Will a VIDA DICE diagnose headlamp failure message?

[NMTim]

Greetings, I’m a long time multiple Saab owner new to Volvo’s about to purchase a friends 2004 S60 2.5T with bi-Xenon HID. Initially the xenon headlamps didn’t work and the Headlamp Failure Service Required message plus the exclamation mark triangle symbol lit.

One xenon headlamp had come loose from its housing, broken and caused a fuse to blow. The other simply didn’t work. I bought some cheap xenon bulbs from eBay, installed them and lights are now fine on both high and low settings. But the error message persisted.

Next was to play with the self leveler. The unit itself when jiggled caused the lights to move up and down so appears good. I disconnected the leveler connector to the actuator since some posts said this would prevent an error message. No luck and still the failure message.

As a guess I disconnected the battery to see if that would reset anything.

I’m shooting in the dark because everything appears normal. At O’Reilly’s auto parts their Bosch OBDII scanner didn’t reveal any codes. Will a Volvo VIDA DICE unit be able to access what is generating the error? That would help.

Next on the list is to remove the headlamps and clean everything.

As an aside, the halogen lights that are called the ‘high beams’ are really daytime running lights?

Thanks for any suggestions.
NMTim

[RickHaleParker]

There are eight different fault codes in Vida for the Xenon Lamps with Conditions, Possible sources and Fault symptoms.

They are all manufacturer defined codes. A generic code scanner will not read them.

• 1. CEM-8F15 Xenon lamp left. Faulty signal
  2. CEM-8F16 Xenon lamp left. Signal too low
  3. CEM-8F17 Xenon lamp left. Faulty signal
  4. CEM-8F18 Xenon lamp left. Signal too high / Signal missing
  5. CEM-8F19 Xenon lamp right. Faulty signal
  6. CEM-8F1A Xenon lamp right. Signal too low
  7. CEM-8F1B Xenon lamp right Faulty signal
  8. CEM-8F1C Xenon lamp right. Signal too high / Signal missing

Vida DiCE would be a good investment. What version of Windows would you want to install in on ... do you have a Mac or Linux machine?

[NMTim]

Thank you very much for the response. While I use a Mac Airbook, I also have access to Windows XP and Windows 7 Professional laptops.

[RickHaleParker]

It can be done on a Mac if you have VMware, Parallels, VirtualBox, CrossOver Mac or Boot Camp. The VM must have USB pass through and support with USB 2.0 support. Don't know for sure which ones do.

You could use one of the Windows 7 pro machines, which would be the least hassle.
Forget the XP machines unless you can get Windows 7 on one.
You might consider dedicating one laptop for working on your Volvo. I'm assuming some of these are dust collectors.

[erikv11]

I found VIDA on a Mac to be frustratingly unreliable. I only tried VirtualBox. VIDA itself is no problem at all, but the USB communication with the DICE unit was unpredictably spotty. I tried a couple different MacBook Pro laptops, a couple different DICE units, always the same (spotty) result.

Then I went to a dedicated Windows XP laptop and it has been seamless.