Low Beam Failure, not the bulb or the fuse

[caryhorner]

So, I've got a 2002 V70XC with a "Bulb Failure Low Beam" message on my two line lcd indicator, and its right. Problem is... it's not the bulb. That was the first thing I replaced. Both the old bulb and the new bulb work on the high beam setting, and the only affected bulb is the driver side. The passenger side beam works fine, so I know the relay is good. But just for good measure, I pulled down the CEM (first time and boy was THAT a chore!) and I didn't see any corrosion or burn marks anywhere. I checked the low beam fuse and its good too. Actually, all my fuses are good.

So... if the high beam works but the low beam doesn't acrosss two bulbs on the same socket, the relay is good, and the fuse is good... what am I missing? I've been fumbling through my fresh new copy of VIDA 2010A and haven't found a thing (I do not have a DICE clone). I did stumble upon a 2002 V70 .pdf wiring diagram rummaging Google for any tidbits of information related to my problem, but I don't know how different my XC is to a standard V70 of 2002 vintage.

Cary

[billr99]

Check the shunt in the panel in the drivers footwell. This link (http://www.xenonvalot.com/xenonfixvolvo.html) involves mods to the shunt to deal with aftermarket HIDs, but it also shows the location of the shunt that I'm suggesting might need dealt with. You might just need to replace it and see what happens as I don't think even a DiCE would help you with this other than to confirm what you already know.

Good Luck,

BIll

[caryhorner]

So, if it really is the shunt, wouldn't replacing it be the best method, instead of modifying it? I guess the mod pre-cludes the need to buy another one. Can I even get a new replacement shunt?

[billr99]

So, if it really is the shunt, wouldn't replacing it be the best method, instead of modifying it? I guess the mod pre-cludes the need to buy another one. Can I even get a new replacement shunt?

Yeah, you want to replace it and they are available. http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volv...-volvo-9442190

You don't want to modify your current one; as I said in my post, the link was just to illustrate what I was talking about and where it was exactly located.

Cheers,

Bill

[caryhorner]

Yeah, I FINALLY found the part after lots of Googling. I can't believe they're only $7. I wish my window regulator was going to be that cheap.

I spent 30 minutes looking for that part, gave up, then tried again just now. It wasn't easy to find. If you type in "volvo shunt" into google, not a single site for actually buying the thing comes up on the first page. I had better luck the second time around. Somehow, I manged to stumble on the part number (p/n 9442190) from a post on another site and searching for that I was able to find site selling the part. I did find another site that also looks to be pretty reputable: http://www.volvopartswebstore.com/pr...6/9442190.html

[gary g]

When I had that problem it was the plug-in bulb socket. I sanded the male connectors on the bulb and closed the female module connectors sligtly with a small screwdriver. I would try that first.

[caryhorner]

Gary... you might be on to something.

For the price of a six pack I have determined, I think, that it's not the shunt resistor. So much for the 6 pack. I only swapped out the one circled in the link Bill provided but it sure didn't do anything for me. The bulb still only gives me high beams, no lows. On the plus side, FCP Euro sure does ship out fast. I got everything else I needed much sooner than I expected.

I did spray contact cleaner in the bulb socket when I was troubleshooting. Maybe the female connectors really did just get a bit to wide, but I checked the contacts with my meter and I sure wasn't seeing what I was getting out of the left bulb. Maybe it is a bad connection. Jiggling the wires has done nothing for me.