Hello,
I am completely new to Volvo's and was hoping someone here might help me. I am borrowing a 1990 Volvo 240 from a friend right now and am having a problem. I took out the battery to clean the terminals, check water levels, etc., and after reconnecting it, I can't get the car to start. I think it's an alarm issue. Obviously the 'horn' for the alarm is disconnected as there is only flashing and no noise. On the drivers side console there is a little black rectangular control box with 2 switches: sensor (on or off), and a switch that goes between valet, manual, and auto. A little red LED on this box is blinking 3 times every three or four seconds and the car will not start.
How do I start the car???
I've tried everything I could think of: putting it in neutral, flipping all the switches, locking and unlockng the door with the key, opening and shutting the hood, disconnecting the neg. battery terminal....not sure what else to do. There is no door opener/car alarm 'remote.'
I'd be very grateful if anyone could explain to me how to bypass this alarm/fix this situation and get the car started!
Thanks so much!

 

Does the engine crank when you try to start it, or is it completely dead? See if the alarm manual is in the car, (glove box)? Do you have spark? If the engine cranks and there's no spark, then somewhere there is a kill switch grounding the ignition system. If you can disconnect it, it should start.

 

Well, it was simply a fuse. Pulled out a dummy fuse and the engine turned over. Thanks for replying though!

 

Some times I say to myself "It's staring me right in the face but I'm just not looking at it", and when I find the problem I think, DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That’s an old theft deterrent - a dummy fuse that looks real but won't pass current to the ignition, etc. Here’s another one - a piece of black vacuum hose with a boot on each end that looks like the h/t lead from distributor to coil, but is really only a piece of rubber. Ha Ha! A car thief would go nuts trying to track that one down.