I'm not sure about the '86 but I went through a nightmare with my '89 and it's brakelights.

The Volvo has a large red can shaped Bulb failure warning sensor. Basically, if your head light is out you wil get an idiot light on your dash telling you that a bulb is out. This sensor is located above your left knee while sitting in the drivers seat. it has a spring clip holding it to the dashboard.

Well, an internal section of my warning sensor failed. causing me to have no brakelights AND no idiot light telling me this.

Yes I just looked in my Bentley book, the '86's have it too.

I traced the color wires back from my brake lights and saw where they are on the connector for this sensor, I soldreed a jumper right on the pins to the sensor to by pass it for the brakelights only. I suspect this because you aren't even getting power to the highbeam relay (it sounds like).

The headlight relay is a silver square relay screwed into your drivers side fender, under the hood.

"Where do I begin?"

Begin with the headlight relay. It's a metal-cased relay mounted on the inside firewall, driver's side, directly ahead of the brake pedal. It's just above where the kick pad fastens to the firewall.

The ignition enables this relay, so that when you turn the ignition off, the headlights (but not parking or tail lights) are also switched off.

On my '86, that relay tends to run warm.

Also, check the hi-low relay—somebody could've grabbed it, too. It's a metal-cased relay mounted to a metal strut on the inner fender, driver's side. It's directly behind the power steering reservoir. You'll also find the famous 25-amp fuse clipped to this strut (if you're lucky).

Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

connection behind light under hood,that click is relay