V70 battery drained and alarm sounding for no reason Topic is solved

AWestblade · Post by **AWestblade** » 22 Jan 2017, 12:22

Hello all! My 2004 V70 has had a drained battery 3 times in the past 2 weeks. Once the car is jumped and driven around, it starts just fine. However, living in NYC I dont drive my car very often (about 2 times per week). After it sits in the garage it has needed jumping in order for the car to start. Battery is only 11 months old so I took it back to service center because the battery is still under warranty. Battery was checked and it appears to be good and they said no cells were bad. Also was told that the alternator seems to be working. The guy at the service center said it appears to be a "phantom drain" on an otherwise good battery. Coincidentally (or perhaps not) my alarm has been randomly going off.

In addition, about a year ago, my parking garage backed my car into a post breaking the tailgate glass. They took it to their shop to get the glass repaired. Ever since then, I get a message saying "tailgate open" even though the tailgate is shut. My thought is that they messed the sensor up when repairing the glass. About 3 months ago, the tailgate latch broke preventing me from opening or closing the tailgate. But the message "tailgate open" continues to constantly appear.

I'm wondering if any of the above (random alarm sounding or tailgate issues) could be causing this "phantom drain" on my battery? I just moved back to NYC and don't have a reputable mechanic here yet. I am scheduled to bring it in on Tuesday to a mechanic that I have never been to before and wanted to seek advice before that. I've read that people have had alarm issues with V70s and was wondering if simply removing the alarm siren fuse may solve my mysterious battery drain issue? I'm perfectly ok with not having an alarm on my beloved 04 Volvo.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Post by **oragex** » 22 Jan 2017, 15:53

How many miles on it? Could it be there is a short in the tailgate? The message is possibly caused by a broken switch, which also will cause the alarm system not to engage. I would try in the first place to look at the wires inside the tailgate and fix the switch. Then I would look into the alarm siren which is a small module located inside the right front wheel well - google up about it.

zanzabar · Post by **zanzabar** » 23 Jan 2017, 13:20

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=78106
Good chance this is the cause of the alarm sounding.

Battery may just be coincidentally on it's last legs. Worth a try to add some distilled water and give it a good slow charge to resuscitate it. Otherwise have it tested and if not at least 75% life left think about replacing it.

AWestblade · Post by **AWestblade** » 23 Jan 2017, 17:09

Hi,
Thanks for the replies! Car has 158,000 miles on it but battery is only 11 months old. Had battery tested and it appears good....also, diagnostic showing no cells are bad. I guess the good news is that these problems (alarm sounding, tailgate wiring / hatch issues and battery drain) seem fairly common on the V70s but sounds like the bad news is that there is NO easy way to even access the wiring inside the tailgate when it will NOT open up! As mentioned, the tailgate latch now seems broken and the tailgate wont open at all!

I am taking it in tomorrow and hopefully by removing fuse F38 (the alarm) and repairing the tailgate wiring and latch will alleviate the battery drain.

Thanks again!

Post by **abscate** » 28 Jan 2017, 19:14

I think you are on the right track...the tailgate damage is causing all three problems

If you can isolate the drain you can pull the fuse and stop that at least.

contented · Post by **contented** » 31 Jan 2017, 08:14

My battery is also dying. I have about 1.4 Amps using an ammeter in series with the neg of the battery, that's with it too flat to start the car. I have pulled every fuse in turn and checked the alternator. I have narrowed it down to the front of the car, but it does not seem to be the alternator. If I am at the jump start stud, I have the current draw, even if I disconnect the alternator cable from the stud. The draw goes down to <200ma if I disconnect the battery feed to the stud.
So, it seems to be the front fusebox or something it feeds. Pulling each fuse and relay did nothing, is there something else hidden away there? On the offchance the stud fed another fusebox or link in the car I pulled each fuse in the cabin and rear quarter including the usual suspects.
Basically, if it's not the alternator and it's not isolated by pulling a fuse, what's left?
Thanks for any help - it's driving me mad.