Newbie Owner, Quick Questions, 98 V-70 XC Turbo Wagon

Deamus · Post by **Deamus** » 03 Mar 2007, 14:30

Firstly I appreciate the space to ask some simple questions, I feel a little lost. I have a wagon with No manual, found one on ebay, but until that comes I thought I'd try this out. About 112,132 miles and i just had the alternator replaced. Again Volvo v-70 Xc Turbo Wagon 1998
Questions.
1.About 90% of the time my 'Tracks Off' light is on. How Do I engage the AWD feature when I need it. Currently I am looking at 25 inches of snow and could use the help.
2. My Radio is OFF. I read somewheres that i have to leave the keys in the ignetion for 2-3 HOURS for the thing to reset. Is this right? or could i simply take it to a dealer have them flip some switch and be sitting pretty?
I don't like the idea of leaving keys in my ignition since the car wont lock with the keys in there (nice safety feature but I live in the city and I can't sit outside babysittin my car)
If these questions have been answered in your previous forums I appologise , but any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
Go Volvo!
Deamus[/code]

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 03 Mar 2007, 15:26

If your TRACS light is on then I would highly suspect your ABS module is going out and needs rebuilding. It is part of that system. Victor Rocha will do it for much much much less than the Volvo dealer. http://home.earthlink.net/~vicrocha/

In regards to your radio, yeah, unfortunately the key has to be in position II or your engine running for at least 2 hours, sometimes a bit more for it to go from OFF to CODE so you can enter your security code. Either plan a trip where you're going to drive that long or if you don't have a garage, take it to a friend's house who has a garage along with a 6 pack of beer (or more) and ask him to do you a favor by allowing you to keep your car in his secure garage for a couple of hours....oh, and by the way, make sure you share your beer you brought with him.

Btw, you can get a hold of your car's on-line owner's manual from the Volvo USA site. Here is its: http://new.volvocars.com/ownersdocs/199 ... 70_000.htm (there wasn't a listing for the XC version of the V wagon that I could find....but I think the information inside is all the same).

loyaj · Post by **loyaj** » 04 Mar 2007, 10:21

Hey---dont know if it is this easy but if your TRACS OFF light is on, it should just mean that it is manually disengaged. Not necessarily showing a problem. Hit the TRACS button just behind the wiper control on the main dash face and the TRACS OFF light should go off meaning that if TRACS use is necessary, it will automatically try to get you out of a slippery road situation. Hopefully it is this easy.

I have this exact same model and the owner's manual that came with the car when I bought it has the S70 (sedan) on the front even though things inside will reference the V70/XC model. Almost everything in general is the same for sedan and wagon as far as the owner's manual takes it.

I hope this helps. Send me any other questions as I am just over a year into this car and have had to do a few fixes. Bon Chance!

Deamus · Post by **Deamus** » 06 Mar 2007, 09:33

YOu were right on with the ABS system and I appreciate the link. It will definitly be researched more. Thank You.
Currently I am having starter problems with the car. In the morning or after it's been off for a few hours it struggles to turn over. All the lights come on so I know that it isn't an issue with the battery. It usually takes ten min of trying to get it to kick over. could be ice getting in the way or the starter sticking.
Is there an easy way to remedy this?
Thanks,
Deamus

zenmervolt · Post by **zenmervolt** » 06 Mar 2007, 10:51

Deamus wrote:All the lights come on so I know that it isn't an issue with the battery.

Lights take FAR fewer amps than starting the car. The starter can draw 200-300 amps alone when loaded. The lights draw, at most, 25 amps. The idea that one can use headlights as a gauge of whether the battery is good has never been true, but it seems perpetually to be believed.

Test the battery properly, with a multi-meter. It is almost guaranteed that the problem is an old battery that just needs to be replaced. You should see 12.6 volts across the battery terminals with a multi-meter when the car is turned off. If you see 12.3 volts, the battery is at about 75%, and if you only see 12 volts, the battery is at about 25%.

The problem is the battery.