Road trip gone wrong, or standed in Maine

It being time for a much-needed vacation, my girlfriend and I headed up to one of our usual haunts in Portland, ME. All went well for most of the drive, and we decided to stop in Ogunquit (another favorite spot) for a bit of shopping and dinner before we headed to our hotel. All good until we went to leave the shopping center - my Volvo V50 resolutely refused to crank. Ironically, I had replaced the battery yesterday to avoid any such problems, but I quickly determined this was not a battery issue, as the voltage was fine (later confirmed with battery tester). Checked all the connections - fine. Tried jumping - nothing. Checked for codes (OBD reader only, no proper scanner with me) - none. Tapped the starter - nothing. It's an automatic, so no bump starting.

At this point, I gave up and called AAA. Found a Swedish specialist shop about 5 miles away and decided to have it towed there. I'm guessing it's either the starter or the ignition switch. We'll see what the shop has to say in the morning.

Bummer.

Sounds like you got stuck in a cool place.

Did you try starting it in neutral? Could be a neutral safety switch, too. 

Sorry to hear about the car trouble, but I'm glad you found a local Indie to work on it!

I am sure this is a stupid questions, but since you changed the battery, are the terminals tight?

It happened to me in Jasper, Canada, middle of fing nowhere and took me a good while until I realized that was my issue. Fun. 

I checked the terminals first, assuming I had screwed up, but alas, they were tight. Also tried starting in neutral (and confirmed that the shifter selection was reflected correctly on the dash) but no dice there either.

This is the second time a Swedish car has failed me on a road trip. Years ago, my old Saab 9-5 blew up its turbo spectacularly on the SC/GA border en route from NY to FL. Coasted off the highway into a hotel parking lot. Shockingly, found a Saab specialist about five miles away, who then fixed the car over the weekend while we took a rental on to FL. I should learn from my mistakes, but I probably won't.

You said it was otto- 

I had something weird once happen- brake switch safety failure. The switch that indicated the brakes were on to allow the car to start failed, faulting to a "the brakes aren't on no start" scenario. I didn't find it. For two years. I forced the car with the emergency neutral button next to the shifter-  and eventually found out the switch was bad when someone told me i had no taillights. At all. Replace the switch, everyone is happy. Volvo is notorious for safety.....

I thought Swedish cars liked the cold? 

I am about two hours away. Not sure if I can help at this point. 

I'd vote brake light switch at the pedal is stuck. Hopefully it's that simple. 

It was unseasonably warm yesterday - maybe that was the problem.

Didn't think about the brake switch, but it's possible. Car is at the shop now, they're working on it, hopefully I'll know something soon.

Thanks for the offer Dean - I really appreciate it. Right now I think we're OK - I wouldn't want you to run all the way up here for nothing. If things go horribly sideways, I'll touch base.

I'm with the other folks on the brake switch, happened to my brothers S40 in Rehobeth one Thanksgiving with similar no start issues that you're speaking of. 

At least you found a specialist close by! Hopefully they can get you going soon, at least you're in a cool spot. My most recent road trip, I got a flat tire in Redwoods National Park and then my back hatch wouldn't open up to access the system to drop the spare down. The first tire shop I got a hold of in Crescent City, California had just taken off a set of tires from a 4Runner that matched mine and they got me back on teh road in no time. 

I am just up the street if you need anything. Work in Kittery, ME and live in Somersworth, NH.

Shop says it's the starter. Hopefully it will be ready by noon. Now the problem is the hotel seems to have canceled our reservation. Good times.

Sorry to hear about the Volvo, but if you're looking for a dinner suggestion, try The Lost Fire. 
 

Make a reservation. Bring money. 
 

https://thelostfire.com/

Preach, thanks for the offer. I think we're under control at this point, though I'm still waiting to hear from the shop. Hopefully soon.

Woody, I'm sure I would enjoy your suggestion, but I don't think my vegetarian girlfriend would find it quite as appealing.

I've spent far too long trying to sort things out with my previous reservation, so I requested it be cancelled (Marriott says it was, Hotels.com says it wasn't, finger-pointing and bickering ensue) and requested a refund. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I made a new booking for tomorrow, so at least that's set (fingers crossed).

Got the car back. This area is a transportation desert - no taxis, no rideshares, nothing. Tried every option and finally in desperation called the shop to see if they could have someone pick me up, which they did. It burns me to pay a not-insubstantial amount of money to have someone do this job, especially when I was just in there two weeks ago doing the thermostat housing and could have done the starter in 10 minutes, but the shop (Swedish Imports in Kennebunk) was great.

I once paid about a grand for an alternator replacement at a Honda dealer in FL while on vacation. I checked AutoZone and other stores, and their availability was sketchy (and their part was over $500), so I decided to pay the man. Swapping an alternator on a transverse V6 in 100 degree weather without my normal tools was an experience I was happy to skip. In all the work that's been done on the Odyssey, I think that's the only time it's actually been to the dealer for a repair.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I would have lent you my tacoma had I seen this earlier.

Glad things worked out.

In reply to preach :

That's very generous, but I would hate to have dragged you up here unless I had exhausted all the options.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Is this where you live?  We ate at Martha's Lobsters close to 37 years ago.  We love driving around that area. 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Del Norte Tire or Les Schaub?

Datsun240ZGuy said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Is this where you live?  We ate at Martha's Lobsters close to 37 years ago.  We love driving around that area. 

No, but that's where I plan to retire to in a few years.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Datsun240ZGuy said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Is this where you live?  We ate at Martha's Lobsters close to 37 years ago.  We love driving around that area. 

No, but that's where I plan to retire to in a few years.

Buying that compound on the ocean with the secret service huts?

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

Nope. Looking to downsize with a vengeance.