4 replies to this topic

[JC 855 GLT-R]

what are the signs of ignition switch failure? my dads 90 740 has a few issues that i think are related to the ignition switch. it has 280k what its doing is the car runs and drives fine but after the inside of the car heats up ie heat generated from the heater etc, the car would not start. it would run and drive fine before the no start but after driving for a while with heater on and the such the car would not start after you turn it off. when it happens i swap the pnp switch to see if it would solve the issue and nada. when i say no start i mean that the starter does not click or anything, dash lights come on and the such. once the car cools down for 15-20 minutes it works fine like nothing happened at all. i suspect that the contact arent touching or something. anyone got ideas? im in the process of searching through pages of post here, on TB and BB.

[Three Fat Tigers]

Sounds like a failing starter solenoid, odds are high that is the issue.

There is a starter test terminal in the engine compartment that you can jumper to the battery, I'll try to post a photo here momentarily. When jumpered if then you do get a response from the starter, then the ignition switch is bad. But if no response, then it could be the pnp switch, or the solenoid, and I would take a screwdriver to the solenoid and use the driver to directly jumper the terminal for the main battery cable to the terminal for the ignition switch. Another thing you can try is tapping on the solenoid, maybe use an long socket extension or a pipe to reach down there, rap on that with a hammer while someone holds the key in the start position; a response indicates a bad solenoid. Otherwise also try moving the shifter back and forth from N to P while holding the key in the start position.

Should the solenoid be bad, it can be replaced separately, but the odds are it would cost almost as much as a new (aka re-manufactured) starter. The ignition switch is very easy to change once you remove the instrument panel, same switch used in pretty much all 240/700/900 Volvos, they are very reliable so I would hesitate to go with a used part. PNP switch can be bypassed by connecting the starter test terminal to the starter solenoid and left that way until you replace the switch.

See also: http://forums.turbob...965&postcount=7

[JC 855 GLT-R]

Sounds like a failing starter solenoid, odds are high that is the issue.

There is a starter test terminal in the engine compartment that you can jumper to the battery, I'll try to post a photo here momentarily. When jumpered if then you do get a response from the starter, then the ignition switch is bad. But if no response, then it could be the pnp switch, or the solenoid, and I would take a screwdriver to the solenoid and use the driver to directly jumper the terminal for the main battery cable to the terminal for the ignition switch. Another thing you can try is tapping on the solenoid, maybe use an long socket extension or a pipe to reach down there, rap on that with a hammer while someone holds the key in the start position; a response indicates a bad solenoid. Otherwise also try moving the shifter back and forth from N to P while holding the key in the start position.

Should the solenoid be bad, it can be replaced separately, but the odds are it would cost almost as much as a new (aka re-manufactured) starter. The ignition switch is very easy to change once you remove the instrument panel, same switch used in pretty much all 240/700/900 Volvos, they are very reliable so I would hesitate to go with a used part. PNP switch can be bypassed by connecting the starter test terminal to the starter solenoid and left that way until you replace the switch.

See also: http://forums.turbob...965&postcount=7

ill try that when i get back, i already tried putting it in neutral and park and i already tried the ratchet cleaning thing with the pnp and no change. i know that the starter was replaced a while back.

[MrWinkey]

Another thing you can try is tapping on the solenoid, maybe use an long socket extension or a pipe to reach down there, rap on that with a hammer while someone holds the key in the start position

Or wack the starter body itself

[Three Fat Tigers]

The starter solenoid failure when it get hot from engine heat is a very common failure mode. As for the ignition switch, it is not close enough to anything that gets hot, including the HVAC system, to be effected by heat. While the PNP switch can get warm from it's proximity to the transmission, again it doesn't typically fail due to temperature. Otherwise I would expect both switches to behave worse when stone cold versus hot.