"Bulb failure - Position light" - Easter Egg Hunt?!? Topic is solved

[Botbasher]

RSA... I have soooo been there. Whack!! Good to go! Just doesn't seem to be the case in this situation. They are all working normally as far as the eye can see.

MrB... Yeah, I ran into some of those this morning. While searching for the issue last night I found that the PO butchered the pass brake light housing. They couldn't get it in, so they Dremeled the so the key was irrelevant. It still works but it's tedious to get it in. Apparently I didn't seat it well enough and I got a "your brake light is out" announcement on the way to work . A few minutes in the parking lot and that was fixed. Now I am back to only the "position" warning again.

I'm still at a loss to determine just which bulb is causing the issue. I have Volvo bulbs (BAU15D) in the fronts and driver rear and a BAU15s (original) in the pass rear. I'm going to have to go through with a dremel wire brush and clean the bejusus out of the contacts. That's the only thing I can think of since they are all currently working and I retain the error!

K "Fun Fun!!! NOT" S

[Botbasher]

OK... I'm really liking putting the big green check mark on these things!!

I found the issue!! It was a cross between Yaggers info and dumb luck. Let me explain...

Yagger said there are 4 position lights, and he's right... But in the US vernacular, there are actually 6 position lights.. even though 2 of them (the front's) may not cause the bulb out notification. There are 4 in the rear alone!!!

I found that both of the upper rear position lights were out... You know the ones you have to look WAY UP THERE to see?? I ended up dropping a holder from the top light and had to remove the light housings to retrieve it. When I did I saw the 3rd light on the lower housing. Doh!!!

A quick trip to the parts house and WALLA!!! no more light position error!! Woo hoo!!!

So to wrap up.... There are actually 4 position lights in the rear that can generate error. Still unsure if the front 2 will. I'll investigate that another evening.

Hope this helps someone else avoid the gnashing of teeth and skinned knuckles I experienced in trying to determine the root of this evil!! Now on to the next issue... CCM failure!

Cheers!!

K "positionally lit" S

[mrbrian200]

Good you sorted it. DIM messages / CELs drive me nuts if the exact cause is unknown or not yet determined.

I'm not even happy after basic diagnostics that a part failed and simply replacing it. If it's not standard wear maintenance items such as belts, seals, or bearings, if the cause for failure isn't obvious you can bet I'll tear the old one apart and assess the root cause.

[Botbasher]

Good you sorted it. DIM messages / CELs drive me nuts if the exact cause is unknown or not yet determined.

I'm not even happy after basic diagnostics that a part failed and simply replacing it. If it's not standard wear maintenance items such as belts, seals, or bearings, if the cause for failure isn't obvious you can bet I'll tear the old one apart and assess the root cause.

Yeah... Taunting text messages Everytime the car starts was getting old!!

Now if I could just get the PHM errors to disappear!!!

KS

[Botbasher]

It was soooooooooooo nice to drive to work this morning and not have any "Bulb Failure" glaring at me from the dash!!!

This was surely an Easter Egg Hunt to remember.... yeah... I'll remember where those damn upper "position" lights are in the rear!!!

K "rear ended" S

[mrbrian200]

I almost mentioned there are 4 tail bulbs in total but backed away since you're working on a V70 (I have/looking at the diagram for an S60). I wouldn't know for sure if there were 2, 4, or even maybe 6 back there without inspecting one in person. On the P2 XC90s the upper tail light assembly is only a reflector with no bulbs. I think it'd look really cool if they lit dimly at night and/or came on bright with the brake lights. But they don't.

[jbeebo]

FYI - my 2005 S60 had bulb warning messages when I bought it @ 120k miles. Was fun finding all the burnt out ones and eliminating the message. After spending a couple months chasing multiple sequentially failed bulbs I gave in and replaced ALL OF THEM at once. Problem solved. Seems like all the original bulbs lasted roughly 130k miles and were bound to fail in quick succession. Best of luck K "bulb slayer" S

[Botbasher]

I almost mentioned there are 4 tail bulbs in total but backed away since you're working on a V70 (I have/looking at the diagram for an S60). I wouldn't know for sure if there were 2, 4, or even maybe 6 back there without inspecting one in person. On the P2 XC90s the upper tail light assembly is only a reflector with no bulbs. I think it'd look really cool if they lit dimly at night and/or came on bright with the brake lights. But they don't.

For the record... there are 4 in back!

I probably would have made the same presumption if you chimed in, but thanks for the thought. It really never occurred to me that there were 4 in back and when Yagger said 4 position, my brain jumped to the corners rather than looking for an extra set in back!

Hopefully this thread stops someone else from having the same "fun" I did!

KS

[Botbasher]

FYI - my 2005 S60 had bulb warning messages when I bought it @ 120k miles. Was fun finding all the burnt out ones and eliminating the message. After spending a couple months chasing multiple sequentially failed bulbs I gave in and replaced ALL OF THEM at once. Problem solved. Seems like all the original bulbs lasted roughly 130k miles and were bound to fail in quick succession. Best of luck K "bulb slayer" S

Yep... I did the same, but still had the issue... because there were 2 more!!!

Part of the solution was that the Orileys showed 2 different bulbs for the rear. Then Yaggers mention started to kick in. When I had the panel off, the tongue sticking out hit me like a ton of bricks and BINGO... I knew I had it!

So now I have 6 new position bulbs... and one less error to fret on!

Cheers Jeebo!

K "bulb slayer... I like that!" S

[Dobber]

Hello--


Youhave discovered another piece of meaningless Volvo design. The position light is that little LED in between the headlight and the high beam. It is so meaningless. As if someone is going to drive with that little tiny light on instead headlights or nothing at all. It does Nothing. I am trying to change mine now and what a design fail here. Its' impossible to get in there to remove it. I'm still trying. Even the Volvo dealer laughed at this joke of a design when I went there to get a bulb and ask what it was. And I mean the OWNER of the dealership said this. and the parts guy. I love the cars, but this little stuff is a joke. Oh well.