Gang -

I think that I may have accidentally done something to disable the feature which blinks the parking lights when I lock the car. It used to work fine but a couple of days ago it stopped.

The little red light on the dash still flashes but the parking lights no longer give me that verification flash. I'm wondering if I hit some strange sequence of buttons on the remote which caused this feature to be disabled.

I read the owners manual and didn't see anything about this. I'm out of town for a few weeks so can't stop by my dealer to chat. Besides, you guys are better than any dealer!

Thanks in advance.

Bob

This is a well known problem on S80s. Just open the hood (bonnet if in the UK) and slam it shut. Now try to set the alarm. The hood switch mounting is flimsy .

n0v8or -

You, sir, are correct !! I just went out, popped the hood, looked quickly for the switch (in vain) and then slammed the hood a little harder than my normal gingerly closing technique. Voila, it worked!

I had the hood open a couple of days ago to check the oil. Of course, I've had to apologize to my wife for having accused her of "throwing a spanner in the works". When will I learn?

And, for extra credit, where might the actual switch be?

I am a little surprised that the red dash light was flashing OK but I won't agonize over this.

Thanks again!

Bob (Dover, MA)

I can't resist an opportunity for extra credit!

To use an ordinary, simple, and reliable push-pin switch would not be "Volvoesque" at all.

Open your hood, look up along the front edge. In the center, you will see the secondary (safety) latch and manual release lever. About 12" to either side, you will see body-colored projections made of 1/4" tubing, roughly in the shape of a "U". Now look down just rearward of the outer edges of the grille, and you will see two slots in the top panel where those projections go when the hood is lowered. Down in the slots are the primary hood latches (2). The latch assembly on your right (drivers side in the USA) has the hood alarm switch integrated into it. If you look just behind the inner headlignt, there is a connector clipped to the frame. Trace the plastic-sheathed cable; it goes to the hood latch alarm switch.

Bob M ("n0v8or")
Rhode Island

Innovator -

Thanks for the details on my "hood closed" switch. As soon as the rain stops I'll go out and take a look. (While 'home' is in Massachusetts (where it's snowing I hear) I'm in South Carolina for a bit so won't complain about rain.)

I opened and closed the hood a little earlier today and did NOT get the verification 'flash'. THEN I pressed down firmly on the front of the hood, heard a 'click' and then it worked fine. Guess I need to be firm with it.

There is a little conflicting information, however. On the one hand there was no parking light flash after locking the car (indicating that alarm not set) BUT the red LED flashing on the dash indicates that the alarm is ON.

I plan to test it by:
- leaving the hood open
- leaving a front window open
- locking the car (should be NO parking light flash)
- seeing if red LED is flashing (probably will be - given history)
- opening door by reaching in through window and seeing if Alarm goes off
- scrambling madly to try to shut off alarm

Thanks again.

8" of snow here last night. Not sure how much fell in Mass.
The flashing LED on the dash, combined with lack of a verification signal means the alarm DID set, but is ignoring whatever protected node was left open. In your case, forced entry would still be detected as long as the perpetrator did not open the hood and disconnect the battery first (unlikely, since he/she doesn't know the hood switch is being ignored).

RI Innovator -

I like that answer (protected except for that 'node'). My wife asked me "How does he know this stuff, is he a Volvo mechanic or just some guy?"

You can email me that answer if you don't want to 'go public'.

Thanks to everyone for their input on this - very nice to have so many experts so close at hand.

Best regards,

Bob

Your wife is perceptive; it's generally not a good paractice to accept the word of someone whos credentials are not apparent.
"Just some guy" is the correct choice. My secrets are:
(1)I have been regularly visiting this and other Volvo boards/forums since we leased our first Volvo in 1998. One of the other boards (based in Germany) has real Volvo mechanics who often contribute answers. Whenever I see new information that might someday prove useful, I copy it and paste it into a running Word file. That Word file is over 30 pages long now.
(2) I purchase the factory wiring diagrams for every car I own (mostly out of curiosity).
(3) And least important, I an an electronics engineer who designs microchips for cars.

Congrats on correctly deciphering my "screen name".

The hood security device is on the drivers side, right next to the latch (at least on 850 & S/V70s). It is a little black box with a plastic looking strip running along the top edge. Looks the same as a home window security alarm trigger.

Klaus

--
98 V70Rawd(101Kmi), 95 854T(85K mi), 75 164E(173K mi)

If your doors or trunk are not latched the lights will not blink