turn signal blinks too fast, bulb socket failure

Jake of Sigourney · Post by **Jake of Sigourney** » 15 Sep 2009, 18:52

Right turn signal blinking rapidly indicating failed bulb or open circuit. Both front and rear bulbs checked OK, but when pressed front bulb sideways in socket (while removed from headlight light housing), problem cleared, and bulb blinked @normal rate. Checked voltage at female connector, and good, but not up within socket, itself. Upon inspecting, the ground tab at the socket base found to have defective "cold" solder (?weld) and showed about 50 ohm resistance between (black lead) male connector lug and the socket casing. Was too far down in socket to easily solder. Problem resolved when jumper wire was soldered from the black wire (bulb casing lead) up around and directly to the casing itself. Initially, removed rubber "O" ring, and cut a notch for the wire pass through the socket rim.
I live 100+ miles from Volvo dealer, and invested only my time in repair. Most difficult thing is getting this socket in and out of the headlamp housing. I made a release hook with a coat hanger to rotate the socket clockwise from directly above (for removal) and used a screwdriver (also from directly above) to torque it counterclockwise and lock in place.

Stocko-Valeo makes this socket, and their manufacturing process and quality control are suspect. Their initial cold joint was masked by simple direct contact that became oxidized over time.

Vehicle: 2001 V70 T5, 167K miles, half in Austin, TX and rest in Iowa (no salty air exposure).

Post by **OEMVolvoParts** » 16 Sep 2009, 08:40

Part number 8662985 will fix this problem, it is the socket and bulb. Very common problem on 01- P2 cars. Mention MVS and receive free shipping from our page, all blue box genuine parts only.

Bit_eimer · Post by **Bit_eimer** » 09 May 2011, 15:45

Kudos to OEMVolvoParts from this new forum member - got the new socket (with free shipping), changed out the defective one (took all of 15 minutes), all is now good in the world.

sandyegg · Post by **sandyegg** » 26 Aug 2012, 22:24

Hi,
I read your reply regarding the subject topic and my question is: What part(s) do I need to replace for my '96 850GLT wagon to remedy the same problem I'm having?
Thanks!

Jake of Sigourney · Post by **Jake of Sigourney** » 26 Aug 2012, 22:47

To confirm that the socket is faulty, swap out the good side and if problem follows suit, you know the diagnosis. Internet has plenty of suppliers for your specific vehicle model. Out of four Volvo's owned, two have demonstrated same problem. Blame Volvo for utilizing a weak electric component that fails after ten+ years // Jake

hot9000 · Post by **hot9000** » 24 Apr 2013, 23:20

Thank you for the post and the tip. I ordered the part, installed it on my 2001 S60, and now it appeared to be working. Cheers.

srvolvo · Post by **srvolvo** » 21 May 2024, 13:31

This is quite an old thread with a successful conclusion. However, I wanted to add my observation with my 2001 Volvo V70XC. Obviously, a new bulb socket would fix the issue. There is also an alternative simple fix that can help those who might encounter this at some point in the future.

The issue is with the electrical ground conductor within the socket that wraps around the inner wall. The conductor has a joint half way through the path towards the pin in the back. This joint, unfortunately, happens to be two metal strips overlapping each other, and a bad connection is a matter of time. In my case, the electrical resistance across the joint was about 50 Ohms that appears to be the threshold to trigger the bulb warning. The good news is that by placing a dab of solder on the joint will re-establish a solid connection and the problem will go away.

Many thanks to this forum for pin pointing this very subtle issue that saved a bunch of time for me.

frostyzen · Post by **frostyzen** » 27 May 2024, 17:10

Sorry for the slight necro but is this also the same reason for the turn signal light to not come on for the first 5 seconds and then rapidly blink a couple of times as if its trying to make up for it?

So far my blinkers havent failed but on cold days and cold start the first time im using my signals it wont go until i rapidly flick the signal stalk up and down and then suddenly it springs to "life".

baokhangnn · Post by **baokhangnn** » 14 Dec 2025, 05:08

Thanks for all the info! Helped hunt my problem down!

I ordered the wrong part. The socket I ordered was for a single filament. I needed a dual filament.

I ended up gently removing the bulb ground housing in the socket breaking that weak weld. Cleaned the connection tabs with steel wool, bent the tab slightly outward to increase the contact pressure, put tons of bulb grease on both surfaces, and re-installed. Dropped the resistance to less than 1 ohm.

In the future when this happens again I will order the correct part. This is my socket part number: 8662985