Hi All,


First...thanks for reading this..
Second: apologies if there's a thread on this topic, but I didn't quite find one that matched my issue, so...


Third: The issue.


1988 244GL. Low beams work fine. When I pull the turn signal stalk to activate the high beams, there is no change. No blue high beam indicator on the dash, and no high beams. The low beams do NOT go off, just no change.


I recently replaced one of the headlight relays (the one that keeps your low beams off and will only activate any headlights by pulling on, and holding, the turn signal stalk to activate high beams).


Clearly it's not a crippling problem like having no low beams, but it is inconvenient, especially when I'm trying to inch my way past a new Panamera or Cayman at 66mph when they are doing 64mph in the left lane..LOL


Thanks in advance.
Tim

 

Bump bump

 

if you don't get temporary high beams when you pull on the stalk, I am inclined to suspect the stalk switch itself has gone bad.

 

Thanks Pierce. Any diagnostic suggestions other than just throwing parts at it?

 

well, I'd be in there with the wiring diagrams and a volt meter, tracing the circuits and figuring out where things aren't working according to expectations before I'd toss any parts at it.

 

That's probably what I'll end up doing...I just didn't know if there was another relay that I was missing. Recently I had the situation where I had no headlights and only had high beams when I pulled the stalk towards me, but a relay swap fixed that.

 

well, lets see, I'm digging up my 1987/1988 240 electrical greenbook...

assuming this is a US model...

ok, the 240 uses a step relay in addition to the main headlight power relay. the bulb failure module is only on the lowbeam circuit. if the low beams are working, the main headlight power relay is working.

so... the highbeam stalk switch has only a single brown wire, the switch grounds it momentarily. this brown wire goes to pin 31B of the step relay. pin 56 of the step relay is a yellow wire thats powered via the main headlight relay. pin 15 is a red wire always powered, pin 81a is a blue wire from pin 15 (so also always powered).

when you ground the brown pin 31b, the relay 'toggles' between connecting 56 (headlight power) to 56B (blue wire to lowbeams) and pin 56A (red wires to high beams, also white-red wire to highbeam indicator on dash).

this 'step' relay is up front near the left headlight, it has two 'T' shaped connectors plugged into it, one has 56, 56a, 56b, and the other has 15, 31b and 81a. if you unplug the connectors, and jumper pin 15 to 56a, the high beams should come on even if the car is off. if you jumper 56 to 56A, the high beams should come on if the car is switched on and the headlights are switched on. if those both work, I suspect that step relay is dead.

if they don't work, verify that pin 56 (yellow) is 'hot' when the headlight switch is on with the ignition on. if there's no power there, then I'm confused, your low beams shouldn't be working either.

 

pierce, you the man!

Thanks, just what I needed to get to troubleshooting. Have the same problem (low beams work fine, but no high beams). Of course, it happened after I was bragging to my wife how much better my 30 year old high beams looked compared to her 5 year old car. Big mistake, high beams quit working on the volvo within a week. I know this thread is old, but it was the most helpful post I found on the issue.

One question, is the headlight switch supposed to have a noticeable "click' when switching between high and low beams? mine does not have this, seems like it used to. Wondering if it is just the switch.

 

i don't have my 240 any more, but I do seem to remember, if you pulled it gently, the high beams flashed but it didn't click, if you pulled it more firmly, it clicked, and the highbeams stayed on. so yeah no click sounds likea broken switch to me.

 

I know this is at a much later date! Thank you Pierce for your knowledge on the relay wires, etc. My switch is making noise but no high beams. I jumped 15 to 56a and got nothing. I jumped 56 to 56b and low beams came on. I’ve had no problem with low. I jump 56 to 56a and nothing. Wouldn’t that suggest the problem was between the relay and the lights or could that be the step relay? I’m trying to get her to pass inspection.
...Any help on this would be appreciated!

Thank you in advance,
dlbordessa

 

Take your high/low relay off (rectangular/silver) Carefully pry the case off (to be able to crimp it back on) and note how it works - a solenoid actually moves a mechanical switch from the high to the low position and back. The solenoid is simply grounded (and energized) by the wire going to the turn signal switch when you pull the switch back.