Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - XC70: Electrical - Dashboard lighting up like a Christmas tree

SynonymForTree · Dec 7th, 2023, 23:12

My XC70 has gone very festive. https://imgur.com/a/nYHWwUG

I haven't had it very long and got it quite cheap with strong history - but maybe there was something the seller didn't tell me (or maybe something has just gone on it - it's high mileage after all).

This first started the other day when it was 0c outside - I got in, started it up and turned on pretty much everything electrical to heat the car. I noticed the lights and dash were flickering a bit - then the radio kept cutting out and the satnav would turn itself off and straight back on again. Then the DSTC light flashed on and straight back off again. I decided to take my other car which was already defrosted and put it down to it being cold + having literally everything electrical on in the car at once.

Since then it gets in this state when you first start it up - been in it twice. The satnav will pop up and down as it's clearly losing electrical connection - as will the radio and the lights will flicker. The warning lights on the dash typically stay off unless you start revving the car in neutral and then they appear. But once you've driven it for maybe 2 minutes, it all goes back to normal and runs perfect.

But then today towards the end of a 3 hour drive with it, while going slowly over some foggy hills, it started flickering on and off, same symptoms. It stopped and it was fine until I got home - when I started to pull up it started doing it again.

My hopeful and probably naive thought was that this seems to be alternator or battery related. I feel more likely the alternator because it starts perfect and the problem seems to go away when I start moving.

Worst case CEM or something even worse?

I'll add it doesn't have a sunroof and I've was very thorough to check for any signs of damp around the passenger footwell/seat when buying - I've since checked again and it's still bone dry after one of the wettest days of the year.

Has anyone seen anything like this before? I've done 0 diagnostics yet but will be starting by plugging in VIDA + checking voltage at the battery on the weekend. Any other tips appreciated.

Dec 7th, 2023, 23:12	#1
SynonymForTree Junior Member Last Online: Dec 11th, 2023 16:52 Join Date: May 2021 Location: Harrogate	Dashboard lighting up like a Christmas tree My XC70 has gone very festive. https://imgur.com/a/nYHWwUG I haven't had it very long and got it quite cheap with strong history - but maybe there was something the seller didn't tell me (or maybe something has just gone on it - it's high mileage after all). This first started the other day when it was 0c outside - I got in, started it up and turned on pretty much everything electrical to heat the car. I noticed the lights and dash were flickering a bit - then the radio kept cutting out and the satnav would turn itself off and straight back on again. Then the DSTC light flashed on and straight back off again. I decided to take my other car which was already defrosted and put it down to it being cold + having literally everything electrical on in the car at once. Since then it gets in this state when you first start it up - been in it twice. The satnav will pop up and down as it's clearly losing electrical connection - as will the radio and the lights will flicker. The warning lights on the dash typically stay off unless you start revving the car in neutral and then they appear. But once you've driven it for maybe 2 minutes, it all goes back to normal and runs perfect. But then today towards the end of a 3 hour drive with it, while going slowly over some foggy hills, it started flickering on and off, same symptoms. It stopped and it was fine until I got home - when I started to pull up it started doing it again. My hopeful and probably naive thought was that this seems to be alternator or battery related. I feel more likely the alternator because it starts perfect and the problem seems to go away when I start moving. Worst case CEM or something even worse? I'll add it doesn't have a sunroof and I've was very thorough to check for any signs of damp around the passenger footwell/seat when buying - I've since checked again and it's still bone dry after one of the wettest days of the year. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I've done 0 diagnostics yet but will be starting by plugging in VIDA + checking voltage at the battery on the weekend. Any other tips appreciated. Last edited by SynonymForTree; Dec 7th, 2023 at 23:27.