Warning lights stay on with key out

1RedBrick · Post by **1RedBrick** » 22 Jul 2010, 23:14

I have a '96 850r with a strange problem. I recently replaced the front O2 sensor after a sharp dive in fuel economy and trouble codes showing up. After driving around 150 miles and getting about 22 mpg in the city and 27 on the open road, I thought I was in the clear. However, as I was driving in heavy traffic today, I thought I caught a faint smell of burning plastic. It went away and I thought it was just one of the cars stuck in traffic next to me. Well that notion evaporated when I arrived at my destination and shut the car off. To my shock, ALL the warning came alive as soon as the key went to the off position and stayed on even after the key was removed. I thought it may have been in the ignition switch so I pulled it out and checked it. All seems good there. The only way I can get them to go off is to disconnect the battery. As soon as I hook the battery back up, I hear a spraying or hissing sound near the throttle body and the warning lights come on. The car starts and runs smooth and all the dash lights go back to normal. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 23 Jul 2010, 07:00

Sounds like a relay in the fuse box. See my post here https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... io#p141234 where I had a similar problem. When I changed my faulty relay #105 with #106 in the diagram in that post, when the relay acted up, all my dash warning lights stayed on instead of the radio and blower. I also could not lock the car with the remote in that state.

1RedBrick · Post by **1RedBrick** » 23 Jul 2010, 10:15

zhenya wrote:Sounds like a relay in the fuse box. See my post here https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... io#p141234 where I had a similar problem. When I changed my faulty relay #105 with #106 in the diagram in that post, when the relay acted up, all my dash warning lights stayed on instead of the radio and blower. I also could not lock the car with the remote in that state.

Thank you for the response. I did as you suggested and swapped the relays but no change occurred. It does seem as if a relay has malfunctioned though. My other notion was possibly an open ground connection but my diagrams don't seem to help much in actually locating components. With my luck , the most inaccessible and/or the most expensive part is the culprit.

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 18 Aug 2012, 19:33

Were you able to solve your problem? I am having the same issue in my 1996 850 turbo.

Thanks,
Caymran

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 18 Aug 2012, 21:59

I'm not convinced that the OP has ruled out the ignition switch.
It's a sealed unit and looking at it really doesn't tell you much.
If the problem is occurring and you're in a good place for the
diagnostic, here's my suggestion. Unplug the ignition switch.

If it's a bad switch, the lights will go out. End Diagnostic.
If it's a good switch, post back and we'll go from there.

Of course, it's been nearly a month since RedBrick has posted,
so either it got found and fixed and he just didn't post back, or
the car was destroyed in a fiery and spectacular explosion due
to chaffed wiring, leaking fuel and an unfortunate turn of events.

We may never know...

If it blew up, Pics Please!

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 18 Aug 2012, 22:04

On my 850 I have already replaced the electrical portion of the ignition switch with a new one (first thing i tried) and also tried without it connected at all. I still have the same issue. I have a post at https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=50908 detailing out my troubleshooting. Hopefully the op found a resolution.

Skreenskribe · Post by **Skreenskribe** » 31 May 2024, 12:08

I am having the same issue. Super frustrating. I’ve replaced my ignition switch and now am going to start pulling fuses. I’ve ordered a remote “kill switch” from Amazon and will install that if I can’t source the issue.

Post by **abscate** » 01 Jun 2024, 04:06

Did you use a Volvo part for this?

If unplugging the switch didn’t turn out the dash lights, you have a wiring fault somewhere in the looms. This won’t be easy to find and will require diagram and tracing skills

Post by **foggydogg** » 01 Jun 2024, 23:53

Skreenskribe wrote: ↑31 May 2024, 12:08 I am having the same issue. Super frustrating. I’ve replaced my ignition switch and now am going to start pulling fuses. I’ve ordered a remote “kill switch” from Amazon and will install that if I can’t source the issue.

Plus one for what Dr. Abscate said, if it's an aftermarket switch like ProParts or (Audible shudder) URO, the suggestion would be to source a Blue Box Volvo switch. If that does't fit the budget, a used one from a salvage yard could help at least troubleshoot the issue.
Sometimes a wonky "J" relay can cause goofy issues, get a couple during the junkyard run.