I've had an intermittent but very annoying starting problem with my wife's 1996 850 GLT Wagon and was hoping someone on this forum had some insight. About twice a year, I will not be able to start the car--I get indicator lights, dimming headlights and a slight click from the starter, but not any sounds that the starter is attemping to turn over--it's just dead. When jumpstarted it starts right up, and the dealer has replaced the battery (however we're on our 4th battery in 4 years...) and supposedly checked the charging system.

The latest incident was last night--no apparent sign of any problem all day yesterday, drove to dinner and back w/o any problem. When my wife went out to start it to drive our babysitter home, the car would not start (about 5min after our arriving home in it). After jumping it this morning, and driving around for about an hour--turned it off and still will not start on it's own. One unusual item--while I was driving around the ABS idiot light would blink on briefly when I tapped the brakes.

One item that I don't know if it is related this time around--I just had an aftermarket CD changer (Alpine 620) installed three days ago--could it be interfering with the electrical system or draining the battery in some way? Seems to me it should not be related but it is a funny coincidence.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I hear that Volvos have an unsually problem with alternator brush wear and poor indication of charging system failure.