I have a 2008 V50 w/2.4i and auto trans. today on the freeway, the brake lights came on, lost power, and wipers came on. In short, the card freaked out! we pulled over, stopped the car and re-started it. The red lights became amber and we were able to limp home.

I pulled the ODB II codes from the computer and found these:

U0001 - High speed controller area network communication
P0500 - Vehicle speed sensor
P0725 - Engine Speed sensor circuit malfunction
P1719 - Manufacturer Control Transmission
P0600 - serial communication link

What's wrong with my car? If I take it to the dealer or mechanic, will they just replace parts and "hope" they've solved the problem?

if this is just a simple, easy to reach electronic part, can I replace it myself? I do have some shadetree mechanic experience!

any help will be appreciated.


thanks,

Tom.

I had this happen to my 2006 V50 2.4i. My son was in the passenger seat and stretched his leg out and his foot hit the connection coming out of the bottom of the fuse box underneith the glove box. When that comes loose, everything goes crazy, including the wipers turning on (I don't think your wife activated them). It is exciting when this happens, espcially in heavy traffic! The thing that helped me figure out what had happened was I had just replaced a bad fuse so the location of that inside fuse box was fresh in my mind, so once I got out of traffic and could get to things, I just re-inserted the connector. That seemed to fix everthing once I turned the car off and back on. I have thought about doing something to the connector to try to prevent this happening, but I haven't come up with a good solution. Now me son drives the V50 so his foot isn't in the passenger side anymore anyway! Good luck.

Believe it or not, Volvo is supposed to read the codes for you - free! They will be much more specific, and if you are nice to the service guys they might even clear them and see if they come back.

I suspect the rpm sensor came loose and that starts everything snowballing. The brake light coming on??? The ABS warning should have come on, not the brake. And the wipers working is an indication of a short.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic

I'll believe it when I'm not charged for it...:(

This is one of the reasons why I bought a OBD II reader. I can also reset the codes. :)

Yes, it was the ABS light, which caused the car to immediately lose power. In the confusion of the moment, it may have been that my wife turned on the wipers. I'm just not sure.

Is there any way that I can check the RPM sensor on this car? I'm not sure where it is located.


Thanks,

Tom.

The RPM sensor is the same as the cam position sensor, located on the exhaust cam on the driver's side - I think.

If your V50 has less than 50K miles, it is still covered by warranty. A directive from the factory to the dealers: all check engine lights will be diagnosed for free. It will be up to the customer to say yes/no to the repair.

Call the dealer, and verify. Let them know that it is on the Volvo web site.

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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic