1995 850 glt 170,000 miles.
Car is in very good condition. I just had it given to me for $100.00.
I Just replaced the Timing belt, tensioner, idler pulley.
Rear shocks, Tie rod end, lower ball joint control arm.
All that is really left is the Blower motor & resistor; and the Instrument panel.

The only reason I want to replace the I/P is because the odometer stopped working at 136,512.(I checked the ECU for proper mileage).

My wife's family are Volvo lovers. There 850 GLT's I/P has a read out for the road temp (has a little snow flake next to it)
Mine does not.
Can I replace mine with a I/P that has a temp read out? Will it function properly?

 

You do not need a new instrument panel. You just need a new odometer gear. This is a common problem with the Model 850. Just perform a search under "odometer gear" you will find tons on advice on how to fix it. I have the same problem and bought the gear for $ 10.00 on Ebay. I haven't fixed mine yet -- been too lazy to do it. But when I do, I will definitely replace the light bulbs in the instrument panel, after 16 years they are starting to go out.
You paid only $ 100.0 for this car ? You are sooooo lucky !

 

I work as a Auto-Technician at a private repair shop. I was just in the right place at the right time really.
The is nice though. The leather could be a little more well...soft & supple. I am researching how to "condition" it. Any ideas?

I kind of wanted to know if replacement of the I/P would work. I was hoping to get the outside/road temp as an added feature.

 

Neatsfoot oil is THE thing to use on leather seats. buy it at a tack (horse gear) shop.

 

"Neatsfoot" at a tack shop? Ok, I'll check it out. Thanks. How much should I expect to pay? Is it really expensive?

 

I buy it in a 16 oz bottle for under 10 bucks. It's not petroleum based - it's made out of animal proteins.

 

Neetsfoot oil will definitely soften the leather. I used it for years on many leather items like rifle slings and one camera case. Here in North Carolina it gets pretty damp in winter and many of these items developed a white-greenish mold that would not go away. I used saddle-soap on my Volvo. Others had also recommended it on this Forum website. I avoided all of the leather conditioners at Wal-Mart as they all seems to contain petroleum distillates. I will not put that chemical on any leather.

 

I forgot to mention that both neetsfoot oil and saddle soap will darken the leather. My leather seats are black -- so it didn't matter in my case. but if you have one of those lovely tan seats you are in for a surprise.

 

good information. So any way, the original question, was about the I/P being able to handle a temp read out add on??

 

Sorry, my 1995 GLT has the newer LCD display with the temperature gauge. I cannot help you on how to change it. I did find this discussed before on another thread, but my computer became infected with a virus. It is toast. I could not locate the thread to refer you to today. As I remember, the short answer is no, you cannot change it, but again I personally do not know.

 

Hello Ibified,
I just thought I would let you know that after using saddlesoap on my 95 850 GLT this past summer, I have now switched to conditioning the seats with neetsfoot oil, as you recommended. I can actually see and feel more progress. The leather is becoming softer. I just thought you would like to know. But to everyone else reading this be aware that I have black colored seats. Neetsfoot oil will darken and discolor lighter colored seats -- like a tan color.

 

Volvo gave us two panels - VDO and Yazaki. The names are stamped on the back, so it's not easy to figure out from the front.

Each one has three display options (time, time & temp, trip computer), which you can usually find on eBay, here, MVS or VS. You'll need to get the LCD panel, and if you choose to get the trip computer, also get the INFO switch and the cable that connects them.

Swapping them is pretty much the same process as swapping the light bulbs, open the dash and pull the panel out. The LCD display is held in with two screws.

 

NCdad: glad it's working for you. I swear by it.

 

As for the i/p, I thought all of them had the outside temp reading. Maybe your sensor under your front bumper is messed up or missing. Double check the owners manual.

As for the leather, it's hard to bring back leather once it's damaged from drying out and shrinking. I use Lexol on my seats. It's like a lotion. I have NEVER seen it change the color of my seats. Saddle soap is more of a cleaner. Never heard of that other stuff, neetsfoot. Sounds like an oil. If worse come to worse, try to get new seat covers and start from there. Leather seats were meant to outlast the car but when they are not taken care of they don't make it. Armor All is the worse thing for them.

 

Is it possible that you have a temperature read out but it's just not working? Do you have a digital clock at the bottom of your IP or something that looks like an LCD display? If so, you may have a read out but the sensor is shot. Just thought I would mention it. Good luck with the car, great deal!

 

I have seen pics of a LCD display that only had the time and not the temp, so they do exist. Not sure if they were part of a bare-bones option package or what...

Here's a picture of the time & temp display - note the width of the LCD panel is about 2.5 inches (give or take). The "time only" display is only an inch wide (or there abouts) and only has enough room for the clock.

The Trip Computer option has a display that is about an additional inch wider than the Time & Temp display.

 

+1 on the leather...My buddy works at a sports shop and gave me a bottle of neetsfoot oil mixed with lanolin that is used on new baseball gloves. Says it works better than straight neetsfoot, it soaks in faster and isn't quite as greasy. My seats are pretty stiff and this stuff worked good and softened them noticeably but I don't think you can restore them perfectly with anything.

 

I recall seeing a view of both VDO / Yazaki IP in the Owner's Manual. The differences in the OEM trip odometer layout were actually quite clear, i.e. you can tell which one you have just by looking at it.

In terms of equipping an Outside Temperature Display, I think you also need the sensor as well, plus the harness (wire, connectors), no?

RSPI: I thought the sensor was installed somewhere close to the driver's side windshield wiper, not at the bumper, no?

If you end up with another IP, I would advise to still change the odometer gear (as NCdad said for $ 10 on eBay). The most time is actually spent in adjusting the mileage with a drill and pencil to show the correct mileage.

I would estimate that to jump the odometer from 140k to 170k, for example, probably it will take about 1.5-2 hours to turn the odometer with a drill and pencil / rubber hose. I did about 4-5k miles jump and it still took me about 20-30 minutes. By the way, I read somewhere that you cannot turn back the odometer. I was actually able to do it, although I wasn't interested in that -- I just wanted to show the correct mileage.

 

Wow! I learn something new every day. I didn't realize that the lcd display was actually a different size. Here is one from my T-5R. I put a little yellow circle on the control ****.



You can not just drop it in with the wire that connects it to the display switch. There is actually another cable that connects the lcd display to another part of the i/p or somewhere. I have not pulled my dash yet so I'm not sure where, but I did get a display for some reason that I sold to a guy that had a problem getting it to work because of this missing cable.

As for the temp gauge, there is a sensor that is wired to the front spoiler area. I can post a picture if you need me to.

 

Where do you guys get these Outside Temp in the 70s or 80s?

BTW, that's a VDO Instrument Panel.