Strange electrical problem Topic is solved

fmwaz · Post by **fmwaz** » 27 Nov 2018, 17:43

Hello,
I am experiencing an odd problem with my 2012 Volvo S60. I was able to take it to the dealer but did not have a scheduled appointment so they did not have time to do a full diagnosis. Apparently it is not something simple that came up with a quick scan since they said I would need to bring it back and they would need to do a full checkout of the system which may take 4 or 5 hours. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

Car sits for a period of time and Start Car and either
No display – All screens are blank or Display shows Mileage, T1, --:-- and oF (but no temp reading)
No fan/heat
No radio
No speedometer or tachometer
No door locks
No window control
Cruise control works
Turn signals work but no indication on dash

Drive car for a short distance and open the driver’s door (discovered this getting the mail)
The following only occurs if the car has been driven and will not occur if the door is opened without first driving it.

Volvo logo flashed on the infotainment screen for a few seconds then dark
Multiple warning lights appear Brake failure, Brake, Check Engine, ABS, etc.
No radio
No speedometer or tachometer
No door locks
No window control
Cruise control works
Turn signals work but no indication on dash
Fan and heat work

Stop engine - Warning lights stay on after engine is stopped – these will stay on for at least 10 minutes. Not sure how long they stay on but eventually they will go off.

Turn off car and start it with the driver’s door open

Sometimes radio comes on and after a few minutes shuts off
If radio comes on there is no control over volume or stations
Sometimes the beeping sound for either the door or seatbelt starts and will not stop until the car is turned off and sits for a period of time.

Before this started I had intermittent issues with the door locks and the window control on the driver’s door. Sometimes the doors would not lock from the key fob. There were times when the power window controls on the driver’s door would not operate so I tried the following.

Disconnect the large wire harness that feeds into the driver’s door

Everything works – only warning message on the dash was the door open light.
Radio controls work, backup camera display etc.
Turn car on and off several time and took it for a short drive and everything continued to work.
I thought that this solved the problem and assumed the problem was related to something in the door (DDM or some other part)
Turned it off again and it reverted to the behavior described as No display,

jlh3rd · Post by **jlh3rd** » 28 Nov 2018, 05:53

I have a 2012 s60 t5., and is my first volvo so i'm just learning about this car even though i've had it for 3 years now as it ran out of warranty months ago so i'm doing all the work now. The car now has about 52000 miles on it . This being said, I've worked on my cars since forever so i hope i can help a little.
So ,how many miles are on your car and have you had any work done on it. Cars today are all module and computer controlled and these components are always " talking " to each other. So, like your home computer, sometimes turning everything off and then back on can fix a problem. You can try disconnecting the battery for a while and see if that clears the problem. I know volvo can do a reset but that may cost you.
I also know that no matter what year a car is, if you have a bad ground somewhere on the car this can create weird electrical issues which is why i asked how many miles are on your car as grounding straps connections can become corroded.

fmwaz · Post by **fmwaz** » 28 Nov 2018, 09:47

Hello,

Thank you for the reply. The car has 108,000 miles on it. The only repair that I had in the last year was a defective door handle mechanism. None of the control modules have been replaced. I have disconnected the battery a few time and in one case let it sit for an hour.

jlh3rd · Post by **jlh3rd** » 28 Nov 2018, 11:13

So, all i can offer with my limited experience with volvo's is for you to try and locate engine, frame grounding straps and check for corrosion....it is a confined engine bay, i know....that's one thing.
Going from there, you have to have the vida/vice diagnostic programs to scan the car, which may locate the problem. So if you don't have that, once again, you're subject to dealer diagnosis and charges.
I just thought of something....and i wonder....is your key fob battery getting weak and wonder if any way possible that could be it? I've never read of anything like that, i'm just puttin it out there.

fmwaz · Post by **fmwaz** » 11 Dec 2018, 12:12

Hello,

I purchased a Vida/Dice and followed the troubleshooting in the Vida software by checking the resistance between pins on the OBD connector. The value indicated that the CAN bus was shorted to ground. I removed the drivers door and pulled back the rubber from the connector and found three broken wires. There was also some insulation missing on a couple others. I soldered the three back together and taped over the wires with missing insulation. So far so good - everything works and when I ran the diagnostics in Vida everything passed.

jlh3rd · Post by **jlh3rd** » 18 Dec 2018, 18:31

that's great, i wonder how those wires got messed up like that...

fmwaz · Post by **fmwaz** » 18 Dec 2018, 21:20

I am not sure but I have seen other posts that described a broken wire or two in the door harness.