2001 s80 Coolant Low, Stop Safely / Stop Engine Message, faulty sensors????

I have a 2001 S80 T6. I haven't seen any coolant messages so can't help there. The fan blower operation is a normal event and not temperature related. It comes on an hour after shutdown and runs for a period of time to dry any condensation in the A/C system.

Allen

wow.. thats kind of crazy I have never heard of that before, I was kind of worried that it was going to drain the battery, never has happened, but the car definitely will turn over slower after a period of the blowers being on.. has it ever drained your battery?

I had to replace the original battery about 4 months ago. That is the only time the car would not start.

Allen

Have you checked the coolant level when cold to see if it is above the minimum marker. On my 2000 S80 if the level is slightly below minimum the light will flash on and off as the coolant sloshes around, but once warm it has expanded enough to no longer trip the sensor.

As Allen mentioned the car computer is set to run the blower about 1 hour after the AC was run. That removes any remaining moisture from the evaporator and helps to control mold buildup. It works.

I think Roadie is on the right track. Dunno about the S80, but most cars with a "low coolant" indicator are telling you the level in the reservoir is low. Those sensors fail fairly often, but be sure the level is right.

Mike

Well, I did notice that the coolant is down near the minimum line when I have verified that the coolant was not leaking or below low, but I wasn't thinking that being so close to the minimum would be a problem. I want to add some coolant to this bad boy, but it says "Volvo Coolant only" is this total BS or should I go buy it at the dealer? Other lead in question, since the blowers come on like that sometimes (rarely 1-2 times) the car does a weak start, like it takes longer to turn over, should I buy the Volvo battery or will any due? I heard some car manufactures build their cars to only work properly with some brands of batteries?

Hey mike, thanks for the follow up, I'm going to try to add coolant, it is hovering at the minimum line...

ps...THANKS IN ADVANCE YOU RULE!

I confess I'm bewildered by the various types of antifreeze in use now. The safe thing to do is to add a pint or so of distilled water. It's compatible with any coolant! Eventually somebody here will have the full answer, but the water is a good start.

Mike

If you have the car serviced at the dealer just drop by and ask them to top it off. If you are a regular customer chances are they will do it gratis. Otherwise, I would go with the Volvo brand. Next issue to consider is what caused it to go low in the first place. The cooling system should be pretty close to a closed system, so you may have a very slow leak somewhere. To find the leak will take someone with the eyes and experience to locate it. My suggestion is to have a good volvo mechanic look it over.

When it came time to replace the battery on my 2000 S80 I checked out prices of good quality comparable brands and found they were close. The battery for this car has a vent which must be connected to allow explosive hydrogen gas to vent to the outside. I went with the Volvo battery mostly because it was set up with the proper tubing and required no adaptors as the after market batteries do.

No that isn't true. But some batteries do have special vents for proper expelling of hydrogen gas and the terminals are placed to allow the battery to fit into a sometimes small location. Consequently not every brand will work. But most will.

If you decide to replace the battery yourself realize it is in the trunk under a trapdoor and the process is a bit fiddly, but doable by the home mechanic. Be sure to read the instructions throughly in the battery compartment. It is very important that you follow the sequence of detatching and reattaching terminals exactly or you could fry some electronics. Also be sure to clean the battery clamps throughly to remove any acidic oxide. And finally be sure to clamp down the battery properly.

Thanks for the response,

I was waiting to see what was going to happen after a few mornings of cold starts. I have added some coolant to the car and since the error message of Coolant Low, Stop Engine or Coolant Low, Stop Safely has stopped coming up. Nonetheless, I am going to have the car inspected to verify that there are no small leaks that might cause future issues down the road. Thanks so much for you expertise and opinions!