Anti-theft light won't go out (blinking while driving)

electricblackberry · Nov 3, 2023

2024 V60PE - has anybody had a problem where their anti-theft (red dash light in front of the center channel speaker) light is constantly flashing even when unlocked? Looks to be a faster pattern than usual, too - around 1/sec.

TCAM seems to be working somewhat, but not entirely - Volvo On Call will send data but not connect the voice channel, and the app is being a little weird about sending certain commands (like engine start vs. preconditioning, etc.). Resetting the head unit with a home long press didn't fix anything.

Letting the system update to 2.12 last night didn't fix it, so my next step is figuring out how to pull 12V power from the whole thing, but wondering if anybody had an easier solution than pulling fuses in their experience?

Turbovagn · Nov 3, 2023

Resetting the head unit doesn't do much for the TCAM, but you can try resetting that too. With the car in at least some form of ignition (1 is fine), press and hold the Front Defrost button until the SOS light above your head starts to flash. I don't remember how long it takes, but probably 15-20 seconds or so.

If that doesn't help, you could try disconnecting the main battery (and the TCAM) if you want. Some people would just take to dealer to have a paper trail, but I'm also the type to want to sort things out myself first if I know I'm not harming anything. I had connectivity issues and disconnected both batteries at the same time for about 5 minutes, and it's been trouble-free for months now.

The 12V main battery for this car is on the driver's side of the trunk. There's a side panel that you can gently pry from the top and then towards you with a thin rigid tool and then lift out which gives you access.

The TCAM battery in also in the trunk, under the floorboard. Lift it up, and there's a small battery in the far back right. A bit of a pain to reach, but it's doable. Reference picture below (not mine).

electricblackberry · Nov 3, 2023

Whelp, TCAM reset didn't do it - still just sitting there blinking at me. Interestingly, it IS changing from the every 2 seconds blink while armed to just...blink every second or so when disarmed.

Turbovagn, appreciate the heads-up on the 12V and TCAM batteries - will dive into the trunk to see about giving this thing a hard reset next!

Turbovagn · Nov 3, 2023

No worries, let me know if you need more pictures. I can grab some from my car later.

electricblackberry · Nov 3, 2023

Well, we're officially in "stumped the dealer" territory now - squeezed in with a helpful local shop, VIDA showed nothing, pulling batteries changed nothing either.

So the blinky light continues. Perhaps we should start a pool on what could even cause this...

Katin · Nov 5, 2023

Many Gremlins have been solved by boosting the batteries with an overnight charge from a trickle charger, Worth a try…

electricblackberry · Nov 15, 2023

If anybody comes across this later on, the second dealer correctly troubleshot it as an ambient light sensor (which is the same pod) failure. For some reason the fault condition resulted in the alarm light blinking endlessly, but replacing that was a simple fix for the issue. Apparently pops right out, too - no major disassembly required.

Turbovagn · Nov 15, 2023

electricblackberry said:
If anybody comes across this later on, the second dealer correctly troubleshot it as an ambient light sensor (which is the same pod) failure. For some reason the fault condition resulted in the alarm light blinking endlessly, but replacing that was a simple fix for the issue. Apparently pops right out, too - no major disassembly required.

Thanks for updating with your resolution. Big help for people in the future with this issue!

MyEarHz · Mar 18, 2024

I’m actually having an issue with my dash and infotainment system being stuck in “night mode”, and the anti theft/sun sensor is non stop blinking. I’m going to give a day and charge over night and see if that “resets” it, otherwise I’ll order a replacement knowing it pops right out.

Turbovagn · Mar 18, 2024

Seems like the MY24s in particular are having this light sensors/alarm light issue. If you've already tried an infotainment reboot (and maybe a 12V start battery reset if you're feeling more DIY), then I'd just take it to the dealer. I'm sure it's a fairly cheap part, but your car is brand new... let the dealer fix it for free.

MyEarHz · Mar 18, 2024

MyEarHz said:
I’m actually having an issue with my dash and infotainment system being stuck in “night mode”, and the anti theft/sun sensor is non stop blinking. I’m going to give a day and charge over night and see if that “resets” it, otherwise I’ll order a replacement knowing it pops right out.

Just a follow up- went and got some lunch, came back to the car after about 45 minutes and it seemed to have fixed itself for now.

DingoDongulus · Jan 27, 2025

This just happened to me in my MY24 one week ago. It "fixed itself" after I happened to run low on gas and trigger the refill alert. After refilling the sensors all seemed to reset and haven't had this issue since.

Anecdotal evidence of a fix for sure, but just thought I'd share my experience since this was the only semi-helpful resource for this issue on the entire Internet.

Anti-theft light won't go out (blinking while driving)

electricblackberry

Turbovagn

electricblackberry

Turbovagn

electricblackberry

Katin

electricblackberry

Turbovagn

MyEarHz

Turbovagn

MyEarHz

DingoDongulus

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