96 850 Base Remote Entry?

[tourspin69]

Just picked up a 96 850 and there was no remote with the car. I also noticed that there is no blinking light on top of the dash like my last 850. However, there is a hole in the dash there. Did the base come with remote entry/alarm? Is my car set up for that? or should I just forget about it.

[Ozark Lee]

Adding the remote entry is actually pretty easy. My son has a base model that didn't come with a factory remote and I grabbed a remote receiver and a pair of key fobs from eBay for around $50.00, it was plug and play. The car doesn't come with the mounting bracket so if you get one from a pick-n-pull grab the receiver mounting bracket along with it. I just used a piece of Velcro and it worked fine.

The wiring is all there and you aren't limited to getting a remote from a '96 or '97. My son's car is a '96 and it would have come with the later model remote but the one I installed was an early model from a '94 and it worked fine.

The remote receiver installs next to the glove box on the A pillar. I have pictures back at home but I am at the cabin for the rest of the week and I don't have the Volvo library here unless it is on my laptop. I'll take a look there a bit later and post a picture of the receiver location if I have one.

...Lee

[floodcity1]

Hi Lee - I picked up a '96 Platinum recently that, although a strong runner still, will be a labor of love to return to her deserved state. It also came with only a key and a hole on top of the dash. The connector to the solar sensor has four wires, indicative of electronic climate control, central locking, alarm system and keyless entry, my local Volvo wizard tells me. So I go to the local u-pull-it yard and get the solar sensor I need, and my dealer for the key fob, new battery and all. The receiver is where it's supposed to be, and is connected. So I turn key on and off five times in thirty seconds, per programming instructions, push the Lock button on the fob - nothing. Changed receivers = no luck. Would you have any insight?

[Ozark Lee]

What are the FCC numbers and part numbers on the keyfobs and on the remote receiver? They need to match (or be sequential). There are two versions of the remote receiver and the remote keyfobs. They are not compatible when you mix and match the receiver and the keyfobs.

They can also be a bit temperamental when you program them so don't give up after one or two attempts if the number match.

...Lee

[floodcity1]

Lee:

Fob: Part # 9148646, FCC ID# CWTTFWB1G
Receiver: Part # 9148645, FCC ID# CWTTFWB1G
Solar sensor: 4 pins, matching four wires to it in green harness plug. Number on it is W515.

If I've tried once, I've tried forty times to program this configuration, with no hope. I definitely haven't bailed on it early.

In addition, the receiver has on it, the code 504CB2A; the fob has, under the battery, printed the code 503AB4A. Hope this helps, thanks for helping me!

Mark
floodcity1

'97 850 GLT - gone to the great repo man in the sky
'96 850 Turbo, Platinum Edition - current money vacuum in the family

Oh - and just for my education, if you could...what exactly is the significance of the Platinum Edition?

[Ozark Lee]

You have a matched set (fob and receiver) so it isn't a compatibility issue. I've never had to do any in depth troubleshooting of the system so I don't have any tips off the top of my head other than to run by an auto parts store and test the fob. Most of the auto parts stores have a "tester" at the checkout counter that detects the RF signal from the fob. It doesn't really test anything beyond the existence of the signal so a good response from the tester doesn't necessarily mean that it really is good but if it tests bad then it truly is bad and that is where to focus. There could be a problem with the central locking relay but usually that also shows up as improper operation when using the key.

To your question about the Platinum it is more the three layer pearlescent paint and the Persus wheels that are unique to the Platinums in '96. The Platinum package was only made in '96. Other than the R package and the guard alarm it also came stock with every bell, whistle, and gadget in the option book and it was the most expensive Volvo ever made at the time. They are fairly rare but I don't have the exact numbers off the top of my head but I have heard that the US market got 1000 sedans and 1000 wagons.

...Lee

[rspi]

Phil said that he purchased a generic remote door locking kit from eBay and installed it on his 850 and it works like a champ. He didn't wire it to arm the alarm but it locks and unlocks the doors fine.

[floodcity1]

Thanks Lee - prior to reading your last reply, I found a Volvo specialist I had been looking for in the eastern Atlanta suburbs, but he seemed to have disappeared...his former location was eliminated by highway construction/expansion, and he hadn't yet relocated. To those looking for the old Volvo repair wizard from Lawrenceville across from the jail...he's in Oakwood on Mundy Mill Road, back in business! Anyway, he diagnosed it as - you guessed it! - a defective fob. Replacing it put me in the keyless entry community again... and thanks. I also had heard that a thousand of each (sedans and wagons) were shipped here...mine was damaged pretty badly in a front-end collision (popped both airbags, so it's listed as a salvage vehicle now), but she's rebounded well...I'm about four months away from completion, looks like maybe a Christmas present to myself! Again Lee, thanks.

Mark
floodcity1

'97 850 GLT - gone to the great repo man in the sky
'96 850 Turbo, Platinum Edition - current money vacuum in the family

[phils94850]

Yeah.. like robert said i purchased an aftermarket universal keyless entry and wired it into my lock/unlock button on the dash and it works like a charm..