V50 Electrics : - On Call Service/Back-up battery/dashboard failure

kth320 · Jun 27th, 2015, 20:00

Hi, new member hoping that someone here can help as I am at the end of my tether!

Apologies that this is a wordy post, but figure that more details may be more useful than less.

I have a 56 plate V50 2.0 diesel, 100k mileage, that I have owned for 18 months.

Ultimately I am wanting to know if anyone can tell me the exact location of the On Call back-up battery in a V50? However, if any of you know another cause for the symptoms below I would be very grateful for your input.

A few weeks ago I started the car to see the On Call Service required message. At the same time my rear parking sensors, radio & sat-nav ceased to function (although front parking sensors working fine). Not particularly fussed about the loss of these I carried on driving no problems for a few days until the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with every warning light and the car went into the engine warning/limp mode. It seemed to sort itself out and a few minutes later was driving fine but I took it to my garage the next day.

Mechanic and electrician looked at it and after plugging in the diagnostic computer, trying the fuse removal/replacement that others on this forum have mentioned and pretty much anything else they could think of, they reasoned that it was the On Call back-up battery that was at fault - it was apparently showing minimal charge although how they could tell this I don't know. I opted to have the battery replaced as, although it was costly (£184 + vat), I couldn't trust that it wouldn't keep tripping whatever sensors had put it into limp mode. Also, it's a 9 year old car that I bought privately and quite frankly didn't fancy the potential main dealer prices. Attached are pics of the battery that Volvo have supplied.

battery pic 1.pdf

battery pic 2.pdf

This seems to be where the problem really began!!

Mechanic, electrician and local Volvo specialist cannot find where the back-up battery goes

The interior trim has been removed to the point that my mechanic probably knows the guts of my car better than any other, but still they can't find where the on-call back-up battery is located to replace it - and I know that there is no guarantee that the problems will be resolved even if it is replaced.

Local Volvo specialist seemed quite certain it should be behind the glove compartment, but this was taken out and still no joy.

To further add insult to injury, today the dashboard in the car completely died. Speedo, rev counter, petrol etc all at zero suddenly whilst driving. Car drives no problem, air con still working and front parking sensors have worked throughout. If I park up and re-start the car after leaving it a short while, the dashboard appears normal until after a few minutes of driving when it goes blank again. Externally my indicators are working but there's no sound or evidence of them inside the car.

I've been looking and seen similar posts about the death of the dashboard, so I expect that during the endeavours to locate the battery something in the fuse box under the glove compartment has been knocked out of position.

Has anyone else experienced this combination of V50 misery?! I'd be grateful for any advice regarding back-up battery location.

Many thanks, Katie.

Jun 27th, 2015, 20:00	#1
kth320 New Member Last Online: Jun 29th, 2015 21:27 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Portsmouth	On Call Service/Back-up battery/dashboard failure Hi, new member hoping that someone here can help as I am at the end of my tether! Apologies that this is a wordy post, but figure that more details may be more useful than less. I have a 56 plate V50 2.0 diesel, 100k mileage, that I have owned for 18 months. Ultimately I am wanting to know if anyone can tell me the exact location of the On Call back-up battery in a V50? However, if any of you know another cause for the symptoms below I would be very grateful for your input. A few weeks ago I started the car to see the On Call Service required message. At the same time my rear parking sensors, radio & sat-nav ceased to function (although front parking sensors working fine). Not particularly fussed about the loss of these I carried on driving no problems for a few days until the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with every warning light and the car went into the engine warning/limp mode. It seemed to sort itself out and a few minutes later was driving fine but I took it to my garage the next day. Mechanic and electrician looked at it and after plugging in the diagnostic computer, trying the fuse removal/replacement that others on this forum have mentioned and pretty much anything else they could think of, they reasoned that it was the On Call back-up battery that was at fault - it was apparently showing minimal charge although how they could tell this I don't know. I opted to have the battery replaced as, although it was costly (£184 + vat), I couldn't trust that it wouldn't keep tripping whatever sensors had put it into limp mode. Also, it's a 9 year old car that I bought privately and quite frankly didn't fancy the potential main dealer prices. Attached are pics of the battery that Volvo have supplied. battery pic 1.pdf battery pic 2.pdf This seems to be where the problem really began!! Mechanic, electrician and local Volvo specialist cannot find where the back-up battery goes The interior trim has been removed to the point that my mechanic probably knows the guts of my car better than any other, but still they can't find where the on-call back-up battery is located to replace it - and I know that there is no guarantee that the problems will be resolved even if it is replaced. Local Volvo specialist seemed quite certain it should be behind the glove compartment, but this was taken out and still no joy. To further add insult to injury, today the dashboard in the car completely died. Speedo, rev counter, petrol etc all at zero suddenly whilst driving. Car drives no problem, air con still working and front parking sensors have worked throughout. If I park up and re-start the car after leaving it a short while, the dashboard appears normal until after a few minutes of driving when it goes blank again. Externally my indicators are working but there's no sound or evidence of them inside the car. I've been looking and seen similar posts about the death of the dashboard, so I expect that during the endeavours to locate the battery something in the fuse box under the glove compartment has been knocked out of position. Has anyone else experienced this combination of V50 misery?! I'd be grateful for any advice regarding back-up battery location. Many thanks, Katie.

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