Hi,

Tonight my wife had trouble with our 850 wagon. The hazard lights came on by themselves and couldn't be shut off. She was able to get the hazards to stay on solid rather than flash, but that was all. Also, the red light that flashes for the alarm was on solid and when she attempted to start the car, all the dash lights came on, but the engine would not turn over. Just a clicking sound.

It appears this may have something to do with the alarm. She was eventually able to get the hazards off, alarm light off, and engine started. Does anyone have an idea as to why this occurred? On our 1998 S70 sedan, when the alarm goes off, the horn sounds. Is the 1997 850 wagon different?

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

i had the same problem but it constantly does it while driving, parked, doesn't matter. the problem I have is that I live in a smaller town and don't have a trusted mechanic to work on Volvo's and dealer is 150 miles away.

Has been happening for about two weeks and haven't driven much since then.

Any reason why it keeps happening over and over again?

Thanks.

It does sound like you inadvertantly activated the alarm (probably due to locking the doors with the remote from inside the car). The reason the horn didn't sound is probably because the alarm's *separate* horn has failed. The alarm horn is located on the upper firewall and looks like a small 4" round diaphragm. It commonly fails, and is almost never tested!

Gerald C

Thanks for the response Gerald! Is this common for 850s or does it affect other models like the S70? Is it easy to fix?

I don't know if the S70 has a different part, but I've heard of many failures on 850s. For all I know, mine may not work either! I haven't tested it in years!

Replacement should be very simple. One electrical connector and one fastener. Take a close look at it on the firewall and convince yourself.

Gerald C

I have an 95 850 and 98 S70 and the alarm horn appears to be the same
part. Guess I better test em both.

my 97 850 alarm horn has not worked in some time, when my alarm goes off the lights just flash with no horn, could be your problem.

the horn for the alarm is under the hood in the back at the firewall.

Dan

Thanks Dan. Is it difficult to get the horn fixed?

no you can get the oem from volvo and it has one bolt and a one elect plug to disconnect, the horn is round and black, and does not look like a regular horn it is on a braket in the center of the firewall at the top.

you can also save a few dollars and get a universal one at autozone but you will have to do a tiny bit of wiring to replace the elect connector.

Dan