Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs...interior bulbs.

[tailor]

TIP: there are a LOT of lights in the instrument cluster. Carefully write down which areas are dead before you take everything apart. You want to avoid having to repeat the removal because you missed one (I did).

I am sure that a lot of folks know this, but..if you do not, you can either back probe the bulbs using a continuity meter with tone or remove the bulb and check it. No tone = bad bulb. If you have no meter use a 9v or similar battery, with wires attached, one to each of the positive and negative terminals, to check the bulbs in question and place one wire on each side of the bulb holder......no light= bad bulb

Below is a pic of back probing

And a pic of the back of the cluster


The process of back probing is most likely a little quicker than writing it all down and some areas may be "dead" by design, like the two blank inserts, which have no bulbs. Of course all this knowledge is usually obtained once the cluster is out anyway!

BTW: Meters are really inexpensive now and if you are going to do some "wrenching" it is a good addition to the "stable" of tools.

[pfk1006]

Certainly-
I hope this helps: http://volvospeed.com/Dashremove.php

MIJ, thanks, would this process be the same for a s70? I don't recall my vents rotating.

BTW, my s70 glt is the same color scheme as yours, nice looking car, huh? I just passed 200k miles.

Thanks again.

[MadeInJapan]

the Vents are different but basically the rest is similar enough you'll figure it out! I just turned 170K miles today...still runs very very strong- great cars for sure (S70's)!

[pfk1006]

the Vents are different but basically the rest is similar enough you'll figure it out! I just turned 170K miles today...still runs very very strong- great cars for sure (S70's)!

MIJ,
Thanks for your help, got the bulbs replaced, no issues...

[zhenya]

Apologies if I have missed this, but I've read this thread 3 times now and I'm not seeing the answer. Anyhow, the bulbs that are in the rocker switches on the panel (ie. fog lights, locks, sunroof, heated seats, etc) on my 97 855 are socketed, but is there an inexpensive replacement other than the dealer or 'modifying' the bulbs as outlined in this thread?

[Ozark Lee]

but is there an inexpensive replacement other than the dealer or 'modifying' the bulbs as outlined in this thread?

There are no off the shelf replacements that I know of - they seem to be uniquely Volvo.

...Lee

[zhenya]

Thanks Lee. I'm finally getting around to replacing all of the dead interior bulbs. I inquired about replacing the seat heater one above. Do those switches just pull straight out as the ones on the dash do, or do they require disassembly of the console?

[Ozark Lee]

They pop out like the switches on the dash.

...Lee

[instarx]

but is there an inexpensive replacement other than the dealer or 'modifying' the bulbs as outlined in this thread?

There are no off the shelf replacements that I know of - they seem to be uniquely Volvo.

...Lee

If the 850 rocker switch bulbs are the same as those in the V70 there are identical yet much cheaper replacements to be had at Honda (they are used as clock bulbs in some Hondas). I posted the part numbers here a few months ago. Although most of the Volvo switches use a bulb identical to the Honda bulb, some use bulbs with unique long-stalks. I simply replaced those with the Honda bulbs too, and they work fine.

[zhenya]

Thanks instarx. I actually replaced all the bulbs in my radio yesterday with the Honda bulbs. A couple of the bulbs weren't bad, but I replaced them all to save me the trouble again in the future. I'll try the good ones in some of the rocker switches that are easier to access.