Volvo: Volvo 940, dashboard lights, dashboard light

Question
My Volvo 940 (no turbo) runs great but... When switching on the key (before starting the engine itself) , sometimes all the dashboard light do not light up and as a result my battery does not charge and I am now VERY SCARED of driving at night (I got stuck once just before the Midtown tunnel in NYC) as the beams are sucking up energy. When the battery is not charging, only 2 dashboard lights are lightning up (SRS + seatbelt). I gave it to my mechanic which could not figure out what the problem was.
I have moved to the West Coast and the problem did not improve. Any advise would help!

Answer
JB,
There is a failure in the charging system. It will need to be tested and traced out. I have seen dash board circuit boards, alternators, internal regulators, broken ground wires all cause strange charging system problems. Make sure that you go to a shop that works on Volvos as they know those unusally problems the car has.