Hi all,
I have a few odd electrical problems and I was hoping I could receive some insight on them. I have an '81 262C with Ford V8 enginge, but I'm pretty sure that the problems are all Volvo.

One problem concerns the cigarette lighter. I recently have found that when something is plugged into the lighter (e.g., radar detector) and I flash my highbeams, something (?) happens which effectively appears to cut power from the battery; my radio will reset, warning lights flicker, etc. Once, when I tried it at idle and my car actually died. Worse, it often takes a couple minutes before my car is able to start again; there literally will be no sign of power from the battery during this time. No interior lights, no dashboard warning lights when key is in the “On” position – no power at all. Fiddling with the battery terminals doesn’t seem to matter. Eventually, though, the power will return on its own. I just don’t get it.

Second, when I turn on lights at all, power is cut to some of my gauges. I have a small voltage and oil pressure gauge in my upper dash; both of these drop to zero the second I switch my lights to “Park”. This started happening right after having Circuit City install a new stereo in my car (lower dash). I’m not sure what they could have done to cause this.

Finally, my car has power locks that are intermittent; sometimes opening the driver side lock will open the passenger side lock, sometimes it won’t. The truth is I don’t care about the power locks. The problem is that sometimes the locks will “freeze up” – the key won’t turn in the lock nor can one physically pull up on the lock button. I’ve attempted to lubricate the locking mechanisms to no avail. Is it possible that the power lock mechanism at times somehow keeps the lock mechanism from physically moving? If so, is it easy to simply disconnect the power mechanism from the locking mechanisms?

Any help with any and all of these problems would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.