no dash lights and no blower

Andys_Volvo · Post by **Andys_Volvo** » 01 Jan 2018, 21:55

I have a 99 S70 AWD with 100K. Here in the northeast it is very cold right now, single digits. One recent night my dash lights would not go on when I turned the switch on. After just a short time, 1-2 minutes, they came on and I drove off. On a more recent and particularly cold morning the car started and drove with heat no problem after being garaged all night. I parked it for about an hour. When I started it again, the engine came up to temp as usual but the heat blower did not come on. After the short drive home I shut it off and restarted and an d the blower cane on immediately. Tonight, I had a similar blower failure after driving with heat, shutting the car off for literally two minutes and then restarting it to have the blower not come on. Out of curiosity, I turned the switch to turn on the dash lights to find that they would not come on. I shut the car off and started it a couple times but no luck. When I got home, I shut it off and stared it again and the dash lights and the blower came on.

I suspect that it is the headlight switch based upon reading that the power for the blower goes through that switch. Is this correct ? Are these related or unrelated issues and are there other things that I should be looking for like a common relay or something? Thank you.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 03 Jan 2018, 05:18

Sounds like the ignition switch to me.

Andys_Volvo · Post by **Andys_Volvo** » 03 Jan 2018, 07:14

Thank you for the reply. I will check it out.

Post by **sleddriver** » 04 Jan 2018, 14:02

My original ignition SW is just now beginning to act up, after 20yrs. When it does no headlights, dashlights, radio, cabin blower, etc. By just moving the key a bit, they all power up.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 04 Jan 2018, 14:35

When its acting up, take one finger and tap the bottom of the key.

Andys_Volvo · Post by **Andys_Volvo** » 04 Jan 2018, 20:23

Thanks for the input and suggestions. I will try that next time it occurs and if that takes care of it replace the ignition switch.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 04 Jan 2018, 21:08

Andys_Volvo wrote: ↑04 Jan 2018, 20:23 Thanks for the input and suggestions. I will try that next time it occurs and if that takes care of it replace the ignition switch.

We suspect the ignition switch return spring is getting weak and does not push the switch all the way to POS II. If that is the case, a little nudge will get the ignition switch back to POS II. Many just learn to live with it. My '97 S90 does it every time. By habit, I rake my Index finger up the back side of the key after starting. Sometime I forget there is a problem.