Issues with flickering lights
 

Good morning all,

I have a 2011 C30 D3 and have recently noticed issues with flickering lights, worst affected seem to be the back lights to the floating console and the overhead interior lights.

When the car is turned off these work fine without flickering, but when the car is idling these flicker noticeably and when you rev the engine they go much dimmer.

I initially thought it could be the alternator but it is putting out about 14.09V loaded and about 14.18V unloaded so that would not appear to be at fault. I am at a complete loss as to what else could cause it.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

When I bought my car it had a dead battery and flickering lights. Once the battery was replaced, the lights were fine.
I would check the battery voltage first.

Battery voltage when the car is off is 11.94V - cranking voltage is 10.33V.

Try ringing a Volvo specialists they would know what it is?

Hi
What a strange comment on a Volvo forum.
Surely it is what the forum is for, to get information from the "specialists" on here.

Iain

Well, I’ve booked it to a local Volvo specialist for next Monday, if anyone has any thoughts in the meantime please let me know.

Hi
There do tend to be issues with alternators. I am on my 3 rd on my V50. A defective alternator can also cause a battery to fail. Your battery voltage with the car shut down seems a little low,
You checked the voltage with the engine running, was the voltage steady?
Worth checking tightness of connections and cleanliness of battery posts.
You could always put a meter on the interior light just to see if the voltage is fluctuating and by how much. Then try with the engine running to see the difference

Good luck

Iain

Well it definitely wasn't the battery as I replaced this on Saturday - it was the original 9 year old battery so was due for replacement anyway and I wanted to rule it out as the cause before it went to the garage.

It's gone to an auto electrician today so I'll update here when I get it back - might be of use to someone in the future if they have the same issue.

Just thought I'd post an update for anyone who may encounter the same issue in the future - my problem was caused by a bad voltage regulator on the alternator.