My 1996 850 has just failed its MOT due to,among a couple of minor things,the ABS light not illuminating.

Having looked in the handbook I'm unsure whether the warning light is supposed to illuminate upon start up along with the rest - mine stays off which is leading me to suspect it may just be a blown dash bulb.

Any clues?

Yes it should illuminate along with the rest of the dash lights at start up. I'm like you, I think it is just the dash bulb, as the ABS light comes on when the unit fails, which by the way it is guaranteed to do.

Thanks jks2. I'll have a go at the dash tomorrow and see if I can at least swap a bulb across and test it that way.

I'll keep you posted!

All the warning lights on your vehicle's dashboard should illuminate when the ignition is initially turned on and then go off when the engine fires - providing no "hard" faults are recorded in the EMU.

It certainly sounds like the ABS fault globe in the dashboard of your vehicle is 'blown'.

The ABS light in mine lights up for a few seconds only. It does not stay lit as long as i take, until i crank.

hi, having just bought a T5R, I failed to notice the ABS light not working and the TRACS too. MOT is only 2 month onld though ! doodgy garage, yes poss and a dodgy dealer too.
how do i remove the dash to get to the bulbs and what is the abs globe ? I am new the volvo 850, but can't get enough of it ! just a few things to fix to make it great.

rgds

If you REALLY want to remove the dash, just run a search in this forum on the title. I've posted quite a few on this, including photos of where the screws ought to be, etc.

Good luck.

Alternatively, see if you cant touch the base of the displaypanel, via the dashboard cover underneath the dash.

Aye, dash removal is not a quick thing to do your first/second time around, so make sure you have some time available to do this. It i not difficult, just a little time consuming, so take your time and make sure you do it right (removing all the little hidden screws, removing the pasenger air bag connector, etc)

Make sure you disconnect the battery, prior to disconnecting the air bag.

If the problem has occurred since you have owned the car, the ABS bulb may simply have been removed. Its a way some people will hide problems, that do not no directly affect how the car runs, instead of actually fixing/replacing the ABS module. Found several bulbs missing in my 850 when I did a dash bulb replacement (my trip computer lights were out).

There are a bunch of bulbs in the dash panel, and Volvo charges about $10 a bulb (replacing them all can run over $200), although I wa told by someone here that Honda bulbs are practically identical and much cheaper.

The bulbs come in 500 pieces in a small box. The place where i got mine, i was charged lower than even at my fav mechanic's place, plus i can change the bulbs if its damaged from factory etc.

Try the autoparts store. Any one. Just not the dealer's place.