850 Headlight wiring harness problems

Cincyken · Post by **Cincyken** » 26 Jan 2017, 18:20

Volvo has had a lot of problems with the insulation deterioration on the wiring harness inside the 850 headlight. I have heard that volvo makes a retrofit kit for this problem but I cannot find out any info on this.
Does any one know of a Volvo retro kit or an after market kit by someone else?

BenSteiner · Post by **BenSteiner** » 27 Jan 2017, 18:23

I had the same issue w/ my 97 850 GLT, but didn't know about it until I recently took it in for an oil change. I had a headlight out and the quick lube guys informed me that not only was it burnt out, but that the wiring harness insulation had pretty much disintegrated.

Long story short, the quick fix was basically wrapping it up w/ electrical tape.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Post by **scot850** » 27 Jan 2017, 23:45

I have seen the wire insert over the years fitted to the headlights of some cars in PnP. Sorry but can't find a part #. Try calling a dealer as it was a modification I think that was either a recall or a technical bulletin.

Neil.

Cincyken · Post by **Cincyken** » 28 Jan 2017, 12:00

I was going to try electrical tape but i was concerned about the temperature inside the headlight. In the summer it gets pretty hot in there, not sure how well the tape would hold up.
The local Volvo repair guy (not the dealer) told me to go to the junkyard and get a headlight out of an S70, then remove the wiring harness from it. He believes the S70 had an upgraded harness.
On Monday i will stop at the local Volvo dealer and see if they know anything about a recall.

Thanks for the info.

Post by **dyn blin** » 28 Jan 2017, 14:24

It's not much of a project to clean and resheath the wiring . You can easily remove the headlight modules, and the wire terminals come out of the connector with a connector pick or eyeglass screwdriver. Then it's just a matter of sliding on some clear heat shrink tubing after cleaning up any corrosion, some heat and secure the terminals back into the connectors in the same positions.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 28 Jan 2017, 22:37

I think the 70 series harness and the 850 harness are different but I'm not for sure. The only ones I have had to mess with were on the 70 series and the internal harness to the lamp assemblies all terminate on a connector that snaps into the back of the headlight assembly itself. I don't recall seeing that connector on the 850s but then again I have never had to look for it.

...Lee

Post by **volare** » 29 Jan 2017, 10:27

Back in here pulling my hair out, same problem with the Falcon. Pass side headlight being a pain; bulb is fine, works on hi-beam, nothing otherwise tho low beam will sometimes come on and off again if I tap it or wiggle the wires. The wiring inside the headlight assembly looks like absolute hell. Am I just wasting perfectly good electrical tape trying to rewrap the wires that have the cracked insulation before I can get hold of a new one?
The connectors I found go from a 4-pin to a 3-pin into the headlight assembly as Lee described. The part number matches the TSB third wire issue (9162343)