afaik, there's no adjustments in the cable/pulley assembly. I've heard its a SOB to remove, but have never needed to do that. See Notes on 240 Volvo Windscreen Wipers skipping about 1/2 way down past all the electrical stuff to "Mechanical Function", and he talks about how to get the mechanism out and repair it.

 

I have a new issue with my wipers i have not seen before and dont see in the posts here. My wipers work while my 242 is off but not when the key is on. Any ideas?

 

get out the multimeter and start checking voltages of the various parts of the wiper circuit. you'll want a wiring diagram for your year vehicle (is it a 1979 as your name suggests?)

 

It's for an 1982 242 glt

 

unluckily, the CD full of 240 'greenbooks' is missing 1981-1983 wiring diagrams.

On a 1980, wipers are on fuse 2, which is powered in accessory (I) or run (II), two yellow wires come off this fuse, one goes to the wiper multiswitch, and the other goes to the wiper motor to provide power to return the wiper to home when its switched off...

the 1984 diagram looks much the same, so good odds your 1982 is the same too.

so, I would take a volt meter, make sure that fuse 2 is NOT powered when the ignition is off, switch the ignition to II and verify that fuse IS powered. measure the voltage from the fuse to any handy chassis ground nearby under the dash. be careful not to short adjacent fuses. FYI, the power input to the fuse is on the left contact (left as you face forward), while the output is on the right fuse contact. immediately to the right of each fuse position are three spade lugs. the two closest to the fuse are the 'outputs' (wired together inside hte fuse panel), while the single spade farthest from the fuse is the 'input' and is connected to the left side of the fuse. The inputs to fuses 1,2,3 are connected together inside the fuse block, and ONE of those three 'input' spade lugs should have a heavy (2.5 or 4mm^2) yellow wire that comes directly from ignition switch position "X" (hot in I and II). the two yellow wires on the fuse 2 output are thinner (1.5mm^2).


if fuse 2 is hot when the car is off, then either your ignition switch is failing, or someone has dinked with the wiring in the car.


ugh. 1982 is the start of Volvos 'biodegradable' aka 'ecojunk' wiring era, which ended mid 1987. its quite possible your car has insulation failures, although these usually manifest themselves under the hood.

 

Thank you ..ill have to go thru all that and see what i can find.. I do know there is power thru the fuse with the ignition off. But that doesnt make sense as to why it wouldnt work once i turn the ignition on unless as you said the switch is going bad.

 

ok, you might need to remove the plastic trim panel thats around the fuse block to access the following...

As I said above, to the right of and behind each fuse is 3 rows of spade lugs. here's a fuse holder removed from the car, the 'top' is to the left... note those yellow wires.



note the big heavy yellow wire on the last (top in the picture) spade lug of fuse 2. thats the wire from the ignition switch "X" output. this wire could be plugged into the same row on fuse 1 or 3 as 1-2-3's inputs are all connected internal to the fuse block. remove this big heavy wire (not the two thinner yellow wires beneath it), and measure the voltage on that wire with the ignition off and on. there should be 0V when the ignition is off [0], and 12V when its in accessory or run [I or II].

you may be able to follow that wire up to the back of the ignition switch, I dunno how bundled or cluttered the wiring is on a 1982... ON, on the 1980 wiring diagram that heavy wire is BLACK, not yellow.. on the 84 drawing its yellow. anyways, whatever it is, it goes to ignition "X", which is about at 12 oclock on the back of the ignition switch.

if your ignition switch is bad, they aren't that hard to replace. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY NEGATIVE CABLE!!! the switch comes off the back of the ignition key/lock mechanism after you remove a recessed screw from the back of it., and all the wires unplug from the back of the switch. BE SURE TO PUT THE HARNESS PLUG ON THE NEW SWITCH EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. The correct switch for a 1982 is 9203247, however Volvo no longer has this available, but you can get aftermarket switches. a GOOD one is $120, ouch, https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...60-262-264-265 cheap ones are available for $20 (google "volvo 9203247") but are of dubious quality. Same switch fits all volvo 240's up to 1989 per FCP Euro's 'fitment' tables.

 

Tested the wire off of the fuse box as instructed. Has power when the ignition is off but no power when its on. So according to what youve said its a bad ignition switch. Ive got one ordered now so hopefully thats the issue. Thank you for your help, it had me stumped.

 

Well the switch is not the problem. Replaced it and still the same. Wipers only work when ignition is off. So back to tracing..

 

then that heavy yellow wire to the 'input' row of fuses 1/2/3 must be mis-connected somewhere. presumably the other accessories on fuses 1/2/3 also have the same problem.

it might be a good idea to remove fuses 1 and 3 and verify that fuse 2 is still powered on OFF and unpowered on ACC and RUN... if removing those fuses changes things, then one of THOSE circuits is somehow shorted to the wrong power.

 

oh, and unplug that big heavy yellow wire from the input to fuse 1-2-3, and unplug the ignition switch, and use an ohm-meter to verify there's connectivity between that wire and the pin "X" that plugs into the ignition switch...

 

That helped me find the problem thank you. Someone must have taken the ignition wire connector apart in the past because the x wire was moved to a different slot. I checked all the wires made sure everything else was where it was suppose to be put it back together and its all working correctly now.