OK, My kid took the car to the gas station and everything was fine until he parked at the pump. Smoke and burning electrical smell started to come out from the shifter housing. I met him at the station, and we took off the shifter cover that is held with the 2 screws in the front of the housing. I fiddled with interlock to get it out of park since the car wouldn't start while in park. We moved the shifter to neutral and the car started right up. Now, if we move it to park and turn off the car, the car won't start. It has to be in neutral for the car to start. Any ideas of what got burnt? (Which I really don't see anything melted but still smells like something got seriously melted and burnt) - And how to fix the "No start in Park" issue???
Any leads and fixes greatly appreciated :-)

 

Could it be the PNP switch? maybe park got burnt up, but neutral still works?

 

Thank you,
You might be correct, the car starts when shifter placed in "Neutral" - NOT when in "Parked" Now my question is how to access and replace this PNP Switch?

 

It is located right in where you are looking already. As always, verify it is the issue before replacing.

I attached a thread with a part link(although for 88-89) and location.
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...h-240-t-71508/

 

Also, check out Youtube - you'll find some vids for replacing the "neutral safety switch" (aka park-neutral-position switch). Also check out other forums like Matthews or Swedespeed or a volvo store blog like IPD or FCP for any how to write ups as you may need to do some positioning/adjusting once the new part is installed.

 

Thank you,

Just wanted to make sure before ordering the part ($20.00 from IPD) I did removed the "neutral safety switch" did not crack it open by bending the tabs from the metal cover to the plastic body of the switch though. Reason is that it does smell really charred, so I am pretty sure it gave up the ghost already. Besides below the switch in the shifter "well" for lack of a better word, nothing else really looks out of place or burned out. I guess the hard part is to follow the wiring to the connector that is supposed to be under the dash. I will use a piece of string when removing it to guide the wiring again under the carpeting with the new unit
Thanks