What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[abscate]

That looks like oil seep, very light, to me, Bruno.

[brunocerous]

Yikes! There's a fair bit of oil on the underside of the engine, along with a known PS leak. Possibly a RMS leak, but could it be a head gasket, too? This'll be fun!

[abscate]

That could be PS fluid too, or a slight cam leak. Not too nbad and certainly not to worry about

[firestarterpro]

I did a few things today.

- 12 Powered Sub

- Deep Cycle [2nd] Battery

- Sony Radio w/ phone mic

- dimmed running lights in headlight cavity

- Secondary air horn

- extra usb/cig lighter socket (always powered)

- extra wire leads for additional 12v accessories

(Electrician's note: I used waterproof plug connecters for almost everything but the thick gauge main power and ground wires. I added an inline breaker [in addition to the fuse] for those, which offers similar benefits.)

It all started with wanting a sub.

I finally found the one: a 12in powered sub for about $120 by rockford fosgate. No amp needed. Just power and ground. That install was normal, nothing fancy, just a remote wire connected to front cig lighter. (Note: if I power the cig lighter lighter, with the car off, the radio/ac gets power. Not sure if its safe or not, but no key is needed. I found this out when I accidentally powered the remote wire with my 2nd battery during install)

The deep cycle 2nd battery is xxxxtra... I have an inline breaker separating from the main battery that I can open and close by hand when exiting the car so that one battery wont drain the other if something is left on.
This 2nd battery will eventually power an extensive LED light system, I intend to leave on overnight night.
But, it can also be used for camping.... I have a small 140W inverter, but may get a bigger one soon.

The radio install is normal, but I did drill a hole in the plastic cover near the rearview mirror, and added a rubber grommet that I could push the mic snugly into. I wired it along the passenger side using the entire length of wire.

I tapped the running light wires from behind the blinker lights on one side (can post pics if yall wanna see) and added an LED strip facing in, along the top and inside edge of each headlight. Theyre connected across the grille (the strip is 5M long) which adds a cool glow in the middle. I just used masking tape on the headlights, because the hood covers the edge when closed, and its flexible to bend and stick tight and easy to remove or replace.
I tapped the blinker and the running light wires, but only used the running light so far.

End effect: my headlights appear illuminated when just the running lights are on. As a delivery driver, it comes in handy and looks cooler than those audi drls... Lol

The air horn was placed below the battery. It is loosely zipped tied to the lower radiator hose and zip tied again a bit tighter on the subframe. Its one of four wires i pulled thru the subframe hole Volvo conveniently made just for us. Not sure what Ill do with the rest, but they're there now.

I added another dual usb charger on the back of the middle arm rest, near the floor of the back seat. Its powered from the battery in the back, and I just vecro'd it in place and used plug connectors on the wires so it could be easily removed or replaced if damaged... Or if I wanna use those wires to power something else.

Next im going to add a RGB led strip under the car. Im just gonna put hooks around the perimeter of the bottom, put the led strip in a clear tube, and wire it thru the hooks (closed hooks of course). This way, I can easily remove it for state inspection or replacement if necessary.

Im gonna add some running lights (led strip) along the edge of the roof racks, with a dedicated switch. I have a light sensor I may install with it or my original drl system

Also, i found a universal washer pump system for 15 bucks on ebay... I may set it up in the back to 'cool off' hot headed drivers crowding me. Im thinking a sugary sulfur water mixture should be harmless enough to not get me fined.....

[firestarterpro]

Heres the breaker switch, behind the driver seat. I didnt tuck the sub power cable under the rear portion of the carpet since no one is ever in the backseat. This breaker switch is huge time saver when working on the car, disconnects the 2nd battery instantly. Its a 60amp breaker switch, twice the threshold of the inline fuse located near the main battery. This is all based off my 12" sub's 30 amp fuse.

I used waterproof plug connecters, behind the marker lights, to tap the LED strip into the DRL. I taped it down across the top of the headlights.

I wanna mount the spare on the roof rack, but getting a secure set up doesnt seem worth the worry, so itll prolly sit in the back. I may get a plug kit with an air compressor instead.

Im considering tinting the windows myself, and putting extra accent lights in the doors that come on when opened. I could hire someone to carve out a design, plate the back with plexiglass, and use led strips inside the door panels to make it glow.

If anyone has any ideas, i have tons of extra LED strips and 12v switches. I want to install more accessories, perhaps things from newer cars, like windshield water sensors, rear cameras and proximity sensors. Maybe rewire those sensors to turn on lights rather than beep

[bmdubya1198]

Got some new wheels for the GLT yesterday. I've needed tires anyway, and I found this set of Canistos at the junkyard with a matching set of tires with 7-8/32" of tread, so I figured it was well worth it! The timing couldn't have been better!
Came out way cheaper than a new set of tires alone for my beat up Columbas or Perfos!

I also changed the rear intake cam seal on Saturday with a Corteco seal, as the SKF was leaking after maybe 10k miles. Also put my boost controller back on because why not? 9 PSI in an LPT car is fun!

I did a little wiring work on the R yesterday for the TCM, happy to see the flashing up arrow is gone. I'll have to see if it that rid of the two communication error codes as well, but I'd like to fix the damaged fuse box B+ terminal on the battery first. Next steps for that car are a timing belt, water pump, PCV, and a tune. Then it needs tires and control arms before too long.

[WhatAmIDoing]

Wow, that's a lot of custom wiring. Would love to see some pics when you get all of the LED accent lighting working.

I've toyed with the idea of adding red LED accent lighting to the bottom of the doors and under the dash / knee bolsters. Not sure if I would put it on its own switch, or just wire it into the courtesy lighting.

And of course, who doesn't want to have a secret train horn? A buddy has a rear-facing train horn hidden just behind the rear bumper. Great for messing with tailgaters. He wants to set it up so that it is activated by a proximity sensor when speed is above 35mph. Also makes a great backup sensor.

[Richard_TD]

Mine is a bit more mundane. My 850 came to me with broken trim in the luggage area and at the time I could only find the upper trim in black.



I managed to find a beige trim today so...





Unfortunately the speaker grille was broken in the same way as the original. I'm toying with the idea of cutting a repair section out from the other broken one but I'll probably wait until a good one shows up.

The lower trim is also the wrong colour, light grey instead of beige, but it's less obvious. The car that donated the upper part seems to have belonged to a painter so the lower trim was in a bit of a mess- and I broke it trying to remove it anyway.

[ZionXIX]

Mine is a bit more mundane. My 850 came to me with broken trim in the luggage area and at the time I could only find the upper trim in black.

Unfortunately the speaker grille was broken in the same way as the original. I'm toying with the idea of cutting a repair section out from the other broken one but I'll probably wait until a good one shows up.

The lower trim is also the wrong colour, light grey instead of beige, but it's less obvious. The car that donated the upper part seems to have belonged to a painter so the lower trim was in a bit of a mess- and I broke it trying to remove it anyway.

The fragile nature of the interior trim is one the most infuriating things about these cars. I found a beige wagon at the pick n pull a few weeks ago that had immaculate trim pieces. I tried my best but could remove a single piece without it breaking into several pieces. I wonder if swedish car parts will ever make reproduction trim like they do for the 240 door panels.

[bmdubya1198]

It's WAY too easy to break the interior trim. At least one side panel and the top panel are broken in my GLT. Fortunately I think all of the cargo area trim is in tact on my R.

On the other hand, I really love these wheels. I just need to lower it now. And to think I wanted to get rid of this one since I have two P80s... why not keep both?