Little electrical surprise

Tuesday night I was presented with some pretty coloured lights on the dash of the 240 on my way home from work. The combo of battery, parking brake, brake failure and bulb integrity sensor.

That combo of lights means the alternator isn't charging. And they were showing intermittently, but I managed to get the car home, and even start it the next day to return to work.

Luckily for me, there's an auto electrician next door to my office, because the lights stayed on for the last 5 minutes of the drive into work and the volts gauge dropped into the red, in the 10 volt zone.

It was a cheap and easy fix, the voltage regulator had died, but luckily Volvo had the foresight to use a Bosch alternator, which are really easy to get parts for, so after $80 for supply and fit of the part, things are back to normal.

Today the 240 is in at the local Volvo specialist, having rego check done, the reverse lights fixed as well as a C service done, plus a look at a leak and why the gearbox is suddenly doing weird stuff (hoping an ATF change will stop the problems getting out of 2nd when it's cold and the overdrive disengaging at random times). Either way the guy is not cheap, so I am not looking forward to his bill.

Sunday DIY: Change rear shock absorbers

Well this morning was very cold, so I held off until after midday to change the rear shocks on the 240.

I am used to just taking the car into the mechanic and letting them deal with anything mechanical, whilst I kept an eye on the electrical side of things, because I feel more comfortable working with electric / electronic stuff. So armed with the Haynes manual and some info on changing shocks from the Mobil web site, I went forth and attempted the changeover.

It was fairly straight forward and took all of about 90 minutes. My ratchet handle broke though, which made things a bit tricky, but I found a way around it. So I will be off to Repco or Auto Pro on pay day to get a new one.

The shocks I bought were off eBay, for $75 including the shipping for the pair. They're non genuine, but are made in the USA for AC Delco (yes the General Motors subsidiary). They're a little stiffer than I am used to, but I sure that's got a lot to do with them being brand new.

The old shocks were very spongy and very easy to manipulate out of the car, and when compressed, never sprang back out again.

Here's the new shocks:

The old shock still on the car (left side):

New shock on the car (left side):

New shock on the car (right side):

New plugs and volts gauge

Yesterday was a day of doing stuff on the 240.

I wanted to do an oil and filter change but couldn't get the sump plug off, so will try again next weekend using a different spanner.

But I did replace the spark plugs, leads, distributor cap (rotor button was jammed on, so I left it), and I added a genuine Volvo volts gauge as well. I ran out of daylight to finish it, so it will also get done next weekend. Just need to connect it to the fuse and cable tie up the wire.

Here's the pix:

The new volts gauge in place

Ratchet handle and plug socket along with the new distributor cap, plugs, leads and rotor button

A very dirty number one spark plug. Number 2 was similar, but 3 and 4 were reasonably clean

Photos of the 1992 240

Well here's the photos of the new brick. Cost $1500.

When the previous owner doesn't look after his car

Well my old mechanic in Sydney went over the 240, and found more than $1200 in repairs to be done. This made me think twice about whether the 86 was worth working on further, especially with the hail damage and rust spot and buggered interior. Anyway out of curiosity I looked on eBay to see what was about, and found a 92 240 sedan.

Yesterday I went and looked at it and bought it for $1500. Very good price. The body has a few scrapes and dings, as you'd expect for a 17 year old car, but interior is almost like new, and the rest of the car is in pretty good shape. It does need some new shocks and trailing arm bushes for the back, but not a lot of effort elsewhere.

The new 240 was built in October 1992, which is one of the very last of the cars to be built. It's silver, with blue woven interior. Has airbag and electric left mirror. Has factory security system and air conditioning as well.

I will post a few pix in a few days.

Today I fitted my Virgo rims with the new tyres to the 1992 today, and tidied up some trim in the boot and replaced the left indicator lens on the front with one that didn't have a stone crack in it.

So now I have the 92, my red 86 model is up for sale, looking for about $500 for it. Message me if you want more information.

Some of the service done!

Started the service on the 240 with my cousin Mick today. I of course left the Haynes manual at home, so we didnt get as far as we wouldve liked. But the car is running better with new spark plugs, oil and filter. Also replaced a very dirty air filter as well.

Will start the driving and fog lights tomorrow morning.

Mick found an interesting rust spot under the gutter trim on the rightside near the quarter glass.

New fog light switch installed

I couldn't help myself this morning before work - I had to put the fog light switch in the dash.

Anyway here's a photo of it there with all the others.

Now onto actually hooking up the lights and doing the service the car so desperately needs.

New toy arrived in the post today!

My factory 240 fog light switch arrived in the mail from the US today. Looks almost like new too. Will click it into the dash tomorrow in preparation for the installation of the lights.

Got more of the parts for the service today, but feel I got royally ripped off with the pricing for the thermostat and air filter.

Buying bits for the service

I am doing a big service on the 240 on the weekend with my cousin Mick, so I went to Repco today to pick up the bits I needed to do the work. Got most of what I wanted, but ran into some issues.

First, I was able to walk away today with the following:

• Oil Filter
• Spark Plugs
• Distributor Cap
• Anti Freeze / Anti Boil
• Engine Oil
• Fan, A/C and Power Steering Belts

But I had to order in the following:

• Thermostat and rubber o-ring
• Automatic transmission fluid
• Rotor Button

I couldn't get these items though:

• Radiator expansion tank hose
• Top & Bottom Radiator Hoses
• Fuel Filter
• Thermostat housing gasket
• Sump plug gasket
• Transmission filter and gasket

The hoses, thermostat housing gasket and sump plug gasket were not available to order and the rest will have to wait till I am under the car to match the models, as there's 2 choices for each. I haven't resorted to ordering from Volvo yet, but may end up doing that if I can't get what I need.

Sunday car tidy up

Well it was a day of TLC for the 240. I have had a few cosmetic things I wanted to cover as well as a few little changes.

I weent looking at why the horns aren't louder, and found they're not adjustable and are a sealed unit, so will need replacing.

I put the LED brake light I bought the other week in the back window today as well and the brightness is crap so I will look at getting another one.

The driving light switch I got the other day was clicked into the dash today. It was a little fatter (1 mm) so I had to make the panel opening a touch bigger, it also sits 1 mm lower than the others. The genuine fog light switch I won on eBay should be here from the US this week. Going hook both sets of lights up next week, found out today I have an 80 amp alternator, so no worries running them.

I also removed the electric antenna wiring and tidied all of previous owners dodgy wiring under the dash. In coming weeks I am going to gut the lot and restore it to original, on the advice of my mechanic, he had a look and said that I'd better hope I don't have any of the insulation tape come off.

The aftermarket electric cooling fan that was fitted by the previous owner is going to go, it's bolted on the top only, which means the bottom is flapping in the breeze bashing on the radiator core. Will chuck in a new thermostat and do a full cooling system flush next week as well.

Also the grill was held on with only 1 clip. I pulled out the grill and found all the bottom plastic posts had snapped off. I remembered I had some L shaped DIY bracket bits from Bunnings, so I got those, 2 self tappers and made new bottom posts. They're galvanised steel and are exactly the right width for the cut out they slip into in the front apron. So grill is fixed now, just need to grab a clip at the wreckers on Saturday.

I also fixed a few trim issues inside. I also got the rust converter and the wire brushes out and did all the rust spots. Nothing serious, just some surface rust inside the boot. A spot under the right passenger door (on the door itself), small bit where the chassis number is stamped on the drivers pillar, which hasn't been treated properly after it was done at the factory (apparently really common rust spot) and also two small bits where the grill has rubbed the paint off the front apron.

I didn't get time to wash the 240 unfortunately. Maybe one morning before work.

Clean bill of health

The other day I dropped the 240 into the local Volvo specialist for a full check up. They told me it was in very good shape, and only needed a new front muffler, and some work on the inhibitor switch (it'd be bypassed for some reason).

Was most impressed I wasn't up for megabucks, and now with the exhaust fixed it runs a heap better.

Next weekend is a full service and a visit to the self serve wreckers for a few nick nacks.

Centre Console Switches

I have been wanting to install driving and fog lights on my 240 since I bought it, because living on the NSW south coast, means dealing with foggy conditions and also dodging wildlife.

I hated the idea of non-standard switches on the dash, so I began hunting eBay and the Swedish eBay site Tradera. Anyway I found original Volvo switches for both, but they're very scarce and expensive for second hand. So I decided to do some hunting via Google for switches.

I spent hours sifting through image results and stumbled across a site in the UK and another two in Australia that sold Valeo / SWF switches. SWF has supplied switches to Volvo for many decades, so I started to download PDF catalogs and images doing comparisons, and found the 511 series switches were the closest match to the those on the dashboard. The cut out is the same size, and switch style are similar, however the switches have a slight satin finish and the rocker has been changed slightly.

After all the research, I managed to get a genuine fog light switch, but no matter how hard I tried I kept getting beaten on the driving light switch. So instead, I ordered a SWF 511 110 switch from Fry's Spares in Crows Nest in Sydney. Keith there was extremely helpful, even if my order was only small. I ordered a high beam symbol for the switch.

If you're interested in getting some of these switches, rather than bodgying up a demister switch or similar, check out Fry's Spares http://www.frysspares.com and ask for Keith Wallington. The rest of their info is: 141 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, Australia. 2065.

Other than the SWF switches, there's also a Chinese knock off, which looks the same. I have emailed a couple of places in China and waiting to hear back about what's available and the cost.

Welcome to the new blog!

Hi!

Thanks for stopping by at my Volvo 240 blog. In coming weeks / months, I will add links, photos and information on working on your Volvo 240. Disclaimer: all advice on this site is used at your own risk.

I am not a mechanic, but I do some work on my 240 myself.

Enjoy the site, and comments and feedback are welcome.

My 240 is a 1986 240 GL sedan, approximately 300 000 km (odometer stopped at 260 000).