Hi- I'm on my 4th 240, this one is a 1993 luxury model (with air conditioning!). I use it to pull a utility trailer which unfortunately has to be wired into the tail lights, in my estimation, the most troublesome aspect of 240s.

I read somewhere over the years, about rewiring a tail light system so that the lights will consistently work without that pta film. I tried searching the forums with no luck, perhaps I'm not using the right search strategy?

Any help on how to fix the problem would be most appreciated.

 

I recall seeing it someplace a while back but can't remember where. I do recall the picture of the flex circuit and remember seeing how each printed circuit was replaced with a soldered on wire. The wires were soldered to the bulb holders and there was an aftermarket connector replacing the existing one. It looked like a simple conversion but a little time consuming. I believe that the flex circuit was not removed.

 

Do a google search on "hard wire volvo 240 tail lights" and you'll find a few methods on how it is done.

 

I had that problem on my 1988 DL. I finally hard wired my lights and that was the end of the problem. But I DID put some effort into it. I wired straight to the bulb holders.

The bulb holders do not take solder well. I got the old original Volvo bulb holders to take a good solder joint after scraping the metal with sand paper and using some flux. Replacement bulb holders from aftermarket light fixtures are a real nightmare when trying to get a good solder joint. Maybe some other people can chime in on that.

Do not try to solder to the flimsy circuit board. It really won't work. You might get lucky and get a couple of acceptable joints but NOT ALL of them.

 

Had the same problem with my '89 740.


I bought a bunch of blade connectors, crimped wires to them, and slid the blade connectors directly onto the bulb tabs. I then attached the wires to the corresponding feeder wires that powered the film/circuit board. So far so good.