V70 footwell courtesy light - please help

[Mrsmastiffs]

Can someone please tell me how I can get my drivers side footwell courtesy light to go off ? My battery went flat last weekend and we could not figure out why but have since found out that this light is staying on so think that it might be the cause. The car only gets used Mon-Thurs and can quite often sit for 3 or 4 days if there is a bank holiday unused.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

You'll find the interior light will stay on for a short time and the indicators wont flash when you lock the car. I'd the same fault with my S70, its the micro swtich in the the door lock thats the problem, and the real problem is you cannot adjust it. I cut a small strip of tank tape and stuck it on the cam that controls the microswitch, its built into the door lock, but take the lock out, its easy to see the workings.

[capt jack]

You've probably got a sticky microswitch in your drivers door lock, and the central locking module thinks that the door is still open. Either that or the C/L module is bust.

Short term cure is to take the bulb out.

I wouldn't mind betting that your central locking / immobiliser will do odd things as well.

To confirm this, shut the door, lock the car on the remote, note if the hazards flash once, then open on the remote and note if the hazards flash twice.

Finally, lock on the remote again, and make sure that the red warning LED on top of the dash flashes once at regular intervals.

The cure is to lubricate the microswitches (there are 3 on the door lock). It's easier said than done. Haynes covers it, but you don't need to remove the switches as they say, a squirt of WD40 and working the switch plungers a bit should do it.

There are threads on here that cover accessing the door locks too.
It's fiddly and knuckle-scraping rather than difficult.

You need to remove the door card to get at the lock. You don't need to remove the lock completely, just enough to see the microswitches.

Good luck

Jack

NI Volvo Nut must have been typing faster than me!

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Capt Jack

I had the problem with my S70, but i figured out it was a door switch issue when i 1st locked the car at night and seen that the interor light didnt go out.

The P/S/F door of my S70 is acting up again, must take some pic's next time i do the job.

[alv70d1999]

Originally Posted by Mrsmastiffs

Can someone please tell me how I can get my drivers side footwell courtesy light to go off ? My battery went flat last weekend and we could not figure out why but have since found out that this light is staying on so think that it might be the cause. The car only gets used Mon-Thurs and can quite often sit for 3 or 4 days if there is a bank holiday unused.

is it only the one light thats stopping on as all mine come on at the same time?

[Mrsmastiffs]

Thank you -I have only noticed the one lightstaying on but interestingly my central locking has been playing up and won't lock with the key fob - will only unlock

[Mrsmastiffs]

It seems giving the drivers door a jolly good slam when you close it also cures the problem - albeit I suspect temporarily, also the car will now lock & unlock via the fob which it hasn't done for a couple of weeks

[capt jack]

Originally Posted by Mrsmastiffs

It seems giving the drivers door a jolly good slam when you close it also cures the problem - albeit I suspect temporarily, also the car will now lock & unlock via the fob which it hasn't done for a couple of weeks

Got to be the microswitches then! They pick up a lot of dirt and dust, which over time gets damp, then congeals, then stops the little green plunger from plunging.

WD40 is a bit gentler on the car generally, but a good slam clearly works too!

Jack

[warthog]

A few years ago my 850 started doing the same thing - but only when it was below freezing (almost exactly!). After driving for 10 mins or so re-closing the door switched off the light. It gradually got worse until I couldn't get it to switch off no matter how hard I slammed the door or how much WD40 I sprayed in the lock.

For the 'old' forum I did a write-up on how I took the lock apart and adjusted the microswitches. The problem, at least for me, was wear in the mechanism. It was Dec 2006 that I did the job and it's worked flawlessly since. I'll try and remember the main bits.

The lock has to be removed so you can take it apart on the bench. A bit fiddly as you have to take out the window mechanism and the rear window channel from the door to gain access to the lock bolts.

The lock has a plastic cover held by 3 (I think) clips. These come apart by pushing out the inner dowel and then springing in the ears to release. There are thin wires running along one inner side of the plastic cover. These are tight in length, so take your time and juggle the cover until you can swivel it out of the way. I can't remember if there are 2 or 3 microswitches in the lock, but basically they are operated on by a rotating cam. This cam's bearings wear in the aluminium lock structure meaning that the cam doesn't fully deflect the microswitches. Carefully bend the microswitch operating arms to take up this wear. Check the operation - you can hear the switches operate.

In a common workshop manual wording where a simple statement takes ages to do - Reassemble!

Hope this helps.

[art b]

interesting reading,

ive just found my v70 with a flat batt, and i do remember the footwell light being on when i was driving last week,
then appeared to be ok,
the red led on the dash wasnt flashing, when the doors were locked and the drivers door wont open on the remote......

apart from that its all fecking great...pmsl

of to pull the door apart....!!