Howdy Gang,
I'm working on a lady friends' 87 245 . The speedo doesn't work .
I have the Bentley and Haynes manuals .
I have the car up on 4 jack stands and I just can't see the speedo transmitter or how it is mounted on the diff.
Should I remove the Torque rod / panhard rod so I can see how the speedo xmitter is mounted or is there a trick you could share.
thanks
hank

 

Most likely 99% a bad spedo in instrument cluster itself. I would first mak sure all the connections are good on the cluster and then if they are try banging the dash as you drive sometimes this will make the spedo start working again just long enough so you know you need a new spedo. I have worked on hundreds of 240's and have not had to replace a pick up on the differential one time, it has always been a bad spedo or instrument cluster...try a replacement cluster first before you get into replacing a pick up (Big job) make sure you look at what number spedo you have or your speed will always be slightly off. But most likely you have a K9800 or a K10042. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply
I have a 89 245 in the junk yard that has the speedo cluster I'll give hitting the dash first.
Where would I look for the "K" number to ID the unit
thanks again
hank

 

OK. For every speedometer head unit that fails there's probably 20 sender connections that fail. Your sender is child's play to find. It is on the rear plate of the differential. Pretty obvious...has two wires connecting to it. Frankly, the wiring itself is often the issue as the sender is merely an electromagnet essentially. Exposed to road debris, the sender connections under the car fail much more than the speedo head itself. The spin ratio or K number is printed on the face of the speedo in small print but clearly visible.
Finally, I really can't recommend beating on your dash. Volvo 240 dashes are fragile enough without wailing on them.
In this photo, the speedo sender can clearly be seen on the right hand half of the rear plate of the differential.

 

I just mentally beat the dash.
2 ***** 4 screws and two plastic "gauge covers" and unhook the electrical plugs and the complete instrument panel was out. I got another instrument panel from the junkyard and plugged it in and it operates perfect.
I'm not sure if the speed is calibrated I'll try the hand held GPS tomorrow and see how they match up.

the photo shows the sender is under the Panhard rod --I found it hard to see how to remove it.

Thanks for the help
cheers
hank

 

The sender is below the pan hard in the picture, it has one allen head bolt holding it in. Remove the bolt, it's a friction fit because of o-ring seals. At the very worst, undoing one bolt on either end of the pan hard would allow access. Still, the sender itself seldom fails as there are no moving parts and it merely generates pulses. Many times, the difference in spin ratio, particularly sedan vs. wagon, is minute. The wagons used one size bigger tires as I recall. Rear end ratios affect the output, but by 87 Volvo had reduced the frequency and variety of rear end ratios. The majority were 3.73
It's good the speedo cluster swap worked, much less messy than crawling under the car.

 

Swift FYI: First, I did not say or mean for the guy to "BEAT on his dash and I'm sure we are all smart enough to know what I meant...you would really have to go at a dash to break it. 2nd, I have not had to replace one pick up and had to replace HUNDREDS of bad spedos...it's a common problem. For DIY's the pick up is a big job...most don't even own a proper jack or jack stands so starting with the cluster is the EASIEST especially when it's the most common to go bad. Look he unhooked the cluster put a new in and it works...been working on the 240's a LONG time...not going to stear anyone in the wrong direction. Thanks for your input.

 

For every speedometer head unit that fails there's probably 20 sender connections that fail-Sorry have to disagree...highly disagree. Pick ups rarely go bad...99.9% instrument cluster itself.

 

Glad it worked. Now, on the face of the spedo you will see the numbers that you need. What was your old spedo? What is the new? Most likely K10042 or K9800. Either one will work and if not exactly matching will not throw off spedo that much only talking a couple miles an hour or so if anything....Always start with the EASIEST most COMMON thing first then move on from there...that's what I do and it always seems to work out. Why work hard when you can work smart?

 

Both of these speedo's are K6241
both wagons are automatic

 

You in Canada? I believe that is a Canadian/European spec odometer...if they are same then you do not need to do anything else just drive and enjoy.