Volvo has always been about two things: safety and practicality. While many have derided Volvo's box-on-wheels styling as a bit underwhelming, Volvo itself would respond that its cars were exactly what they were supposed to be: boxes on wheels. A noble degree of honesty, and as practical a notion as any. Of course, a wheeled box is only as practical as the box of electricity inside is functional, and only as safe as the person who jumps it back into life.
Park the front of the donor vehicle's car as close as possible to the front of the Volvo S80, and open both vehicles' hoods. The battery is in the front right compartment of the Volvo, just behind the driver's-side headlight. Turn off all lights and accessories, and unplug all electronics (cell, gps, etc.) on both cars.
Locate the two terminals on the ends of the battery; you'll find them notated with a "+" for positive and a "-" for negative. Some aftermarket battery terminals use the colors red for positive or black for negative. Don't get them backward.
Connect one end of your red jumper cable to the positive on the donor car, and the other end to the positive on the Vovlo. Connect one end of your black jumper to the negative on the donor car, and the other end to a metal engine bracket or solid metal chassis component on the Volvo. Do not hook it to the Volvo's negative battery terminal.
Start the engine of the donor vehicle and allow the engine to run for about five minutes. Then, with the clamps still attached to both vehicles, try starting the engine of the Volvo S80. If it doesn't start, wait 10 minutes and try again. Once both vehicles are running, take off the clamps of both vehicles in the opposite order you put them on: Volvo ground, donor ground, then Volvo positive and donor positive.
Rev the Volvo's engine up to about 2,500 rpm briefly to ensure the alternator is charging. Drive the car or allow it to idle for at least 15 minutes before shutting it off.
