So what exactly is the point of the snowflake dash light on my '96 850 wagon?
I remember reading in the manual when I first bought the car that is has to do with the temperature sensor not being accurate under certain conditions...is that right?
If it is, I guess I'm confused by why Volvo things this is such a big deal?
The dash light is telling you that, in its opinion, the road surface may be cold enough to be slippery. It's a feature for those without parents or spouses.
It comes on from 2ºC down to -6ºC to warn of freezing road conditions. Below -6, I guess you're supposed to know. If you are annoyed by your light, be thankful you don't have a BMW. A friend's 328 "bongs" as the temperature reaches these thresholds. Check alt.autos.bmw, you can see people asking what the "bong" means.
There are two snowflake dash lights on a 96 850 wagon.
1) The red light with a snowflake mark near the ambient temperature display comes on between 23F and 36F. It goes out when it gets below
23F. It is meant to indicate the temperature range when the highway is likely to be the most slippery. In very cold weather, ice is not especially slippery.
2) The blue light near a snowflake mark on the AC controls indicated the AC is turned on. Cars with climate control may not have this.
The wife and I were driving up from Phoenix last week and saw the outside temperature drop nearly 20 degrees in ten minutes. It was shortly after sundown and we had climbed out of the Verde valley onto the rim. Inside the car the temperature didn't seem to change a bit.
I bet it was still way above freezing in Phoenix though. No real need for the system where you live :-)... Actually I haven't seen the system in action, we don't have the snowflake in our 93 960 (I think the 94's may have it, as there were many upgrades to that year) and my friends 2001 V70 doesn't seem to have it (I've been in it when it's cold out).
If you were trying to point out that in other places in the world temperature differences are greater then where I live... point taken, but here in Ontario (and other snowbelt Provinces, and US States) we have the danger of black ice formation when a wet road at near freezing gets hit by an icy gust of wind... which is I believe the exact reasoning behind this system... To warn the driver when you are in the danger zone for rapid flash freezing.
So instead of calling them bimmers or beamers, we should be calling them bongers?
Sorry if a bit acidic today, just found out I've got a pinhlole between the main radiator and the tranny intercooler. Good news was they did all my burned out bulbs and swapped my tires around for free. Also getting lesson on how to do a tranny fluid flush myself.
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