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240 Electrical Gremlins

VolvoScout

VolvoScout

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2012
Location
Upstate, NY
My Grandmother's 1993 240 has some electrical Gremlins wreaking havoc on the car.

Below are the symptoms....
1. Power windows don't work.
2. Electric door locks don't work.
3. Front parking lamps and tail lights stay illuminated when car is off and key removed
4. Dash cluster stays illuminated when car is off and key removed)
5. Tail lights go off and brake lights come on when brake pedal depressed (when car is off and key removed)
6. All lights work as normal when car is on/running.

I'm assuming this is a grounding issue.

Any idea where I should start investigating?
 
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VolvoScout said:
My Grandmother's 1993 240 has some electrical Gremlins wreaking havoc on the car.

Below are the symptoms....
1. Power windows don't work.
2. Electric door locks don't work.
3. Front parking lamps and tail lights stay illuminated when car is off and key removed
4. Dash cluster stays illuminated when car is off and key removed)
5. Tail lights go off and brake lights come on when brake pedal depressed (when car is off and key removed)
6. All lights work as normal when car is on/running.

I'm assuming this is a grounding issue.

Any idea where I should start investigating?
Click to expand...

Start by checking fuses, corroded contacts , non visible failures etc. and check/clean all grounds.
 
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I also found this near the fuse box.
Never seen it before; anyone know what it is?
 
^^^ I think that it's an aftermarket keyless entry box, which taps into the green/red/white door lock open/close cable. I don't know if also connects to other stuff as an alarm system / ignition disconnect.
 
Just followed the wiring and you are correct.
I removed it and the door locks seem to be working again.

Now I just need to figure out the issue with the headlights, tail lights, dash cluster light and power windows...
 
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There are grounds for the lights in the back of the car for the tail lights. One on each side. In the front there are grounds for the lights on each inner fender. Overall, though, I'd clean or replace every fuse. Try to get the good brass and copper fuses. They last much longer than the pot metal ones. Don't trust the fuse just because it looks ok. At the very least spin them in their contacts to break any corrosion.
 
cleaned & reseated the fuses and checked the 2 ground wires at the front and the 2 at the back; no change.

dl242gt said:
There are grounds for the lights in the back of the car for the tail lights. One on each side. In the front there are grounds for the lights on each inner fender. Overall, though, I'd clean or replace every fuse. Try to get the good brass and copper fuses. They last much longer than the pot metal ones. Don't trust the fuse just because it looks ok. At the very least spin them in their contacts to break any corrosion.
Click to expand...
 
Ok then it's time to get the test light out and check the relays for those circuits. The door locks and the power windows have relays in the center console. You have to remove it to get behind where the relays are. Make sure terminal 30 gets power also the window relay should have the output energized when the key is on. There are two relays for the door locks. One unlocks the other locks.

I would also check that the wiring in the drivers door hinge is OK. That can break from all the flexing over the years.
 
VolvoScout said:
3. Front parking lamps and tail lights stay illuminated when car is off and key removed
4. Dash cluster stays illuminated when car is off and key removed)
Click to expand...
Try unplugging the headlight switch and see if these lights go out. If so, your switch may be the culprit.

There's also a headlight relay that can supply power to these lights. If the relay is stuck, your headlights will also stay on with the key removed and headlight switch on. See pg. 28 of TP32352 (ozvolvo.org/archive/) for a vague sketch of where to find the headlight relay. If you can figure out which one, and you think it's stuck, whack it with a screwdriver handle and see if the lights go out.
 
Solved the Headlight, Tail light and Dash Light problem; it was the relay!
Thanks, guys!

Next up are the power windows...
I've swapped the driver and front passenger switches, tried swapping the relay and checked the fuse.
Windows still won't work.
Where is the next place I should look?
 
For the windows, there's another relay, at the other end of the row from the headlight relay, that powers the motors. If you have a multimeter, or a test light, with key on, check on the fuse panel that both sides of fuse 10 (main window power) and both sides of fuse 12 (relay coil power, from ignition switch) are ~12volts.
 
Driver side low bean does not go on. Both high beams and passenger side low beam work. Your advice please.
 
Simplest guess would be a burnt out headlight bulb (just the low beam filament).

If it's not this, I'd examine/clean the connector.

[edit, sorry I was looking at the wrong wire] The low beam wires go through Bulb Failure Sensor (big round can), so you'll need to trace the wiring from the Bulb Failure Sensor to the bad headlight. The high beams are wired together directly.
 
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