S80 error on dash and power drain

Alan Mac · Sep 24th, 2011, 16:03

Hi all,
I just bought a V reg S80 2.4 (back in the fold after a few years away from the V70's and 850 T5's). Supposedly owned by the little old lady who did very few miles (x 5??) and currently sitting on 49k. The car's general condition would back up the low miles theory, all suspension still looks new, body shell is flawless and the interior is unworn if a bit grubby, what little service history came with the car shows very few miles between mot's and only 11k miles in the first three years and 7k miles each of the last two. But one of the tappets rattles like a ball bearing in a can. Maybe just in need of an oil flush and change but probably not.

Anyway, I'm getting an error on the dash display 'Bulb failure position light' but none of the bulbs are out, all lights are working and at full brightness. Is this a known/common fault? Do these messages need cleared after bulb replacement and if so how?

The car has failed to start twice now, weeks apart and after a run when you'd think the battery would be at it's peak, yesterday's failure resulting in being stranded miles from home and calling out the AA who confirmed the battery is fine (all cells holding charge), the alternator is charging at the correct rate BUT there is an intermittent current drain of between 2 and 3 amps which is robbing the battery of charge.

I'm suspicious that this error is the cause but how to go about fixing it is another matter. Me + auto electrics = smoke. Or could it be something entirely different?

Otherwise the car is a cracker, though the interior light staying on when you stop the car and don't get out bugs the hell out of me. Can this function be switched off? Having to lock the car while having a McDonald's drive through is a right pain but it's the only way the lights will go off. Oh, and I keep forgetting to put my lights on at night as the dash lights up all the time with the running lights. Got me a pull from Plod last Sunday night and the 'blow hard into the device, sir' scenario.

Any thoughts, advice, etc would be much appreciated.

Alan Mac · Sep 24th, 2011, 16:09

I should add, the car is an automatic and bottom of the range, so no fancy trip computers, spot lights, etc. It's what you'd call sparse on the 'goodies check list'. It doesn't even have alloys......... yet.

Alan

david philips · Sep 24th, 2011, 16:42

the main concern is the power drain as it will cause you problims if not delt with, the two main reaeons for power drain are either a faulty alternator ,found by disconnecting when not in use or with an amp meter ,second is a fault in on of the door central locking solenoids ,found by removeing the fuse to find if this is where the drain is from,then isolateing each door in turn by disconnecting,as for the warning of bulb failure remove bulbs check they are all the same wattage and have clean contacts and earths,it does not take a lot for a warning to show and allow visually they may seem the same a poor earth may be all it needs to show a bulb failure,good luck with the new car and i think you have a good one.

Alan Mac · Sep 24th, 2011, 17:17

Thanks David. Hadn't though of the central locking as there have been two instances of the back door on the passenger side not unlocking with the rest when using the central locking.

I'll take the marker lights out also and clean the contacts. That's about my level with electrics, sandpaper and WD40.

Alan

chiptivo · Sep 24th, 2011, 19:00

Power drain by a car of this age can be a faulty alarm siren unit...

Odd as it sounds I know...

The common problem, is the battery in the siren unit leaks acid all over the circuit board, in some cases it causes quite a lot of drain on the battery..

Easy little fix is to remove the fuse for the siren unit. I am not sure which one it is, but it is a easy quick attempt at fixing the issue you are having.

Alan Mac · Sep 24th, 2011, 22:26

Could be that I suppose. It's a strange one though. Car was boost started by the AA yesterday (connect, turn, started straight off) and has had no re charging done to the battery other than driving it 5 miles and all is back to normal. It's been out three times today on short trips and started fine on each occasion.

It's a weird one to say the least. It's like a circuit with huge draining ability is being opened and not leaving enough power to turn the car over but the AA circuit tester said it was only a drain of 2 amps. It was so bad yesterday that even the electric window wouldn't go up and the central locking wouldn't operate either. One boost start later and all is back to normal.

I can see an expensive trip to an auto spark coming up when it does it again.

Alan

chiptivo · Sep 24th, 2011, 23:36

Found this on another forum...
Take that fuse out for a while..

Is the alarm system operational? The alarm system quit on my V70 and I believe that this was causing a current drain due to the alarm system battery draining the main battery. I didn't drive it for a few days and it wouldn't start. I charged the main battery (OE Volvo battery with 7 years service) and pulled the fuse on the alarm. I have not had a recurrence.

If I recall correctly, fuse #38 in the panel at the end of the dash on driver side. (This is the panel one has to open the door to access.)

Sep 24th, 2011, 16:03	#1
Alan Mac Alan Mac Last Online: Jan 10th, 2012 23:11 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamilton	S80 error on dash and power drain Hi all, I just bought a V reg S80 2.4 (back in the fold after a few years away from the V70's and 850 T5's). Supposedly owned by the little old lady who did very few miles (x 5??) and currently sitting on 49k. The car's general condition would back up the low miles theory, all suspension still looks new, body shell is flawless and the interior is unworn if a bit grubby, what little service history came with the car shows very few miles between mot's and only 11k miles in the first three years and 7k miles each of the last two. But one of the tappets rattles like a ball bearing in a can. Maybe just in need of an oil flush and change but probably not. Anyway, I'm getting an error on the dash display 'Bulb failure position light' but none of the bulbs are out, all lights are working and at full brightness. Is this a known/common fault? Do these messages need cleared after bulb replacement and if so how? The car has failed to start twice now, weeks apart and after a run when you'd think the battery would be at it's peak, yesterday's failure resulting in being stranded miles from home and calling out the AA who confirmed the battery is fine (all cells holding charge), the alternator is charging at the correct rate BUT there is an intermittent current drain of between 2 and 3 amps which is robbing the battery of charge. I'm suspicious that this error is the cause but how to go about fixing it is another matter. Me + auto electrics = smoke. Or could it be something entirely different? Otherwise the car is a cracker, though the interior light staying on when you stop the car and don't get out bugs the hell out of me. Can this function be switched off? Having to lock the car while having a McDonald's drive through is a right pain but it's the only way the lights will go off. Oh, and I keep forgetting to put my lights on at night as the dash lights up all the time with the running lights. Got me a pull from Plod last Sunday night and the 'blow hard into the device, sir' scenario. Any thoughts, advice, etc would be much appreciated.

Sep 24th, 2011, 16:09	#2
Alan Mac Alan Mac Last Online: Jan 10th, 2012 23:11 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamilton	I should add, the car is an automatic and bottom of the range, so no fancy trip computers, spot lights, etc. It's what you'd call sparse on the 'goodies check list'. It doesn't even have alloys......... yet. Alan

Sep 24th, 2011, 16:42	#3
david philips panic captain manwaring ? Last Online: Jul 2nd, 2018 17:16 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: craggy island	power drain the main concern is the power drain as it will cause you problims if not delt with, the two main reaeons for power drain are either a faulty alternator ,found by disconnecting when not in use or with an amp meter ,second is a fault in on of the door central locking solenoids ,found by removeing the fuse to find if this is where the drain is from,then isolateing each door in turn by disconnecting,as for the warning of bulb failure remove bulbs check they are all the same wattage and have clean contacts and earths,it does not take a lot for a warning to show and allow visually they may seem the same a poor earth may be all it needs to show a bulb failure,good luck with the new car and i think you have a good one.

Sep 24th, 2011, 17:17	#4
Alan Mac Alan Mac Last Online: Jan 10th, 2012 23:11 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamilton	Thanks David. Hadn't though of the central locking as there have been two instances of the back door on the passenger side not unlocking with the rest when using the central locking. I'll take the marker lights out also and clean the contacts. That's about my level with electrics, sandpaper and WD40. Alan

Sep 24th, 2011, 19:00	#5
chiptivo Premier Member Last Online: Jan 17th, 2022 13:13 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: wirral	Power drain by a car of this age can be a faulty alarm siren unit... Odd as it sounds I know... The common problem, is the battery in the siren unit leaks acid all over the circuit board, in some cases it causes quite a lot of drain on the battery.. Easy little fix is to remove the fuse for the siren unit. I am not sure which one it is, but it is a easy quick attempt at fixing the issue you are having.

Sep 24th, 2011, 22:26	#6
Alan Mac Alan Mac Last Online: Jan 10th, 2012 23:11 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamilton	Could be that I suppose. It's a strange one though. Car was boost started by the AA yesterday (connect, turn, started straight off) and has had no re charging done to the battery other than driving it 5 miles and all is back to normal. It's been out three times today on short trips and started fine on each occasion. It's a weird one to say the least. It's like a circuit with huge draining ability is being opened and not leaving enough power to turn the car over but the AA circuit tester said it was only a drain of 2 amps. It was so bad yesterday that even the electric window wouldn't go up and the central locking wouldn't operate either. One boost start later and all is back to normal. I can see an expensive trip to an auto spark coming up when it does it again. Alan

Sep 24th, 2011, 23:36	#7
chiptivo Premier Member Last Online: Jan 17th, 2022 13:13 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: wirral	Found this on another forum... Take that fuse out for a while.. Is the alarm system operational? The alarm system quit on my V70 and I believe that this was causing a current drain due to the alarm system battery draining the main battery. I didn't drive it for a few days and it wouldn't start. I charged the main battery (OE Volvo battery with 7 years service) and pulled the fuse on the alarm. I have not had a recurrence. If I recall correctly, fuse #38 in the panel at the end of the dash on driver side. (This is the panel one has to open the door to access.)

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