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1987 Volvo 240 DL won't start - ignition issue

T

tommy013

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Here's my saga, if anyone has some hints for me to try on Sunday before I tow the car to the garage on Monday (the garage is closed on Sunday), it would be appreciated!

Purchased car on Sunday February 12. The next day the car would not start. Put key in the ignition, turn, no sounds, does not even try to turn over. Interior and dash lights come on, radio works fine, all indicating battery works fine.

Disconnected battery.

Pulled starter/starter solenoid, brought to auto parts store, it tests fine even under load.

Put starter back in, reconnect battery, try to start car, same symptom, would not even try to turn over. Put key in the ignition, turn, no sounds, does not even try to turn over. Interior and dash lights come on, radio works fine, all indicating battery works fine.

Then, noticed a little module underneath ignition (sonufagun why didn't I notice this before!), pulled out module, it says ?Electro Lock? on it. Unplugged module, turned it around, jiggled it. Tried to start car, it starts fine.

Turn car off, tighten battery, again it will not start, same symptoms as original.

Removed ?Electro Lock? which had 4 wires going to one screw on the dash (as a ground), and two wires spliced into the blue ignition wire. After removing the two wires spliced into the blue ignition wire, reconnected the blue wire to itself. Again it will not start, same symptoms as original.

Removed positive and negative cables from battery overnight. Reconnected ?Electro Kill?. Reconnected battery (which had been disconnected overnight). Sounded like the starter turned for half a second then nothing (though I've been known to imagine things), same as before. My theory on unplugging the battery overnight was that so any other backup charge source that would keep the kill switch from working would drain and reset it.

I'm not a mechanic, just a guy trying to use some common sense to troubleshoot it myself, but it seems like the time to hand it over to a qualified mechanic. Any suggestions first? Thanks in advance!
 
ok, i had similar problems, i thought it was the wiring harness because it was so random. it turned out to be the alt, it was charging at 11v and the car would run if i got it started, but it would start on it's own about 1/3 of the time. try putting a known good battery with 12.5v on it in, or jump the car off, then test it with a multimeter once running on it's own power

otherwise, i don't know
 
This system is so simple, there is no need to take/tow it anywhere to successfully diagnose the issue.

That electro lock thingy must be sort of aftermarket device, no such part in any 240 that I know of, likely part of an immobilizer circuit from an alarm system. I suggest removing it permanently.

Next:
→With the key in the start position, move the gear selector back and forth (assuming you have an automatic), if you get no response, try the following:

→Locate the starter test terminal, it's a pink wire with single female blade push-on connector located behind the dip stick on the fire wall (see photo below).

→Connect this terminal to the battery positive terminal, you should get an immediate response from the starter. If not, your starter solenoid or the battery cables/connections are suspect, verify your cables: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=355917&postcount=2

→If all that↑↑checks out good →next connect the test terminal to the starter solenoid (terminal #50, blue-green wire), use a length of 18 gauge wire with one male and one female blade push on crimp on the ends. If this then allows the car to be started with the ignition switch, your start inhibitor switch (aka neutral safety switch) is likely defective (again only this is only if you have an automatic), and you can leave it this way until you have the parts/time to fix it. If however you get no response from the starter, odds are your ignition switch is defective.

As found on my '84 242Ti, your's should be similar:
240-TestTerminal2.jpg
 
Does a 1975 242 B20 have a "Starter Test Terminal"? And if so, where would it be located? I am trying to 'By-Pass' the Neutral Safety Switch and cannot for the life of me find the proper diagram with this info anywhere. Any Help is much appreciated.
 
The test terminal should be next to the dip stick tube. If you don't find it, you could instead bypass the switch at it's connector, this will be around the left leg of the center dash console support leg, under the carpet. There are two connectors for this switch as it also functions as the reverse light switch. If you jumper the connector (connector with female terminals) this will bypass the neutral safety switch. If you jumper the wrong connector, you will know because your reverse lights will turn on.

For reference:
http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/J405031556STP.JPG
 
wrong. That is not my neutral Safety switch. You are describing and listing the unit for 81,82,83,84,85 for the engine B21. I can tell by the part number listing you included as a reference. The 75 is totally different.
 
Three Fat Tigers said:
This system is so simple, there is no need to take/tow it anywhere to successfully diagnose the issue.

That electro lock thingy must be sort of aftermarket device, no such part in any 240 that I know of, likely part of an immobilizer circuit from an alarm system. I suggest removing it permanently.

Next:
→With the key in the start position, move the gear selector back and forth (assuming you have an automatic), if you get no response, try the following:

→Locate the starter test terminal, it's a pink wire with single female blade push-on connector located behind the dip stick on the fire wall (see photo below).

→Connect this terminal to the battery positive terminal, you should get an immediate response from the starter. If not, your starter solenoid or the battery cables/connections are suspect, verify your cables: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=355917&postcount=2

→If all that↑↑checks out good →next connect the test terminal to the starter solenoid (terminal #50, blue-green wire), use a length of 18 gauge wire with one male and one female blade push on crimp on the ends. If this then allows the car to be started with the ignition switch, your start inhibitor switch (aka neutral safety switch) is likely defective (again only this is only if you have an automatic), and you can leave it this way until you have the parts/time to fix it. If however you get no response from the starter, odds are your ignition switch is defective.

As found on my '84 242Ti, your's should be similar:
240-TestTerminal2.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanx guy it was right there were you said. I didn't even see the pic until I registered, but yea it was easy. I only registered to tell that guy to piss off, "wrong" ... screw you he was trying to help
 
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