1996 volvo 850 headlights blinking instead of turn signals Topic is solved

[zandershope_]

The seller told me it was a 720 or 740. But those were not made in 1996. It says glt on the back of the car.

[regent]

... how do i know if my volvo is a 850? ...

Get the VIN and call a Volvo stealership (some people call it dealership) or Volvo Cars of NA; they will ID it for you.

[abscate]

Put up your VIN number here if you are comfortable, or take a pic front back sides and email it to me

Pm sent

See the above post on grounds. Missing grounds lead to all sorts of funky problems and are easily fixed

Short version. EVery electric component has to be connected to both poles of the battery. We use wire for the positive side, called the hot, and the metal part of the car for the negative side, called ground. Instead of running wire for the ground, we run a short wire to the metal on the car, then just attach the negative battery pole to the metal frame too. Anytime one of these bolted attachments gets loose, the current looks for another way to each the battery pole...usually going through another electrical component and giving you flashers with wiper switch , etc,

[BEJinFbk]

Also i wanted to ask , how do i know if my volvo is a 850? I have to finish paying if off before I can get the title. From my research the 850 was made between 92 and 96.

That's not too hard.
Is it FWD or RWD?

And - Is this your car?
http://new.volvocars.com/ownersdocs/199 ... 50_000.htm

[cn90]

I don't know if this will get you where you want to go,
but coincidently, the headlights and the turn signals
share a grounding point up in the front left, near the
battery. Follow the blue ground wire from the battery.
Just sayin'...

1+,

I think this gentleman from Fairbanks, Alaska may be right.
See this video from a Volvo 240, the problem was a bad ground...

READ the comments in the youtube link:

[zandershope_]

UPDATE. I have been told to check that the illuminator wire is hooked up right to the radio. I remember the first time i looked at the car the blinkers were working but they were blinking fast and the radio was not installed. After he installed the radio the headlights started messing up. Also there is a black wire harness at the top of the steering column that is not connected to anything. I need to find where that wire harness connects to. Also the speedometer works for a second then doesn't and the odometer is not moving.

[BEJinFbk]

The power source for lighting to the radio is the pink wire
from the dash illumination dimmer that is shared by ALL the
lighting on your dash. It's pretty unlikely that any issue with
your headlights and turn signals is caused by dash illumination.

If you want to be sure, just check behind the radio. If you
have an aftermarket radio and a chopped mess at the harness
there, just be sure that the pink wire on the car side is totally
disconnected from anything else and can't short to ground.

BTW - Do your other dash illumination lights work correctly?
That would pretty much answer that question, too.

Post a pic of the black harness at the steering column.

Any chance that his car has ever had an
aftermarket alarm or auto start installed...?

[zandershope_]

Its just odd that the blinkers were working until the radio was installed

[BEJinFbk]

These cars are wired for most all accessories at the factory,
even if they don't ship with all the bells and whistles. That
connector looks a lot like one that would plug into a dash
switch for an accessory that you don't have.

I'm still thinkin' bad ground at the headlight and turn signal
grounding point or maybe some nasty leftovers from a poorly
installed/removed aftermarket system.

[zandershope_]

Who ever had it before us had a system in it theres a power wire connected to the battery but i took the fuse out of it