Electricity completely out

lvrisk · Post by **lvrisk** » 08 Feb 2007, 10:08

Hi, used my V70 99 automat few days ago. Everything was OK. Outside was abt minus 5 degrees Celsius after heavy rainfalls few days ago. Today tried to open it and the power was gone, alarm control diode lamp was not flashing, central lock did not function. Suspected flat battery. took the battery out to recharge but ampermeter showed that it was OK. Anyway recharged the battery and reinstalled it . The car did not respond. When I turn ignition no lamps flash, it is dead dead..... What could it be? Checked all fuses/ they are intact. I suspect damp & moisture + cold weather is the cause, but what is the remedy? Volvo is supposed to be winter friendly....

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 08 Feb 2007, 14:08

I suspect an ignition key tumbler. But you say no lights, no nothing? Has to be bad wiring or connection from the battery terminal then.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 08 Feb 2007, 14:09

Hi, used my V70 99 automat few days ago. Everything was OK. Outside was abt minus 5 degrees Celsius after heavy rainfalls few days ago. Today tried to open it and the power was gone, alarm control diode lamp was not flashing, central lock did not function. Suspected flat battery. took the battery out to recharge but ampermeter showed that it was OK. Anyway recharged the battery and reinstalled it . The car did not respond. When I turn ignition no lamps flash, it is dead dead..... What could it be? Checked all fuses/ they are intact. I suspect damp & moisture + cold weather is the cause, but what is the remedy? Volvo is supposed to be winter friendly....

I don't have the luxury of having V70 schematics but, if your battery is good, it almost certainly must be one of your battery cables at fault.

...Lee

Black850 · Post by **Black850** » 08 Feb 2007, 14:12

I agree with the above. Your car not starting could be other problems, but if the battery is good and charged and the electrical system shows nothing there's probably something wrong with the battery connection. Possibly something shorting out?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 08 Feb 2007, 14:14

Leave the key at position II and then try fiddling around with the battery terminal connections. Eventually the lights inside the cabin should come on if it's a short.

cn2000 · Post by **cn2000** » 08 Feb 2007, 15:11

Assuming you have done a proper load test in consideration of the frigid temperatures....

MIJ may definately be on the right track with the ign switch. If you don't get signs of life when jiggling the key, FWIW (this happened to me) I would suggest:

You need to work your way from the battery to the electrical distribution panel with a test light. Buy or dig one out of your toolkit.

First connect the testlight clip to the positve battery terminal clamp and touch the tester end to body ground. It should light.

If it lights, proceed to the elec.dist. center on the strut tower.

Consider the positive battery cable that runs to the fuse/relay panel. They fail.

Check for power at the nut where it secures to the panel with a test light. (Connect the clip to body ground, and then touch it to the positive battery terminal, when it lights and you know your ground is good, now touch it to the nut securing the electrical cable. It should light.

It is not uncommon for that cable to partially or completely fail, particularly when you consider the amperage draw of the starter in cold weather. This happened to me.

Do you have power at the electrical distribution panel?

Netrix · Post by **Netrix** » 08 Feb 2007, 15:28

lvrisk wrote:Hi, used my V70 99 automat few days ago. Everything was OK. Outside was abt minus 5 degrees Celsius after heavy rainfalls few days ago. Today tried to open it and the power was gone, alarm control diode lamp was not flashing, central lock did not function. Suspected flat battery. took the battery out to recharge but ampermeter showed that it was OK. Anyway recharged the battery and reinstalled it . The car did not respond. When I turn ignition no lamps flash, it is dead dead..... What could it be? Checked all fuses/ they are intact. I suspect damp & moisture + cold weather is the cause, but what is the remedy? Volvo is supposed to be winter friendly....

This may be unrelated but when I was having battery problems I had a similar issue. I recharged the battery and the car wouldn't even try to turn over. Come to find out my alaerm was going off and I couldn't hear it because the alarm horn was broken. Just closed door, locked then unlocked, after that it started.

lvrisk · Post by **lvrisk** » 08 Feb 2007, 15:35

Netrix wrote:
lvrisk wrote:Hi, used my V70 99 automat few days ago. Everything was OK. Outside was abt minus 5 degrees Celsius after heavy rainfalls few days ago. Today tried to open it and the power was gone, alarm control diode lamp was not flashing, central lock did not function. Suspected flat battery. took the battery out to recharge but ampermeter showed that it was OK. Anyway recharged the battery and reinstalled it . The car did not respond. When I turn ignition no lamps flash, it is dead dead..... What could it be? Checked all fuses/ they are intact. I suspect damp & moisture + cold weather is the cause, but what is the remedy? Volvo is supposed to be winter friendly....
This may be unrelated but when I was having battery problems I had a similar issue. I recharged the battery and the car wouldn't even try to turn over. Come to find out my alaerm was going off and I couldn't hear it because the alarm horn was broken. Just closed door, locked then unlocked, after that it started.

unlikely the horn... will try to test with the lamp as you guys suggest, do you mean that the actual battery wire may be damaged? I heard from a friend that disconnecting the battery wires and putting car i a warm garage could help as well if it was short circuited... unfortunately I can not push the automat or get the gear out of parking mode

lvrisk · Post by **lvrisk** » 08 Feb 2007, 15:48

MIJ may definately be on the right track with the ign switch. If you don't get signs of life when jiggling the key, FWIW (this happened to me) I would suggest:

You need to work your way from the battery to the electrical distribution panel with a test light. Buy or dig one out of your toolkit.

First connect the testlight clip to the positve battery terminal clamp and touch the tester end to body ground. It should light.

If it lights, proceed to the elec.dist. center on the strut tower.

Consider the positive battery cable that runs to the fuse/relay panel. They fail.

Check for power at the nut where it secures to the panel with a test light. (Connect the clip to body ground, and then touch it to the positive battery terminal, when it lights and you know your ground is good, now touch it to the nut securing the electrical cable. It should light.

It is not uncommon for that cable to partially or completely fail, particularly when you consider the amperage draw of the starter in cold weather. This happened to me.

Do you have power at the electrical distribution panel?[/quote]

Hi, Not 100% sure what do you mean by distribution panel ? where do i find it. basically there is no power whatsoever anywhere, apart from the battery itself. I will get a test lamp and try to follow your advice..

cn2000 · Post by **cn2000** » 08 Feb 2007, 15:53

"do you mean that the actual battery wire may be damaged?"

Yes, my positive battery cable corroded and then failed just below the nut where it secures in the panel. It is a common problem, but most don't get to that point. I got lucky;)

It might well not be your problem, but it will be helpful to know if you have power at the fuse panel to begin with. Move to checking this when you are absolutely certain the battery is hot (i.e. load tests good, not simply checking for ~12 volts), and connected properly. Cold weather like you describe can really suck the life out of a marginal battery.