S40 (New) Electrics : Replacing the battery

[froggyted]

I'm about to replace the engine battery with a new one. This should be a simple affair - but my Haynes manual instructs putting the ignition key into position II before reconnecting the leads to the replacement battery. Is this important? My instinct tells me to leave the key out until the battery has been reconnected. Is it essential to do this to ensure all the modules are reset correctly? Haynes manuals are usually a good guide but occasionally don't take account of model updates.

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by froggyted

I'm about to replace the engine battery with a new one. This should be a simple affair - but my Haynes manual instructs putting the ignition key into position II before reconnecting the leads to the replacement battery. Is this important? My instinct tells me to leave the key out until the battery has been reconnected. Is it essential to do this to ensure all the modules are reset correctly? Haynes manuals are usually a good guide but occasionally don't take account of model updates.

Vida states
[IMG][/IMG]

Battery disconnecting and connecting
Removal
Warning! The supplemental restraint system (SRS) is active for a certain length of time after the power supply has been disconnected. Wait for a minimum of 30 seconds before disconnecting or removing any SRS components.

See the battery and charging safety information
Refer to: Safety information battery and charging

Warning! When switching the ignition on for the first time after a battery disconnect and connect, make sure to stand outside the vehicle and only reach into the vehicle keeping clear of the air bag deployment areas.

for what it is worth the graphics show disconnecting the -ve first and reconnecting it last, and one with your arm Not infront of the steering wheel Or through the spokes,,

i know when i have changed/disconnected mine the key was Out, as i always drop the drivers window and put the key on the dash right at the windscreen, saves me playing "hunt the key" or locking it in the car,,,

[froggyted]

Thanks for that Andy.

Interesting, so the graphic shows the key in position I not II. Given that the Haynes manual also has a typo in the section i think i'll go with the advice you've posted. I'm thinking that maybe the idea of having the key in position I when you reconnect the battery is that if the air bags are going to deploy it will happen before you get into the vehicle.

With regard to disconnecting the earth lead first and (re)connecting last, that's been the practice i've followed for many years and several cars, including when connecting and disconnecting jump leads.

I'm going to leave until tomorrow morning now because the car is on the road and i don't want problems with the light fading. Theoretically a half hour job of course, but just in case!.....

[froggyted]

Well, I'm just about to change the battery and will have fingers crossed (not literally of course!) hoping that i don't get any error codes or issues with central locking, power windows etc.

How times have changed since the days when i first started driving and could do basic services on an engine without worrying about ECUs and the like!

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by froggyted

Well, I'm just about to change the battery and will have fingers crossed (not literally of course!) hoping that i don't get any error codes or issues with central locking, power windows etc.

How times have changed since the days when i first started driving and could do basic services on an engine without worrying about ECUs and the like!

tell me about it, tho even in those days the "its a 5min job" did turn into half a day ones...

yes i think (could be wrong) that the pos I setting could have something to do with any spikes/ecu/airbag stuff, i guess the days of "OFF" really being "OFF" ended with all the ecu's being spread all over the cars

has to be said tho,, points+condensers with rotor arms and dizzy caps was not as fuel efficient or fuss free *until they go wrong then you need Another computer to tell them they have been fixed,,,

[froggyted]

Originally Posted by andy_d

tell me about it, tho even in those days the "its a 5min job" did turn into half a day ones...

yes i think (could be wrong) that the pos I setting could have something to do with any spikes/ecu/airbag stuff, i guess the days of "OFF" really being "OFF" ended with all the ecu's being spread all over the cars

has to be said tho,, points+condensers with rotor arms and dizzy caps was not as fuel efficient or fuss free *until they go wrong then you need Another computer to tell them they have been fixed,,,

I can report back that everything has been put back together with no fault messages on the DIM , deploying airbags, inoperative remote fobs or anything of the like. There was a hairy moment when i first started the engine and it failed to shut off even when i turned the key to 0, but this resolved after 10-15 seconds and then behaved correctly on subsequent starts. Strangely enough though, the infotainment clock needed resetting and yet the radio kept all its station memory stores.

Power was disconnected approximately one hour while i faffed about! The biggest problem i had was unclipping and reclipping the front of the battery tray - fingers weren't quite long enough and there was part of a wiring harness in the way. I used a knife-sharpening tool from the kitchen in the end! A good idea is to tie the negative lead to the battery away from the area you're working on with cable ties so it doesn't get in the way when removing and replacing the battery - i used the pneumatic bonnet strut to fasten two joined cables around.

I have to admit that, for all their complexity, and expense when they go wrong, i much prefer the electrics in modern cars. For one thing i like my gadgets, and also the ECUs allow for much more sophisticated safety features such as the DST, as well as useful touches such as adapting the engine characteristics to your driving style (something i learned from the Haynes manual whilst doing this job!). It struck me a few weeks ago that i take a lot of the features on this car for granted in comparison with the old Ford Capris i used to have. The heating controls, for example, are just class, like the controls on a hi-fi component, compared with the manual levers that used to need almost brute force to move as the grease on the mechanism got increasingly caked with dirt. I used to do a basic service on my old Capris and lost count of the times i used to readjust the gaps in the plugs, contact breaker and camshaft clearances. I don't think i'd ever want to go back to that. Nowadays i prefer to just enjoy the ride.

Thanks again for your help.

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by froggyted

I have to admit that, for all their complexity, and expense when they go wrong, i much prefer the electrics in modern cars. For one thing i like my gadgets, and also the ECUs allow for much more sophisticated safety features such as the DST, as well as useful touches such as adapting the engine characteristics to your driving style (something i learned from the Haynes manual whilst doing this job!). It struck me a few weeks ago that i take a lot of the features on this car for granted in comparison with the old Ford Capris i used to have. The heating controls, for example, are just class, like the controls on a hi-fi component, compared with the manual levers that used to need almost brute force to move as the grease on the mechanism got increasingly caked with dirt. I used to do a basic service on my old Capris and lost count of the times i used to readjust the gaps in the plugs, contact breaker and camshaft clearances. I don't think i'd ever want to go back to that. Nowadays i prefer to just enjoy the ride.

Thanks again for your help.

same here, ending up with thumb muscles like arnie's from adjusting the "heater" sliders is something i dont miss, or the need to adjust/clean the points in the piddling rain when its fffff-freezing either.

Tr7 soft top with a heater that when you Did move the red/blue slider would melt your legs with the roof closed, or not if the cable snapped does not compare to a auto climate A/C system.
36k between the skinned knuckles from changing plugs is nice, and getting Miles per gallon not gallons per mile is Really nice (2.8 + 3.0 capri's )


the one suggestion i would make is to find yourself a copy of vida ,,and a dice unit ,
the haynes "book of lies" just isnt anywhere near as comprehensive or correct as the info in vida ,

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=253190

note i have a shelf of Old haynes "book of lies" for most of my previous cars, vida wins hands down for volvo's (up to 2014that is)

[Tannaton]

A bit late to the post but....

- You should disconnect the -ve lead first when removing the battery for the reason that if you catch your spanner on any metal work when undoing the +ve lead you won't short the battery.

- The reason Volvo recommend having the ignition key in POS II when reconnecting the battery is the first time the airbag system is energised, you're not sat behind one. There is no electrical or physics behind it. In 8 years on this forum I have never read of any accidental/unintentional airbag deployment, so I never bother.

[froggyted]

Originally Posted by andy_d

same here, ending up with thumb muscles like arnie's from adjusting the "heater" sliders is something i dont miss, or the need to adjust/clean the points in the piddling rain when its fffff-freezing either.

Tr7 soft top with a heater that when you Did move the red/blue slider would melt your legs with the roof closed, or not if the cable snapped does not compare to a auto climate A/C system.
36k between the skinned knuckles from changing plugs is nice, and getting Miles per gallon not gallons per mile is Really nice (2.8 + 3.0 capri's )


the one suggestion i would make is to find yourself a copy of vida ,,and a dice unit ,
the haynes "book of lies" just isnt anywhere near as comprehensive or correct as the info in vida ,

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=253190

note i have a shelf of Old haynes "book of lies" for most of my previous cars, vida wins hands down for volvo's (up to 2014that is)

I always aspired to a 2.8 Capri but never had one. That was the only decent model they made i think, the 1.6 was just a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Oh yes, the skinned knuckles, you've rekindled an ancient memory! Also, i remember the car running very rough one dark night on a busy road and the first thing i suspected was the contact breaker. Sure enough, a small piece of crap had somehow got wedged between the points.

I can't warrant a VIDA system. I have nowhere off-road to work on the car so only do easy jobs and anything else goes to a Volvo indie that has the VIDA. (I still have a basic oil and filter change at a main dealer, which comes with their excellent comprehensive annual breakdown and recovery service). I will be changing the car in the next year or two anyway, although hope to go for another Volvo (like the look of the XC40 but won't be able to afford that so will probably go for a V40). The engine in the current car needs about three oil/filter changes a year now because fuel is getting past one or more faulty injectors, triggering the 'engine system service required' flag, and i'm not prepared to pay the £1.5k for new injectors, because what goes wrong after that, the auto gearbox or something else expensive? I would hope to get a model with a real Volvo engine next time around, and would never have a diesel again (have also had two instances of limp mode due to DPF sensor fault, which isn't fun).

In defence of Haynes, whilst they are not perfect (mainly due to model enhancements), just one job you do yourself usually pays for the price of the manual. I've used them for my second Capri and all four Volvos so each one paid for itself many times over. I had a different branded manual for my first Capri (1.3 mark 1, it was my first car after passing my test). I can't remember the brand name, i'm sure it's long defunct now, but i do remember that it did a better job of explaining things than the Haynes manuals do.

[froggyted]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

A bit late to the post but....

- You should disconnect the -ve lead first when removing the battery for the reason that if you catch your spanner on any metal work when undoing the +ve lead you won't short the battery.

- The reason Volvo recommend having the ignition key in POS II when reconnecting the battery is the first time the airbag system is energised, you're not sat behind one. There is no electrical or physics behind it. In 8 years on this forum I have never read of any accidental/unintentional airbag deployment, so I never bother.

Unlike some Audis someone once told me about. Note that as per andy_d's post above VIDA states position I, it was the Haynes manual that stated II.