Electrical No Start

RooHeck · Post by **RooHeck** » 04 Apr 2026, 22:33

Hi There,
Got a 2011 XC60 T6 AWD that was behaving perfectly well up until yesterday. Both my wife and I had driven it in the morning and I had time to, so I did, start to replace a low-beam headlamp. I got the headlight assembly out being careful not to stress the cable that runs to the rest of the vehicle and removed the offending bulb and realized that the attendant at Advance Auto had sold me the wrong ones. I put everything back like I found it and then started the car. There was smoke, the bad kind of smoke, along with the smell. again the bad kind of smell. I retraced my steps and found no damage. I didn't have anyone to start the vehicle as I watched so I'm not sure where the, most likely short, actually occurred, but it seemed to be roughly in the middle of the engine bay, probably near the alternator, which I replaced a few months ago after dealing with the pully bolt backing out, or at least close to it. Now I get nothing but a click on start, as if the battery is dead, but the battery is at 12.44 VDC and holding. I could not identify any blown fuses in the box next to the battery by a simple continuity check. Using the scanner, I get no communication from the worst possible modules to not have communication from. I don't have it in front of me but can get it, but they were essentially the Electronic Control and Engine Control and at least one other. I receive faults from most all the minor modules. Also no communication from the OBDII (or equivalent). Any ideas or "Hey, Start Here" comments would be welcome. I have the service manual but find it insane and maddening to try and navigate. I can keep my '87 F150 on the road no problem, but I'm not used to this Swedish Grendal. Thanks to anyone who made it this far in advance...

Post by **pgill** » 05 Apr 2026, 01:54

The Battery cable has a fuse near the B+ terminal.

I think the latter cars actually have two fuses and I suspect that you broke one.

I’m traveling out of the country right now so maybe someone else can post a link or a video from YouTube

Good luck

Paul

PS I will reply again in a day or two if no one else does

Vova585 · Post by **Vova585** » 05 Apr 2026, 09:11

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... o-31343764
I am with Pgill. Likely the issue is in this main fuse on B+ terminal. I would take H7 light bulb(easy to create test light) attach 2 longer wires to it. On one wire put 10amp fuse(optional in this case). Test your light/test equipment at battery. Make sure it is bright. Then with one leg attached to negative post, other touch to the end of B+ post cable(starter). Bright light- well, we have a problems. No light- re test your test equipment. Then check again- no light=fuse is toast. You can buy them from original source oem for 130 or opt to buy from pro parts Sweden for 50 or used on ebay(oem). There are onces for 20..but I am not sure about them

Vova585 · Post by **Vova585** » 05 Apr 2026, 09:13

RooHeck · Post by **RooHeck** » 05 Apr 2026, 14:00

Thank y'all so much for your replies and good ideas, but unfortunately PF1 and PF2 are not blown. It'd be cooler if they were. The hood was up when it happened and I'm pretty sure that the offending smoke and zapping noise came from further right (from my vantage point in the drivers seat) or central to the engine bay. I dug into the service manual all night last night and made some sense of it, so I've pulled up the wiring diagram for the starting system and the alternator, a map to the relevant fuses and relays, and I found a few guides for trouble shooting ECMs and I'm going to start the tedious process of tracing for shorts and bad components. I just don't get what happened to cause this much problem when all I did was remove and reinstall a bulb.
Just to be clear, I would rather give this car a Viking funeral by dousing it in solvents, setting it ablaze and floating it down the Tennessee River than to bring it in to the dealership ($700 for a coolant hose????? Never again), and the wife has to get to her elementary school teaching job tomorrow, so her I am, jousting at Volvos again.
I'm still absolutely open to assistance as I am absolutely grateful for the input so far.

Vova585 · Post by **Vova585** » 05 Apr 2026, 19:24

Lets look for cause effect relationships. I doubt you did anything horrible with taking bulbs in and out. Your Alternator from several weeks ago is more interesting issue and would be my first suspect(especially if rebuilt or cheap not oe). But lets concentrate on the no crank no start. First- make sure your engine is not seezed(crazy possibility, but systematic approach always wins). If the engine turns- with your test equipment(H7 bulb as mentioned above) test between B+ and body of the starter. If you have bright light- ground connector is ok. Dim light- likely ground issue, can take a jumper cables from "-" post and attach to engine metal. Car start- confirmed ground issue. So bright light and starter "clicks" with you commanding it via start/stop button...remove your starter and inspect it, likely it is done and your issues are there. Can bring it to advance or zone for free test. But if it is smelling "fishy"...then only oem or oe..preferably rebuild your own if local shops offer such service. Can contact erie vovo for used oem. Let go from here

RooHeck · Post by **RooHeck** » 06 Apr 2026, 03:08

Starter ground is good evidenced by a very bright light. Test lights are very bold in their judgements in the middle of the night. While in the process of checking the starter, I noticed that after trying to start (click, no purchase) there is an electronics hum coming from, roughly, under the car, and when I crawled under to test the starter, I noticed there is a braided ground strap that goes from the ground connection on the starter to a piece of rubber insulation on the starter body that looks slightly burnt, so I touched it because that's what you do, and the hum stopped. Not absolutely sure of causation, but that's what happened and how it happened. I'm even less sure what it means at the moment mostly due to sleep deprivation. I will pull the starter off and have it tested before work tomorrow as, yes, it is probably shot as you said. Thanks, I was so very caught up in the communication issues, I didn't really think there was any point in diagnosing actual mechanical issues yet, and I'm not sure that is all the problems, because, for example, now the car is complaining that the battery is low, but the battery is still holding at 12.33 VDC.
And to that point, in other news, earlier today I disconnected the battery at positive for a half hour and when reconnected and everything reset, I was able to wake up the communications and do a full scan and I also got OBDII back. It was boring (OBDII) but the scan of the ECM was frightening.

So, yeah, there's all that...
Thanks again for helping me out.

Vova585 · Post by **Vova585** » 06 Apr 2026, 06:06

Keeping my fingers crossed.
Are you talking about this cable(will include photo from vw forum). That power ti motor cabke is a common issue in rust belt. Had to replace my f150 starter last year due to corrosion. In terms of humming..it can possibly be related to that strap(electrical gremlins are totally real), but also possibly related to throttle body noises, etc. Lets hope you will have your car back in no time. Similar suggestions as with starter above applies(used oem, repair of own..)
I would totally disregard all the messages at this time. I would focus on starter and properly verifying it is at fault. Erase all the codes and after no crank fixed, move forward(vs disregard all those messages if car starts and drives fine without issues)

Post by **pgill** » 06 Apr 2026, 07:57

Here is how I would troubleshoot this.

Note: some people may disagree with this advice so proceed with caution.

The fact that you have significantly unrelated circuits malfunction I would look at the subsystems that could consume significant power.

- starter

- alternator

- power steering if you have the electric motor driven pump (I don’t remember what year that Volvo switched)

- radiator fans

I would remove power from these and then power up the vehicle without starting the engine (press the button but don’t touch the brake)

If you disconnect all of the above items and the faults go away then turn off the ignition and reconnect one at a time and turn on the ignition until the until the problem comes back

Let us know what you find out

Good luck

Paul