Newbie with a couple of questions....

[Andydote]

Hi all.

I'm Andy. General car enthusiast and tinkerer!

Picked up a V70 last week. 2005, 2.4 Auto. It was part exchanged so obviously has some 'querks!'

I get the alarm service alert when starting the car.
The sunroof doesn't work.
The radio signal is poor.
There's no sound from drivers door main speaker.

I've searched around and read some stuff. Checked all the fuses and all are present and intact.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Other than that all seems OK, except the fuel consumption!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Andydote

Hi all.

I'm Andy. General car enthusiast and tinkerer!

Picked up a V70 last week. 2005, 2.4 Auto. It was part exchanged so obviously has some 'querks!'

I get the alarm service alert when starting the car.
The sunroof doesn't work.
The radio signal is poor.
There's no sound from drivers door main speaker.

I've searched around and read some stuff. Checked all the fuses and all are present and intact.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Other than that all seems OK, except the fuel consumption!

Welcome aboard Andy!

Sunroof - chances are it's the switch. With the ignition off, squirt some contact cleaner into the switch, around the edges of the rocker. Operate the switch in both directions vigourously several times, leave for a few minutes to dry then switch the ignition on and try it.

Radio signal - no external aerial, just the heating elements in the rear screen and side window(s)? If so, find the aerial amplifier (not sure where they hid them), remove it and check the solder joints on the board and also the HRW fuse. Add a little flux (either from a pot or by adding fresh, multicore tin/lead 60/40 solder) to the dodgy solder joints, remove all solder from each joint with a solder sucker then resolder with fresh 60/40 solder. Will most likely sort your problem out.

Drivers door speaker - remove it and make sure both connectors are still connected and the speaker is intact, it may be the cone has rotted away if it's got damp.

Fuel consumption, a stage zero tune should help plus an oil/filter change. Once the oil is drained and the sump p[lug refitted, add ~0.5L Carlube ATF-U to the engine sump then top up with (i believe) 10W40 semi-synthetic engine oil to the correct level.
This will help to free sticky hydraulic tappets, piston rings, revive oil seals and generally clean the engine internally. Other synthetic ATFs may do the same job but i haven't tried them.

As a starting point you could add about 0.5L of ATF-U now to start cleaning before you do the oil and filter change.

Also check what fault codes are showing and reset the memory, it may be harbouring historic faults forcing it inot Limp Mode giving reduced performance and economy.

[Thassos]

Hi Andy & welcome..

The aerial is probably in the rear bumper (is on the S60 anyway) there is a plug thru piece from memory that connects to inside the boot area to an amp module i think, worth a quick look where the spare wheel is.. pic attached

[reggit]

Sunroof could be due to the alarm fault (yes really!). Batteries fail in the sirens and kill the electronics. If you’re not bothered about the siren, pull the connector to the siren, under drivers wheel arch liner.

There’s 2 aerials for the radio, one is on the rear passenger side window, in the boot area (looks like elements in the window), the other is in the back bumper, there’s am amplifier unit just visible under the boot floor on the drivers side. Green unit I seem to remember- its a git to plug in if the bumper has been removed at some point.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by reggit

Sunroof could be due to the alarm fault (yes really!).

Originally Posted by Andydote

I get the alarm service alert when starting the car.

Is that an alarm fault or indicating the car needs a service?

[stuart bowes]

I had the alarm fault but I don't have a sunroof. I tried replacing the battery in the unit but it was too far gone as its pretty much standard from what I've read. Replaced unit for £170 which was fine by me for a working alarm and no annoying message

it may be different on different models but on mine, pulling the connector out did not clear the fault on the dash

Also working on mpg, I was getting average 17.5 and so far I've cleaned the MAF sensor, replaced plugs, 2 doses of wyns injector cleaner, and a hoover out of the air box and bashed the air filter. Some cr@p came out. Gone up to 18.5 which still isn't great.

New air filter and another bottle of wyns coming this Wednesday from eurocraparts. Hopefully I can get it closer to 20.. This is 100% urban though due to lock down. In more socially mobile times I will be about 40% A roads so hopefully will see at least mid 20s

If anyone wants to make other suggestions? I have an air line and more than happy to disconnect vacuum pipes and blast sh!t out of them if that would help? which ones.. ?

speakers in mine are pounding! one of the reasons I chose a V70 tbh, apart from room for my kids, the sound systems are half decent. added some 12" subs because I'm properly into my music, but even without them there's a decent kick. Id be surprised if someone managed to blow a speaker in every day use (excepting water damage etc) I would say check connections in the door. but is the connector accessible? I cant remember if I saw the plug or not (the speakers are riveted in for some inexcusable reason)

[stuart bowes]

Another point to note, when I replaced the alarm unit the fault didn't clear immediately. Locked car and left it a couple of hours, went back and fault gone. Assume battery in unit needed a chance to charge, or the lock / unlock did it? No idea. Possibly you can clear it with vida but I didn't have that at the time

[Andydote]

Some great responses, thanks all.

Regarding the sound I am slightly disappointed as I have moved to the V70 from an Audi A4 with the full Bose system, including sub, and as far as factory fit goes it was pretty good.

I have noticed the alarm sensor in the middle of the roof has been removed(assuming because of the slight sag) and tucked back up in the gap. Wonder if this causes any issues?

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by Andydote

...full Bose system, including sub..

yeah to be fair if you're used to a sub, you can never replace that with normal speakers.. Volvo do one that fits in the wheel well but I have no idea how 'plug and play' that is exactly, there are different models with different types of amps etc.

I have a long history of building sub boxes for my cars with minimum 12", ideally 2 of them, so 1 little standard issue sub was never going to cut it for me

Im no expert but I would guess as long as the sensor is plugged in correctly and no damage to cabling it's probably not the cause of the fault. I fiddled around with mine because it was rattling at certain frequencies. I had to pop it out, put some double sided tape on it and put it all back together, none of which caused any issues. The alarm control unit in the Drivers side front wheel-arch is a well known and often complained about cause

[cheshired5]

For the alarm and sunroof, pull the alarm fuse. Check the owner's manual as location varies.

The alarm and sunroof are interconnected via the upper electronic module (UEM) so whilst pulling the alarm fuse won't fix the alarm or service required message (almost certainly needs a new siren or battery) the dodgy alarm behavior should no longer impact on the sunroof operation.
A free and quick fix/check.