SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum banner

Complete electronics shut down.

895 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  ZZZZZZZ
Hi all,

There are no functioning electronic systems on my 2004 V70R, M66. The only thing that works is the radio, and I can hear the fuel pump whirring when I turn the key, but no dash lights, hazards, power to windows, nor power to seats, and it will not crank. There are no signs of life when you insert and turn the key, other than the fuel pump. There is fuel at the valve on the engine.

The car died instantly while driving, luckily slowly in my neighborhood and not on the highway. The tach froze at 1900 rpm, the fuel gauge froze in place, and the car stopped dead in its tracks with a whooomph!

I removed all valuables (windows are open) and let it sit overnight where it was. In the morning, the tach had dropped to zero, and the fuel gauge was at rest. I turned the key and it cranked but didn't start the first time, but it did the second, for about 4-5 seconds, then died the same way. Tach now frozen at 1600 rpm, fuel gauge frozen at 2/5, fuel pump whirring, but no other signs of life. It's been two weeks since this happened, and the tach still reads 1600 rpm, and the fuel gauge still reads 2/5.
The battery is good. There is power to the relay under the hood that provides power to the ? (ECM?) under the hood, just in front of the power steering reservoir. There is no power at OBD2, therefore no way to connect VIDA. Dealer had the car for a week, and have no answers. Battery was disconnected and fuses were checked. They suggest a new car! All systems are functioning properly on the car other than this electronics issue, and I want to keep the car. Any thoughts as to what might be malfunctioning?

Anyone have any experience with Xemodex? They have a reasonable fee to test modules, and can transfer data to remanufactured modules if needed. Has anyone had any experience with them? Did everything work as expected?

Thanks, and stay well.
See less See more
1 - 3 of 16 Posts
He said connecting VIDA no deal, but I agree. Sending all the modules out would suck if they came back and got fried again. If things were working ok before, something has to have shorted. Good luck finding it. This is 9 thousand times worse than going through a long strand of Christmas lights to find the bad bulb. I also agree with @z_wrecker that power to the fuel pump is a good sign.
I suspect the CEM, central electronics module. Xemodex should have a test chart, pretty basic. Can you connect to the car with a scanner or Vida at all. I suspect modules are missing or more. The cem connects all systems, some modules are known to overheat.

Of course check the other basics and look over the wires for anything obvious.
Yeah alternator is a good thing to check. Under load hit it hard with stereo, fogs, seat heater, a/c (I think you said Cali, right? 84 in LA tomorrow!!), defrost, whatever you can turn on. If it flinches it’s alternator that screwed you. I was going to say battery and alternator (ask me how I know) but you said battery was good and then it was at the frickin’ dealer. You need a new dealer. I would be VERY leery of using them for anything in the future if they were that lost. Hope they didn’t charge much.
REALLY happy you got it sorted!!
Yes, I think mine is 13.7 with stuff running at idle.
With the new battery fully charged, VIDA in real time gives 14.3v at idle with just the bixenon lights on. It drops to a steady 13.6v (at idle) with as many accessories on as I can think of. Battery read 12.75v before starting.
I bought a Schumacher Electric 100 Amp Capacity Battery Load Tester (it's in the mail) and will check regularly for the foreseeable future.
1 - 3 of 16 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top