Headlamp plug fryed!

AlanS · Post by **AlanS** » 04 Nov 2007, 15:31

My headlamp on 1995 850 was on/off...I pulled out the bulb today to find the connector fryed...black and crumbled. Why? I did replace a bulb recently. Could I have gotten the wrong one?
Should I just go to Volvo and p/u another plug? Or are there better ones? What is the right size bulb?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 04 Nov 2007, 15:50

Any junk yards near you? I would just nab one off of another 850...from '94 up the sockets are all the same. I don't know if you got the wrong bulb or somehow shorted things when you replaced the last one. I had a fog light plug do the same thing on my S70. A nice member here however sent me an identical plug after I searched for about 6 months for one that was an exact fit (several different ones on my particular Volvo). Good luck!

kurt robinson · Post by **kurt robinson** » 06 Nov 2007, 11:17

Thats funny, this literally happened to me last night. Check the wiring going to the headlight, mine are green I think....Mine are cracked to the bare wire all the way back to the harness. The wire insulation must dry out and w/ the colder temps I bet more bare wire is opened up through thermal contraction. All it takes is a moment of metal to metal contact and ZAP, it melts the connection.

Now for the fix: if you are a shadetree mechanic like myself who doesn't like to spend more than .06 cents on a repair you can do this....Get some straight electrical connectors and crimp/solder them onto the bulb terminals after you cut most of the bad wire out....patch in some new wire with the straight connectors and then wrap it all up in electrical tape. This should work at for at least a little while until you can locate a proper plug/get an inspection sticker/not get hassled by the police at night for having a headlight out or for running high beams all the time.

Before you do this though....make sure one wire is hot and not grounded out somewhere.