door contact switch for interior lights

geordie42 · Post by **geordie42** » 03 May 2010, 11:44

I have a '98 V70. The switch that controls the lights when the drivers door opens seems to either need adjusting or replacing (lights sometimes stay on when the door is closed). Seems simple, but where is the switch? I don't see it in the obvious places. And how to replace it?

Post by **jblackburn** » 03 May 2010, 11:58

Unfortunately, like anything simple on any other car with a simple switch pushed by the door when it closes, Volvo had to make that one complicated. Maybe it fails less this way, but it's downright annoying to fix.

The switch is part of the door latch itself. My rear one does the same thing, and eventually I'll get annoyed enough at it killing my battery if not shut right to fix it. Until then, I just treat it with contempt and slam the door really hard

With any luck you can just adjust the switch in the latch from only taking the door panel itself off.

Post by **RobTheModd** » 03 May 2010, 12:47

JA, would this work for an 850 aswell? if so, then there might be a mod working in my mind right now.

Post by **jblackburn** » 03 May 2010, 13:10

Yeah, same design. The problem is that same switch controls the central locking mechanism as well as the lights. If the car doesn't think the door is shut, it won't activate the alarm.

I didn't even bother to lock my old car where I used to live. No one in their right mind would have stolen that over either of my parents cars or any of our neighbors. Heck, if they had wanted it, I woulda been glad not to deal with its shenanigans anymore

Post by **RobTheModd** » 03 May 2010, 17:50

hehe alright, ill figure this out... maybe some random effects when you lock the car. lol

christheancient · Post by **christheancient** » 06 May 2010, 12:30

I'm not really trying to hijack here, but I have, hopefully, a related question.

I have just bought a 2nd-hand V70 Classic and am looking forward to it lasting a lot longer than some of the other makes out there.

I am having the problem that my alarm won't arm and the courtesy lights stay on; so I assume I'm in the same league as this thread.

What I can't work out is which door lock is the guilty one. I've tried hard slamming each door to see if I can get things to work properly - but with no success.

Is there a simple way of working out which one it is?

TIA

CtA

Post by **jblackburn** » 06 May 2010, 12:58

Have you tried opening and slamming the hood? Play around from inside the car with your remote fob and the hood lever...when you press lock, you SHOULD see the turn signals flash.

There's really not any way to tell aside from that, aside from shutting each door and waiting a few seconds for the relay to turn the lights off inside the car.

The switch at the hatch on 850 wagons/V70's is another common problem as they get older. You may be able to adjust it or bend the contact slightly.

christheancient · Post by **christheancient** » 06 May 2010, 13:55

Hi jablackburn

Some good ideas for me to investigate - hopefully tomorrow (UK time).

At the moment, the courtesy lights aren't going out at all, so I've switched them off completely for now - especially as I don't know how long the delay should be.

I hadn't thought about the hood switch, so that's one to investigate. Mentally (and maybe wrongly?) I had ruled out the tailgate because that seems to function the light OK. But an area for deeper checking.

Thanks for the advice and I will be back, one way or another, tomorrow.

CtA

christheancient · Post by **christheancient** » 07 May 2010, 10:01

Sorry

I'm running late, it's Friday, I'm behind on my personal work schedule (probably working a lot of this weekend on it), the weather is chilly, damp and breezy (to be polite) and by the time I will be able to get to my car, it will be a little late.

So... it may be later in the weekend that I can have a look at it again work and weather permitting.

Some part-time thinking is sort of convincing me that it is one of the door lock switches that is at fault because of the way the interior light is behaving; so I'm desperate to know, before I start, if there is a way of working out which one it is - short of stripping each door down in turn. Logic would dictate that, as the driver's door gets most use, it should be that one. But with my luck (huh!), I'd rather have a more tangible idea before I start losing all the skin off my knuckles.

TIA

CtA

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 May 2010, 10:24

Logic would dictate that, as the driver's door gets most use, it should be that one. But with my luck (huh!), I'd rather have a more tangible idea before I start losing all the skin off my knuckles.

You'd think so, but it's a Volvo, and Volvo problems don't follow any sort of clear logic. At least mine doesn't.

I only discovered that my lights would stay on unless I leaned on my door slightly with it shut...so it's apparently a problem with that one. Unfortunately, the wiring and switch and everything else is inside each door panel...so I'm not sure that there is a way really to tell which one it is. If it was the drivers door, it would likely not lock if it didn't think it was closed - the lock springs back up as a precaution when the door is open to keep you from locking your keys in the car.

Take your time, get to it when you can, none of us are rushing you towards it. Electrical problems are the worst of any!