Hi Everyone

Recently my empty waterbottle indicator light has appeared on my dash and despite filling the bottle to the brim and disconnecting the battery overnight, the light remains.

I just went into Volvo today they want about $200 (Australian) to remove the water bottle to get to the sensor and replace with a new sensor. I'm not too fussed as I've never in the history of driving ever run out of water in the bottle..

What I want to know is:

1. how do I get to the sensor?;
2. once there, can i merely unplug the sensor and would that mean that the light would turn off?

I don't care if that never works ever again, I just want the light off... I hate warning lights.

Cheers

Had a similar problem with my previous car, a 440.

Took a look at it. The sensor unit went into one side of the washer fluid bottle & had 2 wires coming out of it. Since I was about to part-exchange the car with a Volvo stealership for my T4 (and they were, i.m.o., ripping me off on the px deal), I simply cut the 2 wires as close to the sensor as possible, covered the loose live ends with a little insulating tape & tucked them well out of sight. Hey presto, no more annoying warning light!

If I had been keeping the car, the job looked fiddly because the sensor goes into a hole in the side of the bottle, so when fitting a new sensor it is critical to get a good watertight seal. If I were you, I'd talk to the dealer again & find out the price of a new sensor & whether it comes with a new rubber sealing grommet/whether a new grommet is available. Alternatively, maybe source a washer fluid bottle with sensor fitted, from a breaker's yard or online vehicle breaker.

The sensor on the S40/V40 bottle is on the rear of the bottle, so access is gained by removing the front road wheel on that side & then removing the wheel arch plastic liner.

Good luck.

BB
:57:

Thanks BB

The guy at Volvo is a fool... I asked him if it involved removing the front wheel and the guard trim to access the bottle and he gave some vague lame answer. It seems as tho they don't want you to do anything yourself but hand over wads of cash for them to do a relatively basic job.

Looks like one for the weekend, cut the wire and cover with insulation tape...

Yup, Volvo hate the thought of money slipping through their fingers & are positively & deliberately unhelpful when it comes to advice on what's involved/how best to tackle the job.

If you're going to the trouble of getting access, then if cost of a new sensor & grommet is reasonable then maybe it's worth considering replacement rather than disabling the old one?

If a new grommet cannot be sourced, then applying some plumber's silicone sealant when re-fitting the old one should do the trick - it will seal virtually anything!

Best of luck, hope it goes smoothly.

Regards.

BB
:thumbsup:

Hi BB

Traced the problem. I did a full lock and noticed that the guard had been scrubbed by tyre rub (I've got 18s). But what really annoyed me was the job that a Volvo dealer did when they tinkered with the car's wiring harness to fix a computer dash glitch.

I pulled the wheel off and the guard off to reveal the wiring loom instead of being tucked away neatly was dangling loose. As the tyres rubbed the guard, it also rubbed the wires until the insulation had gone and bear wires were hanging on for dear life. The washer bottle wire had worn off entirely.

Remedy: re solder and attach damaged wiring, unbolted the harness holder, taped up the loom and placed it behind the harness holder, rebolted the harness holder and hey presto warning light fixed. I only shudder to think what other wires I had worn thin...

Very disgusted at Volvo...

... with bl**dy good reason.

How many seconds did their tech save by leaving the loom hanging?!!!

May the hungry fleas of a thousand camels infest his crotch forever.

Glad you got it sorted before major problems manifested themselves t4orce.

Wishing you safe & happier Volvoing in 2006.

BB
:beer:

Ta mate, cross my fingers and hope for the best. Hope yours goes well too this year. Cars can be so tempremental. lol...

Cheers - that's why we call them "she" I think!

BB
:lol: