Courtesy Light Circuit on V70

[sdg1970]

My V70 has an interior light fault. About a year ago I noticed the interior lights were not going out when the doors were shut. Slamming it harder(usualy Driver's door) resulted in the lights going out; though in the end I just decided to put the interior light switch to the 0 position and switch them on manually when needed. Now, regardless of that, a drain is continual on the battery and I have had to resort to pulling fuse 15, otherwise the battery will drain after a few days parked up (I don't use the car all the time). With the fuse pulled, there is no drain. Is this a common problem??? Sensor fault???

[capt jack]

It's a common fault, and it is one of the micro-switches in the door lock that is sticking. Slamming the door is a temporary fix!

The permanent fix is to remove the door card, access the lock, and free off and lubricate the micro-switches.

Fiddly, but not too difficult.

Cheers

Jack

[byootox]

I've had this exact fault when I first bought my v70.
Problem with just switching off interior lights is the puddle light on the bottom of the dash and door light are still on as they don't go off with the normal light switch in the roof.
Thus possibly why your battery is still going flat.
As Jack says the micro switches are usually the culprit, I got a secondhand latch.
I found it a bit of task on mine but it was my first one on one of these cars and got there in the end.

[Chris_Rogers]

The problem will be the light staying on. This will be due to a stuck micro switch in the lock mechanism.
You may be able to solve this by spraying some WD 40, or similar, deep into the door catch mechanism in the door and then wedging the door handle to the opening postion (stick a rag between the door and the handle to hold it out). Work the door catch back and forth with a screwdriver or similar until the light is switched as you move the door catch. Some patience will be required.

[ukdido]

Or you can buy new micro switch http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/...-24Vdc-2A-IP67

[christheancient]

How to do the door locks/switches...

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=124280

I am not a lover of using WD40 to lubricate the microswitches! It is a penetrating fluid and can into the workings of the microswitch and foul things up.

Any lubricating around that area should be with the original type of white grease!

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by christheancient

I am not a lover of using WD40 to lubricate the microswitches! It is a penetrating fluid and can into the workings of the microswitch and foul things up.

No it isn't Chris - it's a Water Dispersant, that's what the WD stands for, despite any other claims the marketroids might make. However, I'm just being picky, because the point you are actually making is probably quite valid.

I've had WD40 solve a fair few issues over the years, but never for very long, because it dries up and leaves a sticky/gummy residue, which ends up making things worse in the long term, especially with issues like these microswitches.

Cheers

[christheancient]

I stand corrected!

I suppose it's because I've used WD 40 as a penetrating oil!

But... when WD 40 first came out - and I was in the electronics industry then - my employers (HM Queen @ Sons, air) said it was not to be used on electrical circuits for anything. If we needed to have moisture dispersant anywhere, we had a special silicon based grease that was not very thick and smeared easily (somewhat akin to KY!!).

[sdg1970]

Many thanks to all for the advice!! I'll take a look at the switches/door catches this weekend.