23 replies to this topic

[phunktified]

rodrigo, on 15 November 2011 - 09:48 PM, said:

If my last attempt at repairing them doe snot work I will do the hard-wiring, but I also spent some time looking at the circuit board and tracing stuff out. It should be easy to see on the circuit board if you still have it on there.

http://www.k-jet.org...ng-tail-lights/

thatll work, thanks man

[rodrigo]

That's what I'll be following if all else fails.

Keep you posted.

[rodrigo]

James A Sousa, on 16 November 2011 - 12:04 AM, said:

I don't know about 240s but the bulb holders in 740s are definately different. They are different colors - green and white I thing.

When I had my first tail light issue with a 740 sedan - I swapped the bulbs to see if it was just a bad bulb - in short order i noticed that something was melting.

I did not find the problem until I removed both tail lights and took them apart and saw how the bulbs made contact on each side.

I am not familiar with the 740 series holders...i wish all of them were like the 940's where the set up is a tray with bulbs and metal contacts but I guess that was saved for the luxury cars.

The OEM volvo holders seem to differ among 3 diferent styles for the same 6-panel tail light.

Then there is the issue that some of the cards look like they were set up diferently in terms of wiring and I may have to switch the contactors on the plug to contact the correct strip on the card.

Welcome to confusion city limits....follow this route to get to the center of town.

[rodrigo]

So, after talking with the tech I take the 240 to, the same tech that has been helping in keeping my cars on the road for 11 years now, I discovered a few interesting things.

I got aftermarket tail lights for the 240 because the original ones were shot: holes in the lenses, and melted interior with wore solders and jumper wires all over the place on the circuit card. With these new aftermarket units worked well for about 3 weeks then I started getting the bulb out sensor: the tail/brake lights was not working. Upon inspection, the interior of the lens melted and the card was all blackened. I contacted FCP and they sent me a new passenger side light as this was the only one affected. The same thing happened again and I didn’t bother to contact FCP…I wanted to find out why this was happening (I figured the first was a fluke). I got another circuit card and when installing it I found that the contacts on the bulb holder did not match up with the contacts on the card…it was off by something like 15 degrees on the holder rotation. Now I’m thinking…”What the hell?!?!?” I started researching the issue and found that this was an issue with a lot of aftermarket tail lights for the 240, and that the OEM’s do not have this issue. I had to go to my tech, as the bulb out light was driving me insane.

According to the Volvo tech I go to, OEM Volvo 240 tail lights were redesigned a few times. Basically it seems like the 1983 version of the tail lights are the same as the later version (mine: a ’92) on the exterior (6 panel), but the wiring on the plug is different and the circuit cards are different. I guess this is what I experienced when I would plug in my passenger side light socket and see that the contacts on the bulb socket/holder just would not reach the proper contacts on the card I had gotten as a replacement. If it did reach, by turning the holder around so that at least it would light, the brake light would be on.

So for those looking to install aftermarket tail lights, like the ones from FCP, the passenger side tail light needs a bulb socket/holder from a car with the earlier holders.

That seemed to work for my case. Hope this helps.

J