G'Day, all.

I was hoping some of you could give me direction.

I have owned a 1987 Volvo 240 in the past but I just purchased my first 850 (1996 GLT) and there seem to be a few items that I'm not sure how to resolve. I do have the Haynes repair manual but they don't really cover my questions.

1. When I unlock the doors by using the outside lock on the drivers door (as I don't have the keyless entry) there is a courtesy light on the right hand side under the dashboard that comes on and stays on. It drained the battery the other night.

The same light, if I open the glove box will come on. And might stay on or go off.

Also, when I turn the lights on and off there seems to be a spasmodic flickering of all the dash lights.

I didn't get the car with an owners manual so I'm not really sure how things are supposed to function. Is there supposed to be a delay that slowly dims the lights when I shut the doors and lock it or if they should shut off immediately?

Would this be and indicator of a bad headlamp switch?

2. The carpets seem to be wet on both corners of the front carpet underneath the A pillar. I don't have a sun roof so that would eliminate what seems to be a familiar problem with this model from what I have googled so far.

What would I be looking for above the firewall? I might have read a post regarding drain tubes for the cowl section underneath the windshield/wiper area.

Would that be accurate and if these were clogged would that allow water to leak in?

I forgot to mention that I did find articles or posts regarding leaking heater cores but I don't smell anti-freeze/coolant at all.

3. Is there any website that has say a 'tips and tricks' section for these models that would covers common issues like these?

I have googled and located this website along with volvospeed and others?

4. What is the best (quality parts and price of parts) place, online and offline to get parts? I have found ipdusa and also have a regional non-dealer repair shop that has parts but I don't really know if they offer good deals or not.

Thank you to anyone who can help get me up to speed on this 850!

You might want to have the alternator checked soon too.......if all the warning lights flicker while you are going down the road your voltage regulator might be going bad and your battery will die. Did you do a carfax on the car? sounds like it might have been in an accident.....

Sometime it feels that cold here in Minnesota :)

Your profile does not indicate country or postal code, so I have to assume that you are driving on the right side of the car.

If the light switch causes the dash lights to flicker, it could be in need of replacement. Verify that the dimmer switch works correctly by sliding it back and forth. It is best to park the dimmer switch at the 80% level to preserve the dash bulbs, especially if you always leave the headlights in the ON position.

The interior lights are supposed to have a delay when closing the door and dim slowly, after 20 seconds or so. If you lock the car, they turn off immediately. Easily checked, the latch on the door that strikes the B pillar has a small metal microswitch that can be pushed away from the body to simulate the door being closed. It is shown in the Haynes manual. In order to put the switch back in the open position, pull the door handle.

Wet floor... No, the drains under the windshield are nowhere near the air intake and relatively difficult to clog. 1 inch plactic pipes about 6 inces long and straight down.
But do check that the cowl cover is attached to the bottom of the windshield and covers the glass.
The foam underlayment - 4 P38 WWII trainers just flew over in tight formation! What a beautiful sight and noise!!
takes forever to dry out. If the Previous owner had a heater core problem, try lifting the carpet and placing newspaper down, thickly, and try blotting up some of the moisture. It took me 4 days, lots of newspaper, to get mine to damp instead of wet. Parking in the hot sun also helped.
To inspect the heater core, you will need a Torx screwdriver and then slide the center forward console cover out. Look for leaking antifreeze traces. Also check the level of the overflow bottle in the engine compartment.

Buying parts depends on where you live and shipping. I prefer OEM when getting critical parts.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

Thanks for responding, Klaus.

My apologies for overlooking the profile/sig. I'm down here in Toledo, OH.

I've heard that parking meters in MN have plugs for block heaters. Is that true?

I was looking at the lights last night and the only light that came on was the one under the dash on the right. The other night the one on the left side came on but the right did not light. And when I closed the door the one on the right went off immediately and the one on the right stayed on.

Does the headlamp switch control the delay as well? I do have to say that there are a number of bulbs out across the dash and center console so it is difficult to tell what is working and is not.

Regarding the cowl cover, would that be the surprisingly thin black plastic piece that appears to be glued to the bottom of the windshield and stretches from fender to fender (that the wiper mechanism is under) ? I did notice it was not attached to the windshield on one side of the car. Maybe 6-8 inches of the bottom of the glass are exposed. Are these disposable or if I remove it from the windshield to reseal it will I be able to reuse it?
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1996 850 GLT

Last things first, there a a few torx screws that hold down the cowl cover, it is not glued to the windshield, but slides up and onto the bottom of the windshield. Once inplace, it tends to stay there. While you have the screws off, check for a cabin filter on the passenger side. If there is one there, replace it, otherwise order a filter and filter holder from FCPGroton, along with a new air filter - less shipping cost.

The lights! Look over on Volvospeed - http://volvospeed.com/maintenance.shtml
and looK for instrument cluster removal and light replacement. I get the micro lights from RadioShack #7219, 2 for about $1.50, and the larger bulbs at a auto parts store.

For sourcing a 'new' light switch, look for a pick&pull yard in your town. Call them up and see if they have any 850s and when they arrived. There is also a relay for the cabin lights under the fuse tray. Remove the torx screws, lift up the fuse tray to expose the relays. There is a row of 4 square relays, and the row down from there is a larger one on the left - that is the dimmer relay.
To pull out the light switch, you can try prying it straight out, but I like to pull off one of the blank switch plates, then push out the foglight switch to get access to the rear of the larger light switch. The little switch lights are also #7219 micro lamps if you want to replace them.
Look around for the radio code, you will need it if the battery is ever disconnected.

Also check the light switches in the overhead group. Set the switches to be door activated, not off.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

Thanks again for the guidance. A few weeks ago my son and I were able to get most of the items repaired. We decided to sell him the car since he just turned 16. It was supposed to be my daily driver.

Anyway, we replaced the lights in the dash and the center console, performed a tune up, replaced the odometer gear, cleaned out the drain tubes below the front windshield and adjusted the plastic cowling. Also cleaned out the drain tubes under the back window.

Just need to wrap up the timing belt this weekend and we will hopefully be done for the winter.

Klaus, It seems I won't be able to get to it until this weekend now that we have had our time change. Thank you, though.
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1996 850 GLT

Klaus,

Thank you very much for the advice and detailed instructions on the lights and the cowl.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me tonight.

--
1996 850 GLT

For parts I like FCP Groton -they ship super quick and are helpful.
It sounds like you are in a bit of the 240 to 850 growing pains -I went through that and then learned the ins and outs of my 850 and grew to love it all the more. With the help of this site and others you'll have a lot of good driving ahead.
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'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's

LilHelpHere, Thanks. I'm open to all and any words of wisdom. I know once I get into it (the car) things will become clearer. I completely rebuilt the 240 I had. It is rough (frustrating) starting over again with a different model.
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1996 850 GLT