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240 Turn signal not working, hazards partially working

jtini

New member
Joined
Jun 15, 2021
I have a '91 Volvo 240 and recently started experiencing issues with the turn signals and hazard lights.

A couple days ago, the turn signals stopped working when I deflect the stalk. I was on my way home from the airport, so pulled off and checked if my hazards were working for the ride home ? while they did turn on and illuminate in the dashboard, I noticed that only the lights on the right side were actually flashing. I made it home using the hazards as a right turn signal and hand signaling left turns.

Yesterday I disassembled the steering column to have a look at the stalk. I don't really know what I'm looking for, but everything looked fine so I put it back together and tried again. This time, deflecting the stalk would illuminate the appropriate light in the dashboard, but again only the flashers on the right side of the car actually flashed. I checked the left front and rear turn signal bulbs and they looked fine, but after putting everything back together the stalk no longer worked. I also tried to look at the relay and couldn't find it (I have the Bentley manual and it states that the relay should be on bottom left of the center console).

Also, I'm not sure if it's relevant, but I've had this car for about 10 months, and I recall that the left turn signal always flashed faster than the right. In a similar vein, I had the A/C upgraded from the stock R12 system to the newer R134a system and only recently started using the A/C; again, not sure if there's a correlation or just a coincidence.

I've scheduled an appointment with my mechanic, but they're booked out a couple weeks, so I plan to have a closer look this weekend. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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Update
I opted to remove the stalk, fully this time, and cleaned the connectors as they were looking a bit rough. After putting it back, no luck, so I shifted focus to other areas. Checked the relay and verified that it's working as expected. Checked the front left ground and verified that the hazards were sending it voltage.

I did identify and fix a couple of related issues. First I found that two of the sockets in the left taillight were bad; replacing those made the hazards functional on the back, but the left front blinker still wasn't working. I tried swapping right and left bulbs and found that either bulb worked on the right, but neither worked on the left. I suspected that the socket wasn't getting power, so tested it with the multimeter and it was in fact getting power. Just for the hell of it, I tried a brand new bulb and that worked, so now my hazards are fully functional.

This is where it got weird. After getting the hazards back to full function, I tried the blinker and it worked, but there was a bit of buzzing when I deflected it. Also the left blinker now blinked at the correct pace after being a bit fast for the last year or so (which is how long I've owned the car). I cleaned everything up, put it all back together, tried the blinker again and? it didn't work any more. So I opened the hood back up, turned the car on, tried the blinker and this time it worked, again with some intermittent buzzing. Turned the car off, closed the hood, started the engine, tried the blinker again and it still worked, but I'm not sure for how long. Fingers crossed that it stays functional ? I honestly have no idea what I did that got it working, and still intend to hold my appointment with the mechanic to have the pros look at it.
 
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Here is a list of wiring diagrams for 240:

http://www.v8volvo.se/mekartips/volvo/Filer 240/_Filer_240.html

It looks like power only separates out into left and right at the hazard switch and turn signal stalk.

Since both of them fail to illuminate the left side you probably have a fault in the wiring or connections between those two and the lights.

Unfortunately that means turning on hazard lights and slowly and annoyingly probing each connection with a multimeter to check for 12V to ground. Start at the signal lever to make sure it's generating a signal. Then check at tail-lights to confirm no 12V to the bulbs. Then slowly trace backwards until you pick it up and you'll have located the break...

Do you have a wagon or sedan?
 
The relay is on the left side of the center stack clipped to the vertical metal frame. Black about one inch square. Give it a wack with the plastic end of a screwdriver. They cause strange problems.
 
Following. My turn signals randomly died, but hazards work fine. I tried replacing the stock with another used unit and the fuse. Nothing.
 
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