Starting Problem - strange warning light behaviour

[malakoffee]

It is a 22 year old and the battery did go flat over the winter due to lack of use, but even when fully charged it is starting to misbehave.

Key in ignition. Turn and a dull "click" instead of a lively churn of the starter.

I have noticed that if I put the key in to get the dashboard warning lights ON - but wait for a few seconds - then at-least-one of the warning lights goes OUT.

After that it starts as normal. The tardy warning light has the label "SRS" and I assume it relates to the "Side-Restraint-System" i.e. at least the door-mounted airbags and possibly ALL the airbags.

Has anyone any experience or info about SRS, airbag sensors or strange warning light behaviour ?

Thanks

[Anadinolin]

Not really.

Have you checked what the diagnostic port says? - there is a good guide here http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/volv.../30/flashcodes

i found that there is a pack which all the cables from the engine bay go to on the bulkhead under the bonnet on the drivers side. most of the dials and clocks seem to go through there, is that damaged in any way?

on another note is the relay box damp? its a triangular box with a screw on top, that dosen't like getting wet. specially if the drain port nearby is blocked.

let us know if you find out the answer to the problem and i was pointing you in the wrong direction :P

[dcw]

A little bit confused about the problem here.

Dull clunk from starter certainly isn't good!

But what you describe about warning lights sounds normal. "SRS" stands for "Supplementary Restraint System" and as far as I am aware the 400 series cars only ever had driver airbags - there are no side or passenger airbags in the car.

When you start the ignition the SRS light should light up and go out after a few seconds when it has done its system check. That is good, because it means that there are no faults; if it simply stays on that's when there is a problem.

It's like some of the others in that respect, like oil pressure and ABS.

So I am not sure the two things are necessarily linked...

The problem might just be with "waking up" the starter motor. Is it the original? How good's the battery?

Not sure if that helps or not...

David

[malakoffee]

Thanks to you both.

This model is rather unusual: a 440 Li ( 1.8-i ) It has a CVT gearbox.

A badge on the inside of the passenger door states "Side-Protection". I have always believed it to have side airbags.

I did not know that it had any sort of diagnostic system. Now that I am aware I will investigate the problem before destroying the evidence ( by disconnecting and charging the battery ).

The starter motor was replaced by a Volvo dealer about four years ago.

The battery is a lot older, and although it shows evidence of losing charge if not used regularly the starting problem is occurring even when fully charged.

I'll try to progress this over weekend - once the rain stops.

[dcw]

Ahh - yes, "side protection" refers to the early form of SIPS (side beams and distribution of impact through the main frame of the vehicle) that was in these cars.

Afraid I know nothing about the CVT gearbox so you may well have a unique aspect to the starting system!

The diagnostic system is very basic but still does its job so hopefully that will give you something to go forward on. Sounds as if the starter motor should be just fine though.

Good luck - keep us posted!

David

[Anadinolin]

Oh I had the dull click a while ago. If your car dosent get used much and is stored outside the starter seizes up a bit.. Check that the earth cable from the ignition coil to the (can't remember exactly) the body. If that gets hot, it means the starter is not happy.

I also think refurbished starters last longer...your local motor factors will know where to take it

[malakoffee]

Update :

Regarding the CEM diagnostic unit :

This CEM has six holes numbered 1 - 3 & 5 - 7

I found this weblink more useful :-
https://www.bentasker.co.uk/document...gnostic-system

NOTE : It contained the warning
Ignition MUST be OFF before attempting to insert the connector. This is incredibly important if you don't want to risk damaging anything. The only exception being the Cruise-Control checks

This CEM had three of the positions connected :
2 - Fuel System
3 - ABS ( but I don't think this car has it )
7 - Airbag(s)

Test results
2 - [ 111 ] AOK repeated twice
7 - [ 111 ] AOK repeated twice
3 - no led response - several tries

My suspicion now falls upon the starter motor itself.
I'll be waiting for the weather to dry before investigating further.

My fallback plan is to get it started ( hopefully ) and to drive it straight to the salvage yard UNLESS anyone wants to salvage the Volvo 440 CVT unit - which is a replacement with only a few thousand miles & documentation.

[malakoffee]

It was almost certainly a starter motor defect.

Bearing in mind comments elsewhere about the difficulty of replacing the starter - due to its position under the exhaust manifold at the back of the engine - I have signed it over to a vehicle scrap / recovery yard.

Volvo charged ( my mother ) about £465 to replace a failed starter in this car 4 years ago approx.

[glasgowjim]

Changing a starter motor on a NA 400 series car should be easy I have changed a number of these motors and it is not a difficult job on a 480 so I cant imagine it being that hard on a 440 either.

£465 bloody hell thats totally ridiculous its an hours work at most to change.