Volvo Speedometer

I’m here because I followed a link from the Volvo Forum concerning dash and lighting issues that you folks here diagnosed as a defective relay. My hope is that the same can occur with my car.



Well here they are and I hope that someone can help. I have an electronics background and grew up in the country working on cars. My idea of success is paying someone else to fix what?s broken. Would you believe that Madoff took all my money? Didn?t think so. I have replaced the ignition switch, appears to be common to all the issues, to no avail.

1) Speedometer works on and off. While tooling down the hiway if it drops to zero, I can, most of the time, get it to work by turning the car off and then back on. Unless I?ve just floored the gas pedal. In these cases it takes some time guessing as to the speed I?m going, but 10 to 15 minutes later I can get it back. Occasionally when I do this the temperature gauge doesn?t come back up to mid range. It just sits there at the bottom. My reasoning for replacing the switch. Also, the fuel gauge when I have less than half a tank shows even less and at times the fuel light comes on. I can turn the key again and the level changes and light goes off.

2) ABS and TRACS light is on all the time. Except when it?s cold first thing in the morning and I turn left leaving the driveway. If I turn right it stays on. This is only with cold temps. If it?s warm or hot, it?s allows on. AWD in Florida is just great for driving in our summer downpours.

3) On occasions it seems that an alien possesses the mind of this car. Transmission lights start streaming like a Christmas tree. The radio starts to change stations goes to CD. These I?ve learned to live with, kind of like my ex. But my speedometer, ABS and TRACS, I miss them.



I?ve been in the manual at the local library to find the wiring diagrams and such for this XC-70, however the printed material and the real thing are not even close to one another.



Thanks

Craig

1998 Volvo XC-70

Well, first off, the gauge cluster is electronic. Voltage changes can create the havoc your seeing with the speedo and radio. Check the health of your charging system first. Then, try swapping the gauge cluster with one from the salvage yard to see if the same problems re-occur. If it does occur, you may have problems with the connectors or wires to the gauge cluster. I doubt your having problems with the sensors if the CEL is not on.

The ABS and Traction Control are typically handled by the ABS Module. This needs to be diagnosed with the proper equipment. A code scanner specific to the ABS module is required. A typical ODB-II scanner can’t pull these codes.