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Fuse off Battery? Positive or Negative?

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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warmblood58
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Fuse off Battery? Positive or Negative?

Post by warmblood58 »

Noticed a black wire with 10amp fuse holder mounted to battery positive post -this should be a negative connect vs. a positive yes? I put a test light to it with ignition on and it would not light so I believe it is a negative connection, yes? Why the fuse here? Thanks! Schematic shows all red wires coming of '95 850 turbo battery so I am assuming PO installed wrong? Help!

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abscate
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Post by abscate »

You almost always fuse the positive side of a circuit since faults almost always occur to ground, or the negative side, through insulation failure or cuts. The only way to sort out hack wiring is to trace it from battery to the load. There are no end to the variations of bad wiring that can be done.
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
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warmblood58
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Post by warmblood58 »

Yes, but sometimes Neg connections are fused . . . I checked. Black wire vs red and it appears to be factory. Anyone know?

tryingbe
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Post by tryingbe »

Sounds aftermarket. Post a picture.
85 GLH, 367 whp
00 Insight, 72 mpg

warmblood58
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Post by warmblood58 »

IMG_1769.JPG
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erikv11
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Post by erikv11 »

Never see anything like it from the factory, FWIW.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

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misha
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Post by misha »

Nope....it's not factory.
Could be for aftermarket alarm system,aftermarket stereo system like cd player,amplifier or some other accessories.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

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abscate
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Post by abscate »

warmblood58 wrote:Yes, but sometimes Neg connections are fused . . . I checked. Black wire vs red and it appears to be factory. Anyone know?
Colour of wire is not an indicator of positive or negative. A negative fused circuit is only protected from component current draw, which is rare, vs. wiring failure, which is common.

That's a hack.
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
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