I am a new subscriber to this forum and a new Volvo owner. I have a 1992 240. I just recently got it from my mechanic. For the most part it is in good condition but there are a couple of things I would like to fix. My mechanic might do it but I would like to know how. The main one is that the three push buttons for the veltilator don't work. These select inside or outside air, the foot area, and the defroster. After looking at You Tube and a Haynes shop manual I am thoroughly lost. It looks like it should be simple to check out but the You Tube fellow made a mess of it and was doing something else anyway. How do I go at it? Second question: the instrument lights are pretty dim, is this normal? If not what can be done about it. I have some other questions but will hold off on those.

 

The three buttons that control the flow to different vents is controlled using vacuum from the intake manifold. On the top of the intake manifold there should be a hose that runs to a black & white plastic cylindrical piece that has a smaller hose that runs to the firewall. This is the hose that provides the vacuum to the climate control. Follow that hose and make sure there are no breaks or leaks in the line. If there are, replace the hose as necessary.

 

Thank you so much. I could not make out from the repair manual if these were electrical or vacuum. This at least gives me a trail to follow. If there is bad or disconnected hose behind the instrument panel I will need to know how to get at it.

 

Tiny vacuum hose circled in picture powers the vents. The black and white plastic part is a check valve.

 

I found the vacuum hose and check valve. The hose goes through a boot into the firewall. At the moment I have a cold and don't feel like working on the car but the obvious next step is to pull the hose off the valve and see if there is any vacuum there. If there is then I am back to getting into the dashboard. If the check valve is bad it doesn't look too difficult to replace.
A note, I have been driving Japanese cars for decades. The Volvo is the first rear wheel drive car I've had for many years. I really like it and understand why people are so enthusiastic about them.

 

Meant to reply sooner. The check valve was stuck. I blew it out using canned air which fixed it and fixed the vacuum to the push buttons. The heater/vent system now works. Thank you so much for the clues that allowed me to fix this. Next step is to see if I can fix the windshield washer pump.

 

the washer pump sits down at the bottom of the fluid reservoir - first thing to check if the reservoir isn't cracked and losing the fluid. So if you can see some fluid in there, next step is to check if its actuating - from outside the car, can you hear it make any sound when an assistant pulls the stalk? If not check fuses and wiring. then you need to pop off the connector to the pump to see if its getting voltage. If you have voltage but no sound, you may want to try testing the unit on a bench. Assuming you hear something, now trace the tubing that runs from the pump, up the side of the fender and up to the jets on the hood. If you do some active squirts, look around to make sure you aren't seeing any drips - assuming your model is similar to other Volvo's, there's a T connector to split the fluid to the left and right jets. make sure that all the lines are still connected. Finally make sure the jets aren't clogged. If you see some dribbles but not a full spray, try a pick tool or something with a small point (push pins etc) and see if you push any debris out of the nozzle.