My dip headlights stopped working and I reluctantly took the old girl to a Volvo dealer. I was informed that the CEM was faulty and needed replacing (along with a new headlight unit as one was faulty). I was quoted 1,200 pounds for the work which is not worth undertaking bearing in mind the value of the car.

Can I get a CEM from a similar model and just swap it with the one in my car?

If not any ideas of a work around

Thanks

Hi,

We are having the same problem with our V40 at the moment and have been quoted about £400 + VAT to replace our CEM. The £1100 you've been quoted seems to be incredibly steep!

Have a look on ebay for a second hand light fitting as you will get it at a fraction of the price.

From what i can gather you should be able to replace it with a CEM from another vehicle (scrapped v40) providing the part number is the same or if it is one that supercedes the current version in your car.

Hope this helps

If it was my car though I would not be replacing this unit to fix this fault as expensive. A cheaper option (and safe) is to wire a relay in, triggered by the good cem headlamp output. This would require you to find a good power source for the relay of the ignition wiring. DO NOT be tempted just to join the headlamp feed wires together thus eliminating the need for the relay as you will simply overload the other internal relay in the cem and then a new/second hand cem would be the only option.

Thanks for your reply Raydar

I think you are right, a relay is the way to go. I went to a Volvo salvage yard this afternoon and their advice was to run a wire from the good light to the bad, but like you said i thought it would probably overload and then both lights would be useless.

I've been trying to source a second hand CEM but they seem to be pretty difficult to get hold of.

Quick question though, would any garage be able to do a relay with the wiring?

Thanks again for your help

Not a hard job for anyone with some basic auto electric knowledge. Francise may refuse as easier to sell and fit new part but any mechanic worth their salt should find this simple enough.

gentlemen, try vandsautodismantlers.com they are in california, so i don't know what the shipping would be. also try fcpgroton.com for new parts. about the wiring, the last time i tried wiring something, the resultant explosion was felt in samoa. the fire, i heard, was quite spectacular as seen from the space shuttle :grin:

Excuse my poor effort on the drawing.

Very simple job really, will be no fires as long as a fuse is fitted as shown.

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Thanks for your input everyone. I know what to do now.

Thanks again