'04 S80 HID headlamp flickering, Please Help

Briancooper65 · Post by **Briancooper65** » 27 Jul 2018, 14:14

I put this on the other common Volvo site as well, just want maximum exposure so that I can fix my car.

I have an '04 S80 AWD 2.5T, Premier Edition. It has factory BiXenon / HID headlights.
#1: I've had this car since 2010 and it has been problem free until recently the drivers side headlight will flicker on and off. Will come back on temporarily when I wiggle the switch. My wife works at the local Volvo dealer and she took it in. They replaced the switch to no surprise that didn't fix it, under further diagnosis they told me the ballast was bad......(thought they either worked or didn't).
I picked up another ballast, igniter, bulb, wiring pigtail off ebay. changed it all out yesterday and its doing the same thing.

Problem #2: Passenger side headlight dimmer motor will not go onto high beam, when I hit the high beams it just wiggles a bit and sounds like a worm gear is stripped that tilts the lens assembly. Which part do I replace so that the passenger high beam works? I thought it was the little piece that you adjust the headlight angle at with the 6mm socket. Replaced that and still nothing.

Has anybody had these problems or know the inner workings of why my drivers side will keep going out and passenger side will not adjust up with high beams activated.

Also, I do 99% of my own work on this car, including electrical, and this one has me baffled

Any and all help is gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.
Brian

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Post by **SuperHerman** » 30 Jul 2018, 20:43

I had a 2004 S80 with Bi-Xenons. I also had a flicker, but I changed the bulb and that rectified my problem. I did not have any relationship with the switch and the lights. It sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere - maybe check any relays related to the lights. Another option is to switch the bulbs with the other side just in case the new one is the issue.

As to the headlight dimmer motor - I had an issue with mine but I thought it was related to adjustments - I may have had the same issue you have. I removed the headlight and found a plastic piece that was broken - don't recall the piece but w/o it the headlight could not be adjusted and was always pointed the wrong way. I don't recall if I removed the front lens (if I did I didn't have to do anything other than remove some clamps that held the lens to the rest of the assembly - no glue/silicon was involved (the lens removal may have been on my Range Rover or Audi but I did perform a repair on my S80 headlight similar to yours) or if I gained access via the rear of the lens assembly.

As removal of the headlight is so easy I would suggest you remove the assembly and take a look around. Play with the adjustments and see if you can find something broken, dislodged or stripped. In the end I used some JB Weld and secured the broken piece and swapped out a screw with one that was slightly longer. Fix is still holding up per my sister that now owns the car - going on 4 years.

Post by **matthew1** » 31 Jul 2018, 08:10

Herman, I made your account "MVS Contributor" level. You've helped so many here...

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Briancooper65 · Post by **Briancooper65** » 31 Jul 2018, 08:33

Herman,
Thank you for the response.
I have one more fresh brand new in package phillips bulb, I will swap it out with the one that has been giving me problems and see where that takes me.
As for the dimmer motor, which is on the passenger side, I will yank the bumper and headlight assembly and have a good look.

I thought that the bulbs either worked or didn't work. I had no idea that they could be the cause of a flicker.

Again thank you for the suggestions.

Brian

Post by **Rattnalle** » 31 Jul 2018, 08:44

HID bulbs rarely break completely. They loose a lot of light output, often the colour changes a bit and they can start to flicker.

Even replacing ones that seem OK can be a night and day difference in light output.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 31 Jul 2018, 12:39

I was thinking this over during lunch. Is there any relationship between the driver side flicker and the pass side motor as far as when they started to act up? Although the functions are different - high beams and normal - it may be worth a look.

At this point I would just use your old good bulb for testing - that way if you get it dirty no loss.

If you have a VOM you can try checking your wire harness at the light and light switch for shorts. Doing both sides would not hurt.

Check out this post - your light should be similar: viewtopic.php?t=37159#p175063

Briancooper65 · Post by **Briancooper65** » 01 Aug 2018, 11:46

I've had Xenon bulbs turn pink and dim before going dead before.
The flickering started about a year ago and happened only rarely, then got progressively more frequent. now every half mile or so I have to fiddle with the switch to get them to come back on and its usually for just a moment.
The bulb I replaced the first one with was used, it came with the ballast, igniter and the little motor thing. I bench tested everything and it all worked so I figured bulb was good to go.
The passenger side dimmer motor never worked since I bought the car in 2010, it always stays at low beam. you can see it wiggle a bit and hear something running inside the headlight assembly when I hit the high beams, so I determined it is unrelated to the driver side flicker issue. Car has never been in an accident of any type. I have had both headlight buckets out to put new glass lens' on them, that was 5 years ago.
Again, thank you for your help!

Post by **SuperHerman** » 02 Aug 2018, 00:38

Found this video. May be of some help. I recommend you do it without the same two furry helpers the guy has in the video.