Electrics: XC90 electrical problem advice needed

[Carper Bill]

Hi to everyone,
New to the forum and have tried to find a related problem to what I’m suffering but still trying to find my way around the site.
I have had a 2003 (53 plate) XC90 2.4 D5 for the last four years, I’ve clocked up nearly 90,000 miles (now 113,000) and get it serviced regularly and its never let me down. It just likes new tyres as often as my wife like new shoes, and she has a wardrobe full!
I would just like a bit of advice or direction before it goes back to Volvo and they empty my bank account. Tonight on the motorway all the dashboard instruments failed, no rev counter, no speedometer, no petrol gauge, no engine temp. The radio remained on and the air con but no warning indication. The phone still worked but the heated seats and heated screen never. While I was twiddling with the instruments to see what was working and what was not, only a couple of minutes the gauges sprung back to life.
I now have the warning “srs-airbag service urgent” “anti-skid service required” the petrol gauge is not working and the cruse control is not working. Everything else appears to be ok and the car runs as normal.
I have not had great experience with Volvo main dealers in the past with my old V70 and they can lean heavy on the pricey side when its electronics. My sat nav has stopped reading the disc and they have quoted £1300 to replace the unit!
I would just like to know what I’m facing when I take it in. any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards Bill

[Carper Bill]

Just a quick update,
After a couple of hours checking the forum last night I came to the conclusion that there is a fault with the DIM and I’m not the only one with the same problem.
I have visited Volvo Rybrook Warrington this morning and they have requested £132 to run a diagnostic test, I described all the symptoms that are listed above and he said it sounds like the DIM is faulty. He would have to check but the cost of the replacement component is about £500 plus labour plus reprogramming, total cost should be around £1,000! But he would not confirm that it was definitely the DIM until they had run a full check.
It’s very coincidental that most DIMs fail at 100k plus and mine is only effecting key safety features SRS / Anti-skid and the petrol gauge, things you really need. I also have no parking sensors or reverse lights. The cruise control has come back to life today.
I think I will have to retrace the forum for some of the contacts who can carry this work out for a fraction of the cost or should I get the stealer to carry out the work and have the reassurance?

Regards Bill

[JohnL]

Send a mail to this guy he will fix it for a very reasonable price, and garantee it, he is also on this forum sometimes.
he fixed my DIM for £50 , still working great.
Volvodiagnostic [contact@volvodiagnostic.com]
Regards John

[Carper Bill]

Thanks JohnL,
I'll get in contact with him.
I've disconnected the battery and will leave for a few hours and then reconnect to see if it resets itself. I'll try anything rather than give the stealer my hard earned!
I've had a good look on the forum and I can find another XC90 that has had the same problem it apears to be mainly V70's and S60's?
has anyone else had this issue with the DIM on a XC90?

Regards Bill

[Clan]

rare on an xc90 , maybe that is because there are not many 2003-5 xc90's around compared to V70s .
"Volvodiagnosic" above recommended , they did a friend's v70 DIM recently and its working fine now .
Regarding the RTI not reading discs you can get that repaired you dont need a new DVD reader . Try Central Services of Ipswich , you need " Marcel" on here .

[Carper Bill]

Clan / JohnL,
A lot can happen in a couple of hours!
I sent an email to “Volodiagnostic” regarding the DIM issue and the Sat Nav, he called me back within the hour to let me know that he is due to go on holiday for a couple of weeks but could repair the DIM on his return. He is waiting for new parts from his supplier for the RTI unit and again should be able to carry out the repair on his return. Thanks john for the contact details.
I have just reconnected the battery and all systems are go, (whoowhoo) not sure for how long but we will have to wait and see? Still got the SRS warning but should be able to get that sorted.
I’ll try and get in touch with the contact for the RTI for a quote and take things from there, thanks Clan.
Only an hour ago my head was in my hands and now I fell that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for the replies and assistance. I’ll keep the thread updated as things progress.

Best regards Bill

[Golfather]

Bill, how long did you have the battery disconnected for? Did you remove the earth or positive? cheers

[CherokeeDriver]

I have no affiliation with these guys, but they helped me with an ABS unit for my old BMW. Very professional, very inexpensive, and very quick.

http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx

[jimereed]

Hi

I have read about a problem like this where water entered into the car and run down the wiring and into the cem. Get into the car with a torch and see if you can see any water up under the steering wheel where the wiring enters the car. Its a bit of a squeeze.
If you can see water you will need to remove the cover at the bottom of the windscreen. On the left hand side you will see a black box. This is where the water is geting in. There are some links on this site.
hope this helps

[Carper Bill]

All,
I left the battery off for just over two hours, I was going to leave it off over night but I got a bit impatient. I’m not sure if the time unhooked makes a difference or not?
I disconnected the positive first then the earth and reconnected the positive first then the earth. The alarm came on and all the bits started to re set themselves, DVD multi changer, CD multi changer etc but it worked with the exception of the SRS warning and I had to re-set the clock.

I really appreciate all the responses that have been posted and I know where to come if I have any other queries before I go near the stealer.

I have searched with a torch under the dash and could not see any sings of water ingress but a couple of years ago there was a swishing / sloshing sound from the passenger foot well. I had to take the seat out and the RTI to remove the carpet and the 6” of insulation / soundproofing. There was a couple of inches of water that I had to bail out and dry the whole thing out. I could not find the point of ingress even when I had half of the dash and trim removed. Couple of months later and the sloshing noise was back. This time after removing all that I dared I managed by accident to find out that the tube from the sunroof was blocked at the end and it was overflowing within the door pillar along side of the windscreen thankfully it has never happened again. Very poor design fault!

Today I have travelled just over 220miles and all is still working fine, I just hope it stays that way.

Regards Bill