I am having problems with "limp mode" on my Volvo. The yellow arrow stays on and when in drive it takes off in what feel like 3rd gear. So I have been starting it out in first and shifting up into Drive after I reach about 30mph. Anyways I have been doing some research and found out that it is most likely my PNP switch. I have bought a new one now all I need is for someone to please tell me exactly where the PNP switch is located on my 95 960. Please be as detailed as possible. I want to replace it myself. Do I need to do it from under the car? And could I also get directions on how to replace it. I have been looking everywhere and can not find anything

 

Hi,
Usually the yellow arrow blinks. The problem for you could also be the W/S/E switch. If the arrow is lit steady I think the transmission thinks you intended to select W.

On my 964 the PNP switch is on the right hand side of the transmission. Look at the side of the tranny where the exhaust pipes come down and run next to it. If you look up between the pipes and the tranny you will see the PNP.

The wire for it goes over top of the tranny to the other side, I have skinny arms so it was easy to get both my arms on top of it to pass the wire over, this felt disturbingly intimate

I was able to remove it and reinstall it by unplugging it and sliding it in and out BETWEEN the two exhaust pipes.

 

So would it be better to locate it from under the car?

 

You must access the switch from beneath the car, you may have to apply some lateral force to the exhaust to make enough room to remove it. I actually had to remove the bolts from the downpipe on a 92 960 to get enough room.

Lastly, you're supposed to use a volvo tool to align the switch properly, but can do it with help as described here Transmission-Auto AW 30-40
Andrew

 

I tried to align my PNP switch before installing it.

I used the "fine line" and the feature at the end of it to align my switch to N before installing it. I removed the nut and looked through the remaining part like a gun sight. At the end of the fine line there is a "feature" at the edge of the case and I sighted this.

With the shifter in N i pushed it home as squarely as I could and tightened the screw then the nut. It seems to have worked.

I did two tests to verify it, moving the shifter slowly through the detents to see when the reverse lights turned off; then did the same watching the shifter position using scan tool software (vol-fcr).

 

Sounds good man. Keep us posted...

 

If anyone has the arrow blinking on the dash this indicates the transmission does not know which position has been selected,don't go and buy another sensor for $200 just try this first; with the ignition on and engine not started and foot on the brake move the auto gear selector from park to low back and forward about 10 times ,this cleans the internal contacts by a rubbing action and will get it going again,after doing this turn the ignition off and on again but do not start the engine and move the gear selector to a gear below drive and the arrow should be solid not flashing this tells you it is ok to go,if still flashing repeat the movement sequence again,naturally if this fails you may need a new switch.
My volvo has 310,000 and it has done this about 3 times and each time this idea worked,not sure how many times it will work for before i need to buy another sensor but hey it is still going.

 

Gary I have a name for this procedure, but to keep it polite I'll call it "milking" the shifter.

I kept getting frustrated, because sometimes you have to cycle the ignition 5 times to get the flashing light to stop.

As it gets worse I think you will find that you have to "milk" it more frequently.

 

Any forecast on the life of this problem and how much a new position sensor costs?

 

There's some confusion about this "PNP" switch.
It is better called a "neutral safety switch" and its job is to PREVENT an ENGINE START IN ANY MODE OTHER THAN P or N... And, that's it.
What you are experiencing is a transmission fault and it has absolutely nothing to do with the "PNP" switch...

 

Hi Lev,

At least on the 960 the gear position switch is integrated into the same device as the starter safety and reversing light switch. On the internet it's called PNP and at auto parts stores they list it as NSS. In the volvo service manual it's called gear position sensor. When the transmission brain gets an invalid combination from this because it failed, it goes into the most harsh out of 3 or 4 emergency programs and the arrow flashes. In this mode there is no automatic shifting and the operator is allowed to select gears 3 and 4 using the shifter. Additionally PWM modulation of the solenoids stop and lockup is never activated. Driving like this sucks

Gary,
I ended up replacing my switch because the flashing arrow began to happen too frequently and this became frustrating. My partner told me the car had this problem in 2008, at 150k miles, but it did not happen frequently. When I replaced it at 180k miles, I noticed that it had been replaced once before.

I think it should last at least 50k miles, but it is in a bad spot, this switch should be inside the car on the shift handle.

The volvo part number is 9466013 List is $180 today and tasca is selling it for $135 - they seem to charge me $10 shipping every time

I bought Airtex 1S6972 from "Rock" it appears to be the original switch manufactured by Panasonic (for Aisin) in Japan. About $110 delivered for me.

The "Scan tech" and "fcp economy" ones look different in photos.

 

Or PNP or NSS whichever the designers wish to call them.

Ours must be at the edge of failure as the car has just over 300,000 and it has never been replaced or maybe they are more rugged on the little s40's.
It only reared it's failing head about 280,000 and the car goes into limp home mode,it is actually my wife's car and when she rang me she said there is a flashing arrow on the dash and the car has no guts cause when i push the accelerator flat to the floor it hardly does anything i will be lucky to get home.

Fortunately she was only about 2km's from home.

 

Gary keep in mind my experience is with my 964 and my talk is about same, so the part numbers and most details will be different for other models.

If you can get the flashing arrow to go away after milking the shifter, you've probably proven that's the problem. This leaves a code in the ECU too. For my 960 the service manual gives advice to drive in 3rd gear instead of 4th. If you decide to "live with it" find out the right thing to do in you car in case you have to use it in an emergency.