2000 S70 : hard to start

bcVolvoS70 · Post by **bcVolvoS70** » 08 Mar 2010, 20:55

I just bought a used Volvo 2000 S70 SE, 144,000 miles. From the service records, I can see that the previous owner did all major maintenance according to the guidelines.

Here are my problems:

1: sometimes, when I turn the key to star the car, nothing happens on starter, but instrument panel lights on, as if the battery is low. When this happens, I shut off radio, lights, heated seat, remove the key; then start over and try again. 2 or 3 times, the car will start

2: sometimes, when I start the car, it starts, but then immediately shut down. Then I have to do the same procedue listed in 1) to get it started again.

When the car is started, it runs fine. The above problems seems to be worse when the weather was cold. What might be wrong?

Post by **jblackburn** » 08 Mar 2010, 22:43

It sounds suspiciously like an ignition antenna ring problem to me, but I would also check your battery and ground cables as well.

The good news is the antenna ring is very easy to fix yourself. It is known to be a common problem with 99 and 2000 models, and commonly causes the starting and shutting down condition you mentioned,

Post by **VCA** » 09 Mar 2010, 05:41

jablackburn wrote:It sounds suspiciously like an ignition antenna ring problem to me, but I would also check your battery and ground cables as well.

I respectfully disagree. There is no starter interlock on these cars from the Immobilizer. The immobilizer cannot produce a no-crank condition. Start and die, yes; no-crank, no. Since OP is experiencing both a no-crank and a crank-start-die condition, I would recommend checking: battery condition, battery cable condition (the positive cable especially likes to rot), and the electrical portion of the ignition switch (does wiggling the key once the car is running cause the car to die?)

There is also the possibility that there are *two* problems: a bad starter armature (causing the intermittent no-cranks) and something else (causing the crank-start-die condition). However, I do not believe this is the case, as I'm a strong believer in Occam's razor as a problem solving heuristic.

bcVolvoS70 · Post by **bcVolvoS70** » 09 Mar 2010, 07:03

Thank you all for your help. Here are some more information that I did not provide earlier:

1: the battery has been checked at Advance Auto Parts two times, no issues found with the battery, however they did mention that the battery was a little bit low, and they suggested that I let the car running for at least 30 minutes after the battery was checked.

2: no crank condition happens more often than crank-and-die condition.

3: there seems to be an issue with the alarm system. If armed, the alarm system will drain the battery.

I usually keep the alarm system un-armed, but all these thing may be related. Please take a look of these additional things and help me to narrow down the start up or no crank problem.

Post by **jblackburn** » 09 Mar 2010, 07:32

There is no starter interlock on these cars from the Immobilizer. The immobilizer cannot produce a no-crank condition.

Really? I seem to remember panicking the first time I set off my alarm & trying to stick the key in and start the car, and nothing happened, no starter at all, but the alarm kept going off. That could have been another car though, I honestly don't remember - I try to avoid doing that to keep from looking like an idiot

However, if the alarm system/relay is acting up, that might cause it.

Alternatively, have you tried starting it in any other position other than P? When it does it again, try moving the shifter all the way to L and back to P, or starting in N.

The battery cables themselves could also be suspect as VCA mentioned - they corrode and flake out over time and cause all kinds of weird things to happen.

Post by **VCA** » 09 Mar 2010, 13:08

jablackburn wrote:
There is no starter interlock on these cars from the Immobilizer. The immobilizer cannot produce a no-crank condition.
Really? I seem to remember panicking the first time I set off my alarm & trying to stick the key in and start the car, and nothing happened, no starter at all, but the alarm kept going off. That could have been another car though, I honestly don't remember - I try to avoid doing that to keep from looking like an idiot However, if the alarm system/relay is acting up, that might cause it.

...and this is what I get for reading wiring diagrams

It turns out that the VGLA (alarm) module can indeed inhibit start (through relay 2/35, located in the underhood electrical distribution box (not fuse box), third relay from the front), but it has nothing to do with the antenna ring -- that is tied to the immobilizer whose sole function is to send an authorization code to the ECU after the immobilizer has verified the key. So, if the alarm is sounding or the VGLA module is bad (no power to relay 2/35), or relay 2/35 is bad, or the electrical portion of the ignition switch is bad (no grounding of relay 2/35), the starter solenoid won't receive power.

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Mar 2010, 13:47

It's the battery, if you ask me. Bench testing batteries is notoriously a voodoo science.

bcVolvoS70 · Post by **bcVolvoS70** » 09 Mar 2010, 18:34

thanks. I will go though and check all the stuff you guys suggested, and I will either post more questions or post results back.

bcVolvoS70 · Post by **bcVolvoS70** » 10 May 2010, 19:07

Please help. OK, I have taken all the advice from you here in the forum. I replaced battery cable, and the battery. I am still having the crank & Die condition.

Here is one typical scenario that happened to me yesterday, which was a cold day, and I guess my problem is really
crank & die on cold days.

1: crank, no start
2: shuts off everything, radio, lights all suckers that drain the battery
3: wait 5 seconds, crank again. Engine started, then die within 1 second
4: tab gas peddle a couple of times and crank again, engine started and dies in 1 second
5: crank and immediately tab gas peddle while starting. The engine started finally.

What is really the problem? Please help! Thank you so much!

warwick · Post by **warwick** » 20 Jul 2011, 16:17

had this problem on a 1999 V70AWD. turned out to be that the car steering wheel wanted to be "locked" before it is unlocked and the ignition turned on. Turn the car off, remove keys, turn steering wheel ( hard) until it locks, then turn the car on. Found that by turning the wheel left and right a few times after it locks, the problem would go away for a while. clearly some kind of dirty contact in the steering column.