1998 Volvo S70 non-turbo, auto power outlet

krom · Post by **krom** » 26 Jan 2007, 20:02

Hi to all,

I own a 1998 Volvo S70 non-turbo that has 118,000 miles and I am the third owner. I bought the car several months ago and can't complain about the quality of the vehicle. I recently discovered, however, that my car has a problem with the front power outlet. I bought a new $100 ipod car charger and to my dismay it did not turn on when I plugged it into the front power outlet. Needless to say I was not happy. My first thought was that perhaps I was sold a defective charger. To prove my theory I plugged the charger to the second power outlet facing the backseats. Voila, the charger turned on and started to play my music. My enthusiasm was short lived when I remembered that I can't drive from the back seat. I wondered if the previous owner decided to disconnect the power outlet, due to the missing cap when I bought the car. How could I verify my new hypothesis? What else should I take into account before I start cutting and disconnecting wires and risking electrocution? Also, I know that any power outages on the car (i.e., disconnecting the battery) may jeopardize listening to the stereo, thus defeating the purpose of connecting the Ipod in the first place. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you guys in advance and I have learned a lot from your forums; keep up the helpful and quality work.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 26 Jan 2007, 21:09

Bad fuse or bad power outlet (you are talking about the cig lighter right?). This is not too uncommon. You won't have to disconnect your battery to swap out the outlet if this is what's wrong with it. I'd look for one in a junk yard.

Post by **akitawagon** » 26 Jan 2007, 22:47

Along with the checking the fuse or having a bad outlet, the wires to it may have accidently been left disconnected by the last person that worked on it. That's what I found when mine didn't work.

davidgmg · Post by **davidgmg** » 29 Jan 2007, 10:53

I just bought a s70 with the same problem. It seems the plug got loose from the holder so the element was still there but wouldn't connect with what I was plugging in. Rather than go to a dealer, I went to a local stereo shop. Those guys are used to taking apart consoles and stuff. It costs $25 and the guy fixed my burned out light in the shift console to boot. Give it a try. Try to find a non franchise smaller dealer who runs his own guys. Helps if you can do this on a day they are slow.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 29 Jan 2007, 18:12

It's actually fairly easy to do yourself.
But before you do this, check all of your fuses to make sure it's not as simple as a blown fuse. Then, if that's not it, get into the console.
Look at www.volvospeed.com and click in to Maitenance/repair section and you'll find a link on how to get into the console. Once you're in, check the wiring to the cig. lighter and also test it for power.