Greetings...
the switch that turns the headlights on has gone squirrely on me. First it was sensitive (so I talked to it politely) and the instrument panel lights would not come, but the head lights would. After a few seconds everything would be work fine. Then everything would only come on if I held the light switch on...and now neither the instrument panel or the headlights will come on. If I click "Bright" they work...blinkers work...flashers are fine, but no panel or headlights.

I checked fuses. Help!

Robert
'98 S70 64,000

Do you know if the following recall repair was performed for your car? Good luck.

Make: VOLVO
Model: V70
Year: 1998
Recall Number: 99V235000
Summary:
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. OPERATION OF THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH, OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, CAN RESULT IN INCONSISTENT OPERATION OF THE SWITCH.
Consequence:
DRIVER'S COULD EXPERIENCE A LOSS OF VISIBILITY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH.
Notes:
OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN SEPTEMBER 15, 1999. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552. ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

2 months later the switch is broken again. Apparently very poor design.
A road hazard especially at night.

I got fed up and removed the switch, study the design carefully. It is straightforward.

The use "plumbing glue" the stuff plumbers use to join PVC pipe together (You need a primer and a glue). This plumber stuff is unbelievably strong. Use glue only where needed to hold it together (You do not want excessive glue inside the switch!).

Tips:
- Glue only on the sides of both parts of the switch (the reason this switch fails is because of the broken plastic tabs taht are supposed to hold the 2 pieces together). Make sure glue does not get inisde because this can intefere with the function of the switch.

- While waiting for the glue to dry (which is very fast for the plumbing glue...about 3-4 minutes), hold the 2 pieces together firmly with your hand.
If you can hold the pieces together for 8-10 minutes it is better.
-Re-install the switch.

I did this 4 years ago, never a problem again! You can buy as many switches from Volvo (or through recall), the problem WILL recur, guaranteed. They failed to come up with a better design for a very important part. Imagine driving at night in the middle of nowhere and the headlights are OUT, not even the parking lights!

IMHO, Volvo should have designed the headlight switch that has the 2 parts held together by SCREWS NOT by plastic tabs!

I gave up on Volvo....Used to have a 1991 240 that was high quality...I am not impressed with my V70

cn
1998 V70 50K

Nice tip. Also be careful when glueing the lower right corner as that is where the Daytime running light switch is located (the screw switch that disables and enables daytime running lights). If you get glue on the switch, you will not be able to enable or disable the Daytime running light again.

Sounds like my car. I found my fix at Bay 13 on volvospeed.com It was, in my case, the electrical porotion of the ignition. $70 part at dealer and about an hour to repair. Pretty strsightforward. If jiggling/turning the key in reverse gets all the lights working, i'm 99% sure that's your problem. Good luck!