I got my "ding, ding, ding," problem fixed yesterday. I was able to find it easily due to some posts on the subject. (I am going to have to cough up some donation money to the brickboard for this one).

Anyhow, I just wanted to post some info I found out. I had the classic symtoms of a blown fuse #5 due to a short - lost power to clock, etc. It looks like one of the most common causes is the courtesy/dome light. The circuit board in it can develop a short. The circuit board contains the timing circuit for leaving the light on after you enter the car until you have time to put the key in.

Apparently this part has gone through several updates. The internal parts are quite different on the updated one. The new one cost about $78, but it does come with the lenses and bulbs. It actually works better too (better switches). Volvo has a parts bulletin about the change. The new one has a different connector and you are supposed to crimp new pins on each of the 4 wires (Volvo can supply those too). Those pins are hard to crimp unless you have the correct crimp tool, so I just soldered 4 jumper wires on to the circuit board and used insulated spade connectors on the jumper wires to attach to the 4 supply wires.

If you ever get this problem. Pull the fuse and take a reading to see which side of the fuse holder has 12 volts on it. Then take an ohm reading from the other pin to ground while you look for the short. That is easier than blowing a bunch of fuses. There are a lot of devices on that fuse.

R Duke