95 850: electrical Gremlin was duo of J relays Topic is solved

Post by **CIK7** » 02 Jan 2026, 14:04

So I think it was in the another topic that I mentioned my horn not working right. It would RANDOMLY HONK WHILE TURNING. Abscate said ground on column somewhere. Another note is that I changed the license plate bulbs the same night that I got pulled over and ticketed (11/28/25). Those were LEDs, the only ones I had in my stash.

Today-
I removed the airbag to have a look at the grounds under there. As indicated in the attached picture, the right side was tight or snug, and the left side was loose. I tighten both sides. Reattached the battery and the horn was constantly going. There was no way to shut it off. Disconnected battery. I've tried to have both sides tight and both sides loose and now the horn won't work at all.

After that the headlights no longer turned on with hL switch. The front amber lights would dimly stay solid on with the hL switch turned on. And the rear turn signals would stay solid on.

What exactly am I dealing with here? All of the fuses are good.

Post by **scot850** » 02 Jan 2026, 16:02

Did you follow the steering wheel re-attaching procedure as shown in the bottom of the 1st picture above? It is critical to do the 2 bolts up in the correct order.

It can also be the clock-spring is bad or damaged.

Neil.

Post by **CIK7** » 02 Jan 2026, 16:45

scot850 wrote: ↑02 Jan 2026, 16:02 Did you follow the steering wheel re-attaching procedure as shown in the bottom of the 1st picture above? It is critical to do the 2 bolts up in the correct order.

It can also be the clock-spring is bad or damaged.

Neil.

Yes I did that. And yes I just now considered it could be a bad clock spring. Idk if I have a spare clockspring.

Just to humor y'all, I actually swapped in a spare c/s/v steering wheel. Same issue. And I already think it's odd looking but it's odder in the 850.

Post by **CIK7** » 02 Jan 2026, 18:28

I don't know what to do. I actually called just before 5 to switch my insurance over from my Toyota to this thing. I changed out the clock spring with the spare v70. The headlights and turn signals still don't work. But the hazards work with the car off.

I did discover something else though. The ABS blinks with the 'bad bulb' indicator on the cluster. See attached video. The seller told me the speed sensor was bad and that causes the cluster needles to stop functioning. What are your thoughts on this paragraph?

Post by **CIK7** » 02 Jan 2026, 18:41

I have an even bigger update than what I just posted above. So I suspect it's not just the horn or the headlights.

The sunroof button, digital display for the cluster info, the heated mirror button, the hazard button, the headlight switch, radio, and CC are ALL non-functional.

What kind of monster am I dealing with?

Post by **CIK7** » 03 Jan 2026, 07:57

Update with the horn

Post by **CIK7** » 03 Jan 2026, 10:57

Disregard. The ignition switch failed again. The horn must be doing something else.

Disregard that too. The ignition switch is not the issue. I'm assuming it's the horns. I disconnected them and then reset the system by leaving the battery unhooked for a little bit. reconnected and now lights are working and all that jazz.

yanga001 · Post by **yanga001** » 05 Jan 2026, 07:37

Check for shorts on the horn circuitry. Should be able to find it fairly easily.

I had a somewhat bad ignition switch (had to push key in a bit to enable the headlights and turn signal) and did the exact same thing of removing my steering wheel and putting it back on. Figured it out later and lived with it.

The actual lighting diagram was pretty simple and relay enabled if I recall correctly for my v70 98. Should be even simpler for your 850.

If they are dead shorting a bit then that can cause an issue.

Post by **CIK7** » 05 Jan 2026, 20:05

yanga001 wrote: ↑05 Jan 2026, 07:37 Check for shorts on the horn circuitry. Should be able to find it fairly easily.

I had a somewhat bad ignition switch (had to push key in a bit to enable the headlights and turn signal) and did the exact same thing of removing my steering wheel and putting it back on. Figured it out later and lived with it.

The actual lighting diagram was pretty simple and relay enabled if I recall correctly for my v70 98. Should be even simpler for your 850.

If they are dead shorting a bit then that can cause an issue.

It appears the only electrical bit connect horns to steering wheel is 25A fuse shared w/ windshield wipers. No relay. I already received a new pair of horns. I might test them with the steering wheel or I'll simply add a new line from rad support to dash blank.

yanga001 · Post by **yanga001** » 05 Jan 2026, 23:34

https://charm.li/Volvo/1996/850%20Turbo ... 0Diagrams/

The ignition switch does route power around.
https://charm.li/Volvo/1996/850%20Turbo ... %20Number/

Could the buzzing be chattering of the contactor in the relay?

If you have a voltmeter, try to measure the relay signal voltage of the headlamp when its non operational. if its zero then trace upwards on the signal line, if its close to 12 but not (like

then something is wrong partially or somewhat shorting.

If your horn was weak then measure voltage between the leads of the horn and report back. Given the videos i suspect is a partially disconnected wire or high resistance connection/cold solder joint.