I have a Volvo S80 2000 model Recently I have lost all contact wih my dashboard. Lights, and all dials fail to function, although the car starts and runs as per normal. Exterior lights and indicators all function OK but without interior dashboard indications. Also the interior fans/heaters, and seat heaters also fail. Any clues please. AW

bad 12v DC battery power feeds, this is called {Power Distribution
so can be lots of reasons.
1: corroded battery lugs tops the list and are checked at every service point. skipped this?
2:loose or bad fuse to HL.
3: corrosion at any related connectors. (12v side or ground side)

after an inspection passes, (ask) we wip out the DMM meter
turn the dial to volts and find it. easy.
very easy. ask)
if all this is unclear, go to the man, the ASE mech, (badge on sleeve)

pS: dash dimming means lost PARK lights too.
so is more serious,, or more closer to battery this fail.

TRY THIS. THERMOSTAT COVER

Drivers Information Module, basically it is the instrument cluster

Heater control circuit is your O2/oxygen sensor which controls your emissions and keeps the car running efficiently. They go out quite frequently and need to be replaced. Wont cause any drivability issues other then lower fuel economy and check engine light. Sensors run between $50-$200 each.

• This is classic of your alternator going bad. Sometimes, when it first begins to go bad it will function on and off. Soon it just stops charging the battery all together. The battery has one function and that is to start the car. Then the alternator is ran by the belt and charges the battery and in effect runs the car. The reason for the lights coming on is the power fail in the car.
• Buying a new battery worked for a short time because the fresh battery ran the car but with no alternator to charge the battery the car soon died again.
• The fix is to replace the alternator. Do it soon or even that new battery will go bad from being drained so much.

regards, Tony

I recently purchased a 2002 S60 D5 which had this problem. I am not a Volvo expert so don't know if it could be the same fault, but it sounds identical. No lights, gauges etc, but intermittently and very briefly comes on. Having heard some silly prices for replacement dash and ECU, I had a look. I found 4 poor soldered joints on the dash circuit board (top left processor & heat sink). I cleaned them and re-soldered them, although I had continuity just after cleaning the corrosion. The dashboard has worked perfectly since (3 weeks) . If you try this make sure you disconnect the battery first or you may have the SRS airbag warning light on! (I had to have it re-set at the dealers!!)

The whole process took less than an hour. If you are not electronically savvi get one of your mates who is to have a look..

This is a known problem although Volvo will not admit it. The dash needs to come out (10 min job) and sent away for a simple repair. Total cost is about £150 but you will need to get the SRS warning that will be showing in the LED message display cancelled by a Volvo dealer after the dash has come back. Don't try a scrapyard dashboard the ECUs have IP addresses. I used a company in Kent to do the repair. Get onto Google there may be a repairer more local.

dim lights are generally bad ground / rusty -loose ground points or wires

Sounds like your instrument cluster is going bad. Try this site for a remanufactured unit. http://www.bba-reman.com/