I have a 1996 850 turbo wagon with 100K miles on it; after sitting idle for at least two days, the battery is always dead. I have had a shop put an ammeter on it, but they can never find a drain. I've removed the glove box light and checked for any other "obvious" drains.

My guess is that the alarm is turning on the 4 amber hazard lights, usually in the garage in the middle of the night, which drains the battery. The alarm does not work anymore; that is, the red l.e.d. on the dash does not activate when the car is locked. However, I have seen the car with all four hazards on (car is switched off), and the red l.e.d. is flashing very fast on the dash. Also, one time I put the battery charger on the car after the battery was dead, and the 4 hazard lights were solid "on" as the battery came back to life. Disconnecting the battery resets the alarm and turns the hazards off. Also, the alarm will occasionally sound the alarm horn and turn on the hazards as you're driving down the road.

The local Volvo shop (Nalley in Marietta, GA) has been useless at helping me with this issue. Any help on how to solve this would be greatly appreciated!!!

Lance Smith