Electrical, Battery, Fuses, Relays, ECU, Starter, ABS module, Alternator, Modules

Spark Plugs – The Latest Tech & Products

Spark plugs are a pretty basic maintenance item in most cars but with turbocharged cars, especially those making higher than stock levels of power, spark plugs become a vital part of the power delivery system. Additional tune up items typically include cap/rotor and spark plug wires but spark plugs take the brunt of the wear in the ignition and it’s not uncommon to have to replace them 3-4 times before any other ignition systems components require attention. With that said let’s look at the options out there and the benefits of each. Continue reading →

Piggybacks & SAFC… it’s Fast Friday #27!

ARD owner and tuner Robert “Lucky” Arnold writes When I started tuning years ago the only thing approachable was using a piggyback ECU to adjust fuel and timing on my LH fueled RWD Volvos. Of all the cars I put piggyback … Continue reading →

Which Battery to Buy?

A week ago we had a well-attended (virtually speaking) discussion regarding battery brands. I lump this subject into the “Everybody has an opinion” group because — unless one of us is a car fleet manager — the frequency at which we buy batteries is too low to harvest meaningful statistics. For instance, in the time I’ve owned my battery, the manufacturer, or manufacturing process, could have changed many times, making meaningful conclusions impossible to produce. Continue reading →

How to access ECM & TCM on 850, S70, V70, XC70, C70

How to remove ECU and TCU Modules MVS Forum member gchelidze tells us in text and (24!) photos how to access your ECU and TCU modules from under your Volvo 850, S70, V70, XC70, C70′s hood. He writes: “WARNING: I have … Continue reading →

Defeating the torque limit request on the Volvo 850 Turbo

Getting a good start off the line has been the “Holy Grail” of HPT P80 Volvos, and even a good chunk of P2 Volvo models: often searched for, rarely found. Culprit: automatic transmission gearing and turbo lag. New forum user … Continue reading →

2000 S70 No Start

“I was having the same symptoms with the missing ets, cel , and oil lights. may have found the problem. there is a common ground wire that is held in place by the passenger side hood latch. took it off , cleaned it up , reconnected and she started first try. like nothing was ever wrong. Only because I removed the entire box surrounding the computers did I just happen to see this corroded wire, although you do not have to remove the cover to access it.” Continue reading →

S60 & other P2 Volvos: Troubleshooting Alternator & Electrical

My car was completely flat today. CAA came & boosted me, as part of that they do a little diagnosis, where they said the car was drawing ~4.5 amps when off, which is much too high. Everything else came back OK, and the car would still charge fine. Continue reading →

Speakers: 4 ohm or 8 ohm?

My twist is that I have 4 ohm OEM Volvo speakers but I keep reading that Volvo uses 8 ohm speakers.

I am working on door panels, noticed that one of the stock speakers was bad, went to the JY to get the only locally available replacement and it was worse than my bad speaker. My door panels were supposed to be done and I wanted to get something (yes rushing things, 1st mistake) so I went to the local stereo shop (2nd mistake?), talked to a guy who has been there forever and who I do actually trust. Continue reading →

B+ Battery Cable

The new cable came from iPD on Friday and I installed it today. The part does fit the 850 just as you guys (Bob850, erikv11) said it would. Thanks! Continue reading →