1997 Volvo 850 Electrical system Problems

“The trac off light comes on on my 1997 Volvo 850 glt turbo wagon. Apparently, the trac, no longer works and I have to pay hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. This should be a recall and relates directly to a safety claim made by Volvo. From the list serv that I am on, apparently this is a very common problem amongst 1996-1998 volvos.”

“Heating and cooling fan started coming on, 7/7/2003, car over heated 10/04, dealer replaced fan at my cost. Shift over drive light came on 12/04 dealer replaced solenoid switch, 6/05 shift over drive switch came back on, now 2 solenoids are not working and my car is in limp home mode. No 1st or 2 gear.”

“1. Loss of acceleration and sometimes stalling during freeway transition from on ramp to freeway and or during left turning against traffic. 2. The car failed to accelerate and the action of pushing the accelerator caused the transmission to down shift causing the extreme slowing and sometimes stalling. The consequences were that traffic was going considerably faster and had to take evasive action to avoid hitting the slowing car. 3. Today the media reported a potential recall of Volvo's due to this problem and I believe it should be extended to 1997 model 850 glt.”

“Car would not start - appeared to be dead battery - replaced battery - car started, next day car battery dead - jumped battery, car started-2 hours later car battery dead - tested new battery tested ok. Jumped battery took car to Volvo dealer - lawrence motors in walnut creek - took service department 1 day? To diagnose - wiring harness needs to be replaced at $2,000 cost!! Car to be ready in 3 to 4 weeks (september 1st), then delayed (unknown reasons), delayed to oct 1st, as of todays call oct 6, 2005 was advised car not available until possibly nov 1st. …”

“This is similar to prior complaints: 528520, 533799,848379,869541. When driving thru a puddle/in rain, at times, all dashboard indicator lights flash and power is lost including to the steering. This is a dangerous situation. Also I have a problem with my air pump similar to complaint no. 728130. I understand that water can get into the pump causing it to malfunction. Are both these problems related to limited splash guard protection underneath the engine compartment?”