Are you sure your switch is baddd? Not impossible, but I have never seen a bad one. It should be OPEN with the pedal up, and then CLOSED with pedal depressed. You should have 12v at the green?/red. Then current goes thru the switch (pedal depressed) and adds boltage to the red/blue.? Whatev, you get the idea...


How did you "check" your relay? Curious.

From my computer chair I give your engine a satisfactory inspection. Besides maybe the missing preheat stuff ( if emissions inspection is involved). And that container of fluid sitting over there! Not the first time I have seen that in a volvo, but that is a red flag the thing eats oil or has leaks! or the current owner chooses to store fluid there. ; )

 

Got my brake light switch put in! a pain to get to.... here is the link to the part

ECH SL322

NAPA AUTO PARTS

remove knee bolster, remove cruise control pressure switch, then use an 11/16 wrench to loosen the nut on the bolt on the firewall side. install in reverse order. adjust sensors.

 

Got all 3 of my shift bushings replaced. my shifter feels nice and solid.





i had to trim off one side of every bushing to get them in place

 

Id like to improve on the factory exhaust system without making it loud. suggestions?

 

Yep that's where a brake light switch goes. Brake lights work now?

Good job learning how to do the basic stuff on these cars. It can feel pretty rewarding when you succeed. These cars are easy to work on and abundant in the junkyards so I enjoy driving and working on 'em.

 

I suggest you keep the factory exhaust. The minute you start welding aftermarket crap on there you will make the exhaust system less reliable.

The best bet to make your car more fun to drive would be a cam swap to something like the VX cam.

 

hey thanks!! i took the relay apart and checked all the connections for continuity. it checked out. ohmed out the switch, BAD. i really enjoy my volvo already. im looking for another! i really want a wagon.

on a side note, changed out the fuel pump in one of my corvettes today. and just ordered an optispark for another. oh what a joy those are...

 

trimming the shift linkage bushings to get them on easier is also going to make them fall off easier. they /are/ a SOB to get into place, it helps to put them in a glass of hot water first so the rubber is as pliable as possible, and grease them up with some silicone.

 

Thanks for the advice Pierce. I knew there was some way to do it right, I was just in a hurry. I'm going to order 3 more and do it right when I have more time

 

Ah, a man that knows his way around a multimeter! I am glad to hear that! I don't always mean to be the ******* around here, but damn is it frustrating when people refuse to use a multimeter for the most BASIC diagnostics! I can tell when they don't understand and won't admit it and dodge the questions.

I need to learn how to use an oscilloscope. Looking to buy one for automotive use to check sensor waveforms. Suggestions?

 

Haha I'd loose my job if I didn't know how to use it! I totally understand man. I have an oscilloscope and I've messed with it a few times, but I'd really love to get good at using it. I need to ask my friend to teach me. I have a gynisis otc scan tool that I love

 

I was hoping to find something handheld for $100-$200 to start off with while i learn what the hell I am doing.

I now work on cars professionally and need to bump up the skill level to where I can diagnose a car quickly, efficiently, consistently; and diagnosed correctly the FIRST time. Firing the parts cannon is not an option if you want to have a happy customer. We have scan tools, but nothing that has graphing features.

For example, I would like to be able to read a RPM sensor and make sure it has a steady signal. Same thing with O2 sensor. I want to see some waveforms.

EDIT- the guys at Oreilly said they have experienced shops that buy the Genisys stuff and like it. Dont really want to drop $1-$4k on something until I am DAMN sure it will do the jobs that I need it to do. Nothing more. Nothing less.

We had a dead Ford 6.0 diesel the other day. It would have been nice to have the a compatible scan tool to see the high pressure oil values; read Injection Pressure Regulator duty cycle and command the IPR, see cam/crank sensor function, etc. I realize that is more towards the higher end/vehicle specific side of tools, but just doing my research at this point....

 

I really love my gynisis tool. It's better than the snap on equivalent in my opinion. It does wireless updates and such. But it was quite expensive. I went to auto technology school for 2 years and have been doing work for 9 years. I'm the lead tech for diagnostics and special projects for the Dallas zoo! My thing is, I like to learn. So this Volo is awesome! Haha full of wierd stuff to learn

 

like what an oil pressure sensor looks like!? or a coolant drain **** (ducks) hahaha im a dick. just talking crap. I see I haven't made your ignore list yet!

I was working on a Toyota the other day and noticed a ball bearing down inside a hole in the cylinder head. It was right next to an oil pressure sensor at the top of the head. It didn't take a book to figure out what that hole was used for....guess!?

Hey we are all here to be tech geeks. Well, at least I enjoy that part of it. Working on cars sure beats working in a cubicle farm. Been there, done that.

 

Yessir!

Same here. Worked at a bank unfortunately... Haha

My kick down cable should be here any day now. Im Ready to flush my nasty tranny fluid out, but I wanna wait till my cable comes in since I have to drop the pan and such. Excited for that

 

It is indeed unappealing being stuck in fart-range of dozens of other people at work for hours. ha

I re-read the thread again and was wondering if you got the kickdown fixed. I have only had to do one of em ONCE and I just recall the only tricky part being pulling the spring loaded cam back and getting the cable on.


That Genisys scan tool requires a separate $ystem to make it work as a scope. It looks like it is easily $1,500-$4,000+! That is too much for what I am trying to do right now.

Anybody got suggestions for an affordable scope? Just doing research at this point. Google results are showing little handheld systems for under $100, but not sure what I really need for my application or which one is a good deal.

 

oddly, most of my mechanic friends envy my tech career (computer systems engineering), where I earn about twice what they do while keeping my hands clean.

 

No I havnt fixed the kick down yet. The cable should hopefully be here today or tomorrow. The one on my car feels strange. When I put the pedal down it stops a little more than 3/4 of the way then if I presser harder, I hear a *click* and it will go all the way down the rest if the way. You can see this in the video that I posted when I am pulling on the cable by hand at the throttle body

 

that 'click' feel is supposed to be there, but somewhere above the 3/4 point, more like 9/10ths. this is the kickdown cam, you feel it in the gas pedal when you floor the throttle.

 

That's exactly what I'm feeling. It's just more pronounced than I thought it would be.