Interior Lights/Entry Sytem problem.

[Steve F]

I'm having a problem with both the interior lights and the electronic entry system, both started about the same time. When I open the door or shut the car off, the front seat overhead lights and kick panel lights come on as they are supposed to, but the individual map lights in the same console and the lights over the rear seat don't work. There is no power (using test light) to these lights even when switches are depressed. I purchased the car used.

About the same time, the keyless entry started acting up. It won't lock the car and will only unlock the driver's door no matter how many times you click the fob.

I've checked all fuses, they are all good, and I can't find one that might effect both issues according to the owner's manual. Can anyone offer any ideas? Thanks!

[Steve F]

Does anyone have an electrical schematic for the car? I'm finding I have several gremlins going on and would like to start tracing circuits and see which are related.

[JRL]

Well first reset the system
Lock and unlock the car WITH THE KEY, not the remote, three (3) times and see if that helps anything!

You guys MUST post the year and the mileage when you ask technical questions

[Steve F]

2001, 208,000 miles.

Currently, one turn of the key unlocks the driver's door, a second unlock turn the rest of the car. When doing this reset, should I do the unlock once or twice per cycle?

[JRL]

I said lock unlock 3 times, don't worry about the rear doors and the 2nd push of the key

[nickbw]

With all due respect to all you posters I dont believe that from viewing a schematic diagramme any of you is capable of taking a view. I am genuinely not being disrespectful. My father (now decesced) was an electronics research enginer for Rolls Royce Aero Enginering in the UK. He had originally "run away" to the Royal Navy as an escape from "peticote government" at the age of aproximately 14 years when he and his three sisters and mother arrived in the UK from Australia in roughly 1930 -1931. His father came too but died within month of returning to his home country. My father had a distinguished record in aeronatical electronics which marked him out as a very unusual guy. Typically all his departmental collegue had PHd or higher qualifications, whereas my had not been to university, but managed to get an HNC at Merchant Venturer's College in Bristol because he was invalided out of the Royal Navy during WWII after his submarine being depth charged. He worked for many year at Marconi and RR in the capacity of section leader in electrinics research. He told me personally that, whatever an individual's abilities it was highly doubtful that a theorist could follow scheematics diagrammes to uderstandf anything. At the time he was working on flight guidance of the TSR2 project (military) and Concord (civil) . He used closed circuit colour television in the 1960 as a tool and was indeed responsible for their development although he had no patant rights. Please excuse me for being a cinic but you do not have sufficient understanding of your area of expertise to be able to make any definitive statements.

[Steve F]

JRL, I did what you suggested with no change. A little additional on the fob, as I mentioned, one click will unlock the driver's door, but nothing additional will happen. There is no response at all from the "lock" side of the fob.

nickbw, I don't now who the hell you think you are or why you found it necessary to make such a pompous post, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised coming from a Brit. You know absolutely nothing about me. I've used wiring schematics NUMEROUS times to trouble shoot or repair vehicles, heavy equipment, small equipment, home appliances and even simple electronics. I have no formal training, but any mechanic worth his salt should be able to use one!

I'm an American redneck, we're very resourceful and ingenious at performing difficult tasks with tools at hand. If I had the time and ambition, I could trace this out by dismantling the car but I came to the board here seeking some assistance, and JRL has been gracious enough (unlike you) to accommodate. Brush up on your history a little, a bunch of us gave King George III quite a stir in the late 1700s, you guys thought we were ignorant then too! And by the way, you can shove your dad's PHd up your ass, with all due respect of course!

[Volvoholic]

Hahaha! Oh man, that reply just killed me!

I saw this and figured I'd let you know the little front map lights shouldn't light up when you unlock the car, just the larger entry lights. At least, in mine they don't. But that shouldn't be a large issue in this.

If you can get the system to reset using the key like JRL said, that seems to be a fix to a good 50% of the problems these cars have.

[Steve F]

Thanks Volvoholic. Can you tell me if the map lights are powered by the key or are they available all the time? Also, the lights over the rear seats, are they supposed to come on with the doors open or are they just map lights?

[Volvoholic]

Right. So, you know there are 4 different lights in the overhead console of the XC70. 2 of those lights are more focused map lights which will come on when you press the map light button. The other 2 are entry lights which come on when a door is open, the yellow "coming home" button on the fob is pressed, you unlock the car, uhhh...I think that's it. Those 2 lights are "key powered" but the other 2 lights are not. You should also have footwell lights in both front foot wells come on when you open a door, unlock the car, etc.

If you hadn't noticed, do note: these lights DO NOT come on if you open the rear hatch or unlock the rear hatch with the button on the fob. None of the interior lights come on when that action is taken.

As for the rear lights, in my 2007 model they come on when the yellow button is pressed, a door is open, the car is unlocked, etc. You can also press the button on the light fixture and they'll come on.

After re-reading your initial problem, I think front/rear map lights are on a single fuse and that fuse could have gone. You should consult the owner's manual and see if that is the case as I'm not entirely sure on that. Either way, the rears should be on their own fuse with something else which I would recommend checking.

There's also another feature in these vehicles where, if you press and hold the center button on the overhead console, the entry lights (interior illumination) will cease functioning. Can't remember if that includes the footwells or not. That procedure is also outlined in the owner's manual and I think you should consult it on that too. I highly doubt that is the cause of your issue because you get overhead and footwell lighting in the front but it's always nice to be sure. Deactivation instructions should be outlined along with activation instructions.

One more small piece of information: on my vehicle, the interior lights only come on when it's dark enough outside. My entry lighting system does not illuminate during the day.