Hey all ,

i just got this 1984 240 gl this week and found out if i leave the battery hooked up it will be dead the next morning.. so i charged it back up and left it disconnected for 3 days and she fired right up so i did a test it with a meter and shows a 12v draw useing the neg post on the battery and neg cable .. i see no light inside the car left on ... any ideas ..thanks in advance

Brett

 

Hook the test light back up between the neg. battery post and the neg. battery cable and make sure the light is some where you can see it from the fuse panel. Next start pulling fuses one at a time until the test light goes out. That will be the circuit with the unwanted current draw. Then check all the wires and devices in that circuit. Figuring out which circuit is very easy, the rest takes a little investigation.

 

Great idea that's a great start Travanion.. ill get started on this after work and keep you posted ..Thanks for your help brother

 

just did the fuse thing and still i have a draw..

A friend told me to check the voltage regulator and thinks it integrated in the alternator
could this be true

 

the regulator is part of the brush assembly screwed onto the back of the alternator, replacements are $40-60.

but, first, pull the 25A fuse thats in a fuse holder right behind the battery, and see if THAT does anything.

there's 3-4 red wires connected to the positive terminal, piggyback style. 1 is that 25A fuse (which powers the fuel injection system). another is the 'positive terminal' which is a little black plastic box on the left fender wall behind the battery a ways. and the big red wire goes to the starter, then to the alternator. so separate these wires, and connect one at a time to the battery plus while doing your test light on the ground thing.

if its the medium fat red wire that goes to the positive terminal, then reconnect everything to the battery +, and open up the cover on that positive terminal, and there's a pile of red wires on there all connected via spade lugs. try pulling those one at a time and using your test light.

 

a few possibilties for this drain, btw...

1) trunk light not turning off.
2) engine hood light not turning off (assuming you have one and it still works at all)
3) glove box light not turning off.
4) stuck relay leaving something powered that shouldn't be, like the EFI or AC or something.


sadly, 84 is in the window (83-87) of bad wiring harnesses, aka 'bio degradable wiring'. Volvo switched insulations circa 1982 to less toxic stuff in advanced of the RoHS movement, and these harnesses turned brittle and cracked prematurely. in late 87, they switched to a better formula, and solved this problem.

 

will do pierce and thanks for all the good info..this car has alot of updated wireing repair so who knows what it can be.. ill try to fig it out some today at lunch time and will keep you posted... how good are these engines and transmissions(4cyl auto)

 

i did the pulling the fuse thing one at a time would that eliminate 1)2)3)4) noted

 

 

i cant see the 25 amp fuse unless its the silver relay your talking about i see a 30 amp inline from the pos cable

 

The silver relay is your high/low headlight relay. Just behind that is a little black box that has a bunch of positive wires going into it. Just behind the little black box is where the FI fuse usually resides. The previous owner may have moved it. Yes, when you place the test light between the neg. cable and post the light should not be on as long as you don't have the ignition on or any accessories on, i.e. radio, blower fan, parking lights. If the light is on there is definitely a draw. When you pull the fuses you break the circuit. If you pull a fuse and the light goes out, that is the circuit with the unwanted draw. So any circuit that does not cause the light to go out is not the circuit with a unwanted draw. Best of luck and don't give up. That engine will last forever if you change the oil and do the maintenance. I have never owned an automatic transmission Volvo before but I hear they are pretty good too.

 

the B23F or B230F engines are like tank motors, the core motor is nearly indestructible if you don't do anything stupid like drive it without coolant (and even that probably just means a head gasket, not a whole new motor). They are a cast iron 'slant 4', they are a non-interference motor so if the timing belt breaks the valves and pistons don't crash together. The LH fuel injection is a very simple and robust system, and generally quite problem free.

the AW70/AW71 automatic transmissions are also very durable robust auto. AW is Aisin-Warner, which is Toyota's transmission company, and these transmissions were used (as Toyota A43 or something) in mid 80s high end RWD toyotas, like the Supra Turbo. As long as you occasionally flush and give them fresh ATF, they should last a long time. With hard driving, we got about 250K miles on our 1987 240 before the AW70 needed a minor rebuild (bands were slipping), and its got another 150K on the rebuild and is still fine.

 

Thanks man great news to hear.. with 125,000 miles on her should i be changing the timing belt soon

 

Thanks man this sounds like a weekend job where ill have time will keep you all posted ... i do like the way this car drives it has a new steering rack on it and most of the front suspension has been replaced from the previous owner..

 

Off the top of my head, I believe its considered a 60K mile replacement item. its a fairly easy job as timing belts go, but I hear you need a impact wrench to remove the crank pulley. To be thorough, you should consider replacing the water pump and thermostat while you're in there. and considering the age of the engine, replacing the camshaft and crankshaft seals is probably a good idea too. USE ONLY REAL VOLVO CAM/CRANK SEALS!!! the aftermarket seals are junk and fail early. oh, it should go without saying, new timing belt tensioner, and I'd use all new accessory belts too.

Do yourself and/or any future owner a favor, and write the timing belt replacement mileage on the belt cover plate in some sort of indelible paint, or put a service sticker with it somewhere under the hood (radiator support bracket, or whatever). "TB - 125K mi." ....

 

i was just going throught more of the service records and found out that the belt was changed @ 123,000 miles but was 3 years ago.. these people used this car as their winter car in florida but live in the uk.. they had about 3,000 bucks in repairs done in the past 5 years including the rack , starter ,intake manifold etc ...lol why the intake manifold ill never know .and
i even have the org window sticker lol ill post a picture of it later the car new in 1984 was 16,000.

Brett

 

ok, then assuming nothing catastrophic like a major oil leak puking all over the belt, you're good to 180k on that...

 

you know just for good measure im going to take the belt cover off to check and make sure it was done you know how some shops are...lol..is it easy to take the cover off

 

the earlier cars have mechanical fans that are in the way and need to be removed to get the cover off. later cars (1992+ 740/940 at least, I've not worked on a newer 240) have electric fans only, so are simpler

but, yeah, 3-4 bolts and the upper 2/3rds of the cover comes off. its easier if you remove the radiator shroud first.

 

great i should be able to inspect said doing that .. ok one more thing

i have the corona wheels and missing one center-cap any ideas where to get a good one at a good price i checked ebay and the forums classifieds junk on ebay with no lock spring