2000 V70 SE/AW-55, 209K miles

This no-start condition has happened twice: today, and eight months ago. Each time, it was after a long highway run and the car was thoroughly warmed up. Each time, after engine was off for about five minutes, key was turned to start, all dash warning lights on, but no cranking.

The first time it happened eight months ago, I called AAA thinking I would be towed to a Volvo dealer. Instead, the tow driver claimed he'd seen this before and jumpered the solenoid lead to starter somehow, and the car started. That day I drove the car to the Volvo dealer anyway; the dealer suspected the shift "interlock" was the issue, but all checked out OK.

The condition hasn't repeated until today, eight months later. After fueling: key turned to start, all dash warning lights on, but no cranking. I raised the hood and prepared to repeat the tow driver's solenoid trick, but after a few minutes I tried again and the car started normally. And it didn't repeat for the rest of the drive.

Any ideas on what causes this very random, but now twice no-start condition?

See if the ground pigtail between the solenoid and the main starter motor is broken-- I had this happen two weeks ago with the exact same symptoms with my 2000 V70.

Thanks for the tip! And I will investigate further now that I have a clue where to focus. Is the repair/fix a new wire, new / crimped terminal or...?

I replaced my starter with a used one. The pigtail is a copper braid-- mine showed signs of corrosion and also of having been very hot (arcing), consistent with increased resistance. I only had one instance of the car not cranking, which I thought was related to the battery discharging. I put a charger on it and it started up fine later.

I'm finding that after 15 years there are plenty of cabling/grounding gremlins showing up on this car (the two ground straps at the back of the motor were shot, the battery + to starter was cooked, and then this ground pigtail...

Good luck!

That's good insight, thanks. Been through my share of electrical grounding issues with family 240s and as the advice goes: "keep your electrical connections clean and tight."

I will check for corrosion and loose contacts in wire and cabling around the starter and solenoid.