BACKGROUND:I purchased a 1997 850GLT from a private party this summer with about 60,000 miles. It came with a remote starter which I believe was installed after the first owner purchased it (I am the 3rd owner). I had the dealer inspect it before making the committment. The only major fault detected was that the brakes needed replacing which I did (all 4). I also was aware that the clock/thermometer display wasn't functioning correctly. The thermometer was OK; it would always start up in Celsius, could be switched over to Fahrenheit, and seemed to be accurate. The clock was a different story. When starting up it usually began at zero although that was no guarantee that it wouldn't start at some other numbers. But it would keep accurate time, for instance if it started up at zero the clock would show :23 after 23 minutes went by. If I set the clockto the correct time it would maintain the correct time until the ignition switch was turned off and then turned on again. I haven't done anything with it because I felt that it really wasn't a necessity. I mention this because it may have some bearing on the following:
When the weather turned cold I noticed that adjusting the HVAC mode selector did not change the flow patterns (floor vs floor/defrost). The pattern did change when turned to any of the vent settings (note: this is a dual auto temp unit). I took the car to the dealer and he diagnosed the problem to be a defective ECC unit. This diagnosis cost me $500.00 (approximately 6 hrs. labor). My question: Is this reasonable? It seems that with all the instrumentation at their disposal and having certified Volvo Master Mechanics that the diagnosis could have been performed in much less time. Any opinions out there?
Also, I was told that the time/temperature display required a new circuit board.