OK, from reading the threads I am guessing I need a new brake switch on my 960 wagon. Fuses and bulbs OK. Tail-lights work but the brake lights don't light up (second filament) nor does the third, middle brake light.

So what is this switch I see listed as a replacement that does not look like the one under the dash. Picture attached. Is this the inside of the switch? and can you replace the it? Or is this something entirely different and I need the square-ish black box like switch?

thanks.

 

i'd look at the bulb failure relay before the switch.

 

thanks Lev, where do I find that?

 

Electrical: Circuits, Relays

 

i looked at the diagrams in the faq. my car is a US model. 1995. most sources indicate it is behind the dash panel on the right side of the console. It is not under the dash on either side, not under the hood, not in the fuse panel on drivers side. one Volvo parts site has a schematic for the part that points to the rear of the car but in the pic it is a sedan. i looked in the rear, under the storage panel in back. found a relay but not the one i'm looking for. the part number on that one indicated intermittent wiper relay, wrong shape anyway. sooooo, where the heck is the bulb failure relay? thanks.

 

It should be where it says. Sedan or wagon. A tall, red, plastic relay.

 

Lev, thanks for your suggestion to try this before replacing the brake switch.

Unfortunately, though, the relay schematics in the link are for 1988-1994 and my car is a 1995. (wagon) I found some wiring manuals here:

Volvo Wiring Diagrams

the 1995 manual shows the relay as a flat rectangle, under the dash, driver side, left of the steering column and not with the relay cluster behind the console/radio or under the hood.

Searching on parts site for the replacement it looks like the OEM relay is blue, aftermarket either blue or gray. The manual also calls it a "bulb failure sensor". I haven't pulled it out yet but it cannot hide from me any longer!

I have seen many other threads on forums asking where this relay is...
I hope this helps other '95 960 owners.