Hi all, I'm now the owner of a 1988 240 DL wagon. Purchased for $900 yesterday. Odometer says 262k, but it's not working, so who the hell knows what kinda mileage it has. The owner said that the speedo is on/off, but I didn't see it work at all on the way home (1hr drive). It's a 5spd, which is the main reason I bought this specific one. I was having trouble finding a manual transmission 240 wagon in my price range. Apparently it hasn't really seen a road in 3 years, but it's been started occasionally in the yard. We had to replace the entire steel fuel return line when I picked it up because it was absolutely dumping fuel when running.

It's definitely got it's issues, but I plan on spending a good amount of time working on it this summer to get it reliable for school commutes this fall (350 mi drive one way, couple times per month). The engine starts right up, and seems pretty strong (for the weakling it is). No smoke, either.

Here are the more significant issues:

1) Oil light comes on when cold-started. Goes away and stays off if I rev the engine just a bit. Never comes on when driving. Is this a normal issue for older 240s?

2) Brake failure light came on when driving it around the block today. I pushed on the brake pedal relatively hard, and I heard a very light snap from somewhere, and the light immediately came on. The brakes still work, but they are pretty squishy, not much worse than before the light came on. Haven't had a chance to look for leaks yet. I obviously won't take brakes for granted until I figure that out.

3) Speedo and odometer don't work. The wiring and connector at the rear axle appear to be in good shape, so I assume a replacement cluster is in order?

4) Some rust spots (outlined in photo album). Nothing super serious, but a couple will probably need some love.



The rest of the problems are pretty minor, and I'll probably just figure them out over time. As far as myself, I'm 18, but I'm a pretty competent home mechanic. I've had several E36 BMWs, and I've done absolutely everything on them (motor swaps, auto to manual swaps, suspension, etc, etc). So I'm pretty confident in getting neck deep into a car. Right now I drive an M3 swapped 1995 318is with about 275hp and a track suspension. So this volvo couldn't been any different, but I think it's a neat car.

Seller's photo album is here:

5 Speed 240 Wagon photo, picture, image on Use.com

-CJ

 

Howdy!

Oil... I'd just echo this post: https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...l-light-61540/

Brakes... I don't have any particular place to start here. I'd look for leaking brake fluid somewhere. And I'd want to catch it asap. Brake fluid does some rather nasty things to automotive paint.

Speedo/odo--lots of possibilities... but i'd see if you can snag just the speedo part of the cluster on ebay or a junk yard. Junk yards are tricky, because you don't always know if they work.
Alternatively, it could be the integrated circuit on the board. I replaced mine... see about post #17 on my thread in my signature. This is not to difficult to do if you are handy with a soldering iron... but if not, it is a bit tricky.
And before I'd do that, is everything else on the cluster working? (Temp, fuel, clock/tach, all other lights?) It kind of just depends on where you want to start. The IC going bad is less likely unless some moron hooks up the white wire with the red stripe to the wrong place in the cluster. (Don't ask me how I know.)

Hope this gives you some place to start.

 

As far as the oil light, I don't believe that it is the sensor or wiring, because when it comes on, it doesn't flicker at all. My guess it just a worn out oil pump that can't quite keep up the pressure at idle speed when it first starts.

I agree about the brakes. I'm gonna let it sit in the garage for a bit, and hopefully I'll see a little puddle where it's leaking.

The cluster is otherwise functional except the speedo and odometer. I'm not really sure why I would bother replacing just the speedo out of the cluster, though? The odometer also doesn't work, and I'd imagine no junk yard / ebay seller is going to want to sell me just the speedo gauge out of a cluster.

Thanks,

CJ

 

oil stabilizer for the oil problem

speedo cluster: try the instrument cluster voltage stabilizer first...super cheap 6 dollars including delivery find it here in k-jet.org...search voltage stabilizer.

has seen some salty air right?

 

Thanks for the tip on oil stabilizer. I'll give it a shot! Unfortunately we just did an oil change when he sold it to me.

Voltage stabilizer was a good guess. I tested it according to k-jet.org, and it's putting out 9.9v, which is within spec. So I don't believe that's the problem. The PO said that sometimes hitting the dash would cause the speedo to come back on...

Not really sure about the salty air. I heard that it used to be an Upstate NY car, but it's been in the tri-state area for about a decade.

Thanks!

 

So I diagnosed the speedo problem using this info here: 1989 Volvo 240 Speedometer Diagnostic

The AC voltage is reaching the connector for the speedo, but the speedo still doesn't work. I've tried wiggling the wires and I'm pretty certain that it's not a bad contact. I guess I'm in the market for a new speedometer then?

Also, there's this one single blue wire that's associated with the cluster harness. When I look on the wiring diagram, it says "shift indicator control unit pin". I can't figure out where it plugs in on the cluster, or if it is supposed to at all. I assume this has to do with overdrive, so I guess I don't need it, since mine is 5spd. I just want to make sure that this isn't related to the speedo issue. I've attached a picture of the diagram.

 

You do/have a OD....on the manual transmissions.....you got an M45 or M46 transmission with an overdrive unit attached to the transmission....I got an M45 4speed and if I wanted to add 5th gear I would simply yank the back portion of your transmission and I got my OD....so that wire might need to be attached to the back of the cluster....

well...I got a wiring diagram here with two wires coming from the transmitter(rear axle) sensor to the speedometer...black or dark is NEGATIVE and light colored wire is Ground(colored other than black)
One wire coming from ignition switch that is, obviously, Positive.

check out the link with a picture of a cluster with the wires attached still.
Volvo 240 instrument cluster | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

Mine actually has the real 5-speed (no electronic 5th gear). I believe it's called the M47?

And your speedometer appears to be a different model from mine. Mine has a connector with 3 pins that are the same as you described. I made a thread at TurboBricks, and I think that we've diagnosed it as a shorted capacitor.

240 Non-working speedometer - Turbobricks Forums

 

Yes your right I took a look at a picture of the M47 and it is different than an M45 or 46..I was under the impression all three had the 5th gear attachment....

 

Ok, the speedo issue has been solved. The power decoupling capacitor was shorted out. Apparently it is only used to decrease electrical noise interference. Removal of the capacitor lead to a working speedometer. For anyone curious, the diagnosis was outlined here:

240 Non-working speedometer - Turbobricks Forums

Also, the odometer wasn't working, and I opened it up to find that the odometer gear had a broken tooth. No surprise there. A new one was ordered from FCP (along with a Motive Power Bleeder. I've wanted one forever and it should work with my BMW as well as the 240).


Onto the brakes tomorrow. Noticed something strange while driving today. The driver side rear wheel would lock up if I punched the brakes. Also, when I got back, the wheel was noticeably VERY hot. The wheel rotates, but there is certainly excessive resistance. Also, the passenger side rear's rotor was still kinda dirty on the face. Looks like it wasn't engaging. I will be jacking up the car tomorrow to take a better look at the function of the brakes.


-CJ

 

Awsome,..! good to hear...

"bad brake junction box" a leak maybe...
or a bad rear brake valve...
worn out pads...even parking brake pads.
brake booster malfunction.

 

So all of the brakes are grabbing except the passenger rear. No grab at all. The reducer valve (rear brake valve) is leaking at the hose end for the passenger side (pictured). I assume that's what is causing the brake not to work. It's a very slow leak. There isn't any visible fluid movement when the brake pedal is pressed. I'm hoping that reseating the hose with teflon tape will fix the leak.

Also, the driver rear brake seems to have a sticky caliper. I was able to open it with some channel locks. I'm not sure if this would be related to the other problem or not...

 

even with the native 5 speed M47's, there's an upshift indicator light which gets a mix of signals and lights a yellow up arrow when it thinks you could use a taller gear. I had one on a VW jetta 5 speed and found it really annoying.

the blue wire goes from the speedometer to pin "G" of the upshift control unit relay thing, which this drawing I'm looking at indicates is tucked deep in behind the far left corner of the dashboard, like behind/under the left hand airvent? this control unit also gets unswitched power from fuse 9, ground, the clutch switch, the OD light if you had a m46, a RPM signal from the tachometer, and said upshift light.

 

Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna bother with the upshift light. I don't need my car to tell me when to shift, damn it!



So I replaced the odometer gear and the fun doesn't seem to have ended yet.

Put everything back together and the trip odometer moved a few tenths and then stopped. Pulled the gears out, double checked that it was clean and everything spun smoothly. Then I tested it with the odometer motor disengaged from the gears. The motor moves at slower speeds (It's movement is pulsated, is it supposed to do that?) but once it hits 40mph or so, the motor stops until the speed drops below 40mph again.

I'm guessing the motor is pretty much shot and it doesn't have enough power to move the gears. I checked the solder connections. One looked like it might be cracked, so I laid down some fresh solder. No change.

Looks like I'll have to buy a replacement speedo? Unless somebody has a broken one and wouldn't mind sending me the odometer motor for cheaps?

 

its more likely the electronic drive to the stepper is toast than the motor itself.

or there's a tiny bit of plastic from a broken gear tooth or someting stuck in there somewhere.

 

For the rear brakes, the sticky caliper is probably the cause of your issues. I have never had issues with a rear brake reducer (the thing in your picture, I'm not sure what it is called but it reduces the pressure on the rear brakes so they don't lock up before the fronts) but that won't rule it out as a culprit. Either way, I would replace both back calipers with rebuilt units. For the leaking rear brake reducer, I'd pull one from the junkyard.

On the speedometer, I understand that your testing is with the motor disconnected from any gears, correct? If so, that should eliminate any gear tooth jamming up the works. Check the solder joints on it to make sure there are no cracks. Re-solder them if they look suspect. There really isn't much to go wrong in the motor that drives the odometer other than solder joints. Another suspect is the ITT2115 chip that drives the motor. It provides the pulses that step the odometer motor - and, yes, it should pulse as you mentioned.

 

I have ordered a set of brake reducers from someone on the forums and I've also ordered new rubber lines. I plan on replacing them, and if that doesn't solve the issue, I will go with new calipers.

I can't find any solder joint cracks, but I'll look again. I assume that the electronic drive chip isn't something that I can buy somewhere? I've also found a cluster for a reasonable price, so I think I'm just gonna buy that.

 

actually, you CAN get those ITT 2115 chips, see Electronic Speedometer Notes

the chips proper part number is UAF-2115, it was originally made by ITT. They can be had on ebay etc.

re broken bits of gear teeth, I was referring to the sticking odometer.

 

Ah, thanks for that. Looks like it's only $2.50 on ebay, but it's coming from China, so I'd have to wait a couple weeks. Doesn't look like they're available anywhere else. I think I'd go that route if I was sure the chip was the problem. But I'll probably just buy a replacement speedometer. I hate to give up on this one, but it's being a huge pain.

 

small/light packages from Hong Kong and such often arrive via China Air Post surprisingly fast, sometimes less than a week.