Twice this past week, early in the morning, as I was driving down the road, my headlights went through a "dimming" cycle for almost 3 minutes. They behaved as though they were turn signal blinkers, dimming a bit, then returning to full brightness. The only "odd" occurance was that my stereo red-light button was blinking quickly the last time (everything else was normal). I called my local Volvo dealer to ask about this and he said that was a new one on him, to bring it in when the problem reoccured. Since I live over 60 miles from the dealer, I would prefer some advice from this board before doing that. Any advice??? THanks. Rick

My Volvo dealership replaced the air pump check valve/air pump and this has seemed to solve the problem. The air pump was attempting to start in the morning (when the car was cold), couldn't, and was drawing power, which in turn dimmed the lights. The following is from the work order:

***Customer states on cold starts, headlights dim and brighten a few times- O.K. after warmed up. Checked charging system and battery- O.K. - Suspect dimming and brightening caused by a malfunctioning air pump.

***CK engine light- engine light on. Air pump check valve allowed water into air pump. Checked for codes- found codes 442 and 448- troubleshoot- Replaced air pump check valve and air pump- cleared codes and checked system- O.K. today.

Parts:

1 1271764-1 Gasket

1 9125623-0 check valve

1 9179271-3 air pump

1 977965-3 hose clamp

1 978176-6 hose clamp

1 980613-4 hose clamp

Total time 1 hour.....no charge-warrenty.

The car has 35,150 miles on the odometer. Thanks to all for the help. Rick

Addendum to my post. Last night (Mon.) my check engine light came on while I was stopped at a light. The light continues to stay on after several trips this morning, including the blinking stereo red-light button. My Volvo dealership (Lehman) will be looking at the problem tomorrow and I'll post the results then. Thanks Rich and John O. Rick

During the past two weeks I have had two occasions where the dash and headlights sort of blinked several times. The first time I though I was nuts but this morning it happened again. They dim for a half second or so and repeat three or four cycles. let me know if you find out anything.

Besides what Rich suggested, it could also be a bad headlight switch. Some were recalled. I believe it's recall 94 which any dealer can check for you by running DCS. They'll need your VIN #.

I'd start with a load test of the battery and the alternator when cold. Follow up with a check of the various connections, on the starter, battery, and alternator.

I'm getting the same thing with my headlights, also I can hear the fan slowing down when the lights dim. I had the alternator replaced as well as the serpentine and timing belts, but that didn't help. I'm also seeing the Check Engine light -- the code indicates a bad air pump. It was suggested that maybe the faulty air pump was creating an excessive voltage draw, which caused the lights to dim.

Good luck, let us know what you find out.