about 92k miles (2 months ago), my 2005 Prius started having a battery issue... When going about 40 mph and above and not having to stop or apply my brakes, my battery would drain (to just 1-2 bars) in about 5-10 minutes and not recharge until I got into stop-and-go traffic (this would happen about 9 out of 10 times). Mpg was still pretty good during that time, but when I finally had to stop, the engine had to kick on to recharge the battery and my mpg just sucked...I went from averaging 45 mph to 39 mph.
I took my car into the dealership for them to have a look and to also perform my 95k service. When I told them that I feared the battery was dying, they said that the good news was that I had another year on my warranty (not sure if the battery warranty is extended in California). The service advisor eventually came back and stated that they had also observed the battery charging problem and that they had to pinpoint the exact problem (either an igniter, a battery cell, or something else that I can't remember). They even started the process of getting me a rental car for a couple of days.
However, the service advisor then came back and stated that no problem was found...he even walked me back into the garage where they were working on all of the cars just to ask the technician working on my car if there was a problem...he also stated that no problem was found. When I asked how initially a problem was found and then suddenly not found, I really didn't get a straight answer (I should have pressed harder). Anyway...after 10 hours in the shop, they pulled my car around and the manager came out to speak to me...stating how the 95k service showed no problems and how no problem with the battery was found. When I asked about how to prove to them that there really was an issue, he stated that if the problem kept occurring I could bring it back in and they could have one of their tech leads drive it home for the night as kind of a road test.
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I have a 2007 Sonata. The parking lights won't switch off without a turning the lights on and off for some time. Repeated attempts can turn them off, but you have to check the car in a hour to see if they have come back on. The dealer stated this was a known defect of the fuse box assy, but there is no recall. 800.00 repair according to the dealer.Without an alternative, I am considering ordering the assy and changing myself.
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I accidentally left my daytime running lights on today for about 6 hours. My car is fairly new - only a month old. Will this drain my battery? I have driven it several times since I noticed it but am wondering if it will drain within the next few days. Had that happen on a non-hybrid vehicle when I left the interior light on all night - battery died a day or two after that. I know the batteries on the Prius C are different than in non-hybrid cars though I admit I don't really understand what's inside my Prius. I've read the owner's manual but in all honesty, it's pretty Greek to me. Seems like it has both an electric battery and a "regular" battery. Any major damage to it?
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