Hi All. 2nd week with my new '93 940 Wagon. When I first got the car, I tested the OD shifter switch, and saw that it indeed switch the orange arrow light on and off. However, I was not at highway speed, and did not notice whether or not it dropped from 4th to 3rd.

Then just today, right after I was done changing a couple of bulbs in the tail lights, I noticed that the orange arrow remained continuously lit, and the shifter switch no longer toggled it on and off. However, the car is definitely running through all 4 gears. On the highway at about 100km/hr, it was just under 3,000 RPM, which I think is about right for 4th gear.

Is there any way for this light to be stuck on, yet for the auto OD to still be engaged. Maybe a previous owner had the solenoid modified to stay in auto OD?

Any other possibilities? Should I bother pulling the relay, etc, or just leave it as is?

 

On my 740, I believe the OD was in the rear axle, not the tranny. So the car should still go into 4th, just not in OD. Have you read the owners manual?

Volvo Owner's Manuals

 

Yes, here's the quote from the manual:

4th gear disengagement:

The 4th gear is engaged automatically after the transmission has shifted through 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears at certain speeds and loads. By pressing in the button at the rear of the selector level, the 4th gear can be disengaged, thus providing a three-speed transmission. As a reminder the arrow light on the dashboard glows. By pressing in the button again, the transmission reverts to four-speed operation and the arrow light shuts off.

 

Yeah, if it engages the fourth, you are good. If the light comes on but the fourth, the OD, is still lit, then some possible electrical malfunction or modification is present...
(OD in the rear axle? That's a new one... And the "4th" is the OD as that tranny is a 3spd +OD)...

 

no, there's nothing in the rear axle, the OD is a 4th gear in the AW70/71 automatic transmission.

 

I have a 1994 940T with the OD orange arrow on. I should note that at 100km/h with the OD arrow off, RPM's should be about 2200 to 2300. With OD orange light on, RPM's will be about 3500. Your problem is likely with the relay or it's contacts.

In my case I can just barely touch the OD relay with my finger (back of the fuses). Moving it toggles the orange arrow on and off. If there is someone out there that can tell me with some detail on how to get good access to this relay, I'd love to know. There is a box with a cigarette lighter on top of the fuse/relay tray and there is a passenger side panel that I can't remove. I need to take the relay out, clean all contacts and replace it. Hopefully someone has done this before and can save me some time.

 

bluefox:

re: your 940 relay panel... there's a plastic bezel around the cigar lighter socket, this just unsnaps, and behind it is a screw (or two?). remove those screws, and that tray with teh cigar plug comes out (cigar plug has a pair of wires which you can unplug). now you have easy access to the fuses.

often on those 20 year old relays, its not just cleaning the contacts, but resoldering the circuit board that fixes them.

 

Thanks Pierce, I will attempt this tomorrow and post results.

 

Your RPMs at 100kmph, 62mph, should be about 2,700-2,800. The relay you need to look at is the middle row, last one on the right. I'd replace it--all that soldering is a hit and miss proposition. I just had a similar issue, the relay change too care of it...

 

Pierce, you were right. The cigarette lighter cover snaps off easily. I then removed two Philips screw and removed the entire tray. Great access to the OK relay. I pulled the relay and replaced it with one I had previously ordered from AutoPartsWAY because I thought this might be my problem. I drove for a test run, about 22km with two stops and engine shutdowns (10-15 minutes each), and so far all seems OK.

Also, a note to Lev. Seems like his speed and RPM is a bit out. My 940 turbo turns about 2200 RPM at 100 km/h. I checked this today. At 90 km/h it turns at 2000 RPM and at 110 km/h it is just under 2500 RPM. I'm not sure why you are indicating 2700-2800 RPM at 100 km/h. Must be a different vehicle, different engine and transmission.

Thanks for your response guys.

 

more likely different rear end ratio. turbos were mated with tall final drives. AW70/71 transmissions (pretty much all volvo 240/740/940 automatics since circa 1985) all have the same ratios. The AW72 tranmission used on the occasional 16V models has different ratios, however. and some non-turbo cars have lockup (AW70L or whatever) which makes for steadier RPMs at cruise... a non-L transmission might have +/-500 RPM of slack depending if you're pushing or coasting on the throttle, all at the same speed