DC-10 Captain Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I was on my third 240, when my sister offered to give me her 1995 850 sedan for free. Naturally, I accepted. The 240 had 218K miles; even though it was in excellent condition, I figured I couldn't turn down a much newer, seemingly more reliable car.*well*Here are how things have unfolded so far:Camshaft Position sensor -- $200Motor mounts -- $200Alternator and battery -- $300Breaks/rotors -- $550Shocks/struts -- $500And now, the car can barely put out any power. The exhaust pipe sounds like hell, so I'm thinking it may just need a catalytic converter and/or O2 sensors.The dashboard lights also mysteriously went out, even though fuse #35 is recieving power.This is all excluding maintenance items, such as the timing belt, tune-ups, etc.The car has only 102K. I have two questions:1) Any idea why the dashlights wouldn't work, even though the fuse outlet is fine?2) Should I sell this car?The car has been in an accident, so the title is reconstructed. I really don't know what to do. Yeah, it's fun to drive (5spd manual) and it's safe, but it's a real money pit. At the same time, I don't see why anyone would want to buy it.Has anyone else had trouble with 850s, or is this just a bad year?Thanks for any input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Any 11+ year old car requires maintenence, and 850's aren't cheap to maintain.There may be something disconnected on the instrument cluster. Are you willing to work on it yourself?As far as the low power, read the DTC codes, and report back. The info you need is posted here in the pinned threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 ...and as far as asking for opinions if you should keep/sell the car, only you can figure that one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherS70 Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Part it out!I am sure someone will give you good money for that money with only 102k on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC-10 Captain Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Any 11+ year old car requires maintenence, and 850's aren't cheap to maintain.There may be something disconnected on the instrument cluster. Are you willing to work on it yourself?As far as the low power, read the DTC codes, and report back. The info you need is posted here in the pinned threads.I'm going to my mechanic tomorrow to have the catalytic converter insepected. The exhaust gas is very hot coming out of the tailpipe. I don't know if this is normal? In any case, I'll have to see what tomorrow brings.I am willing to work on it, for sure. The only update I have on the instrument cluster is that, if I take out fuse #35 and put it back in, the clock light will barely flicker. I haven't gone any further than that so far. This puzzles me however, because if I wiggle the fuse when it's fully in position and connected, this won't do anything. Furthermore, I get a continuous voltage with my multi-meter from the fusebox. So, the problem seems to be coming from there, but I don't know what it could be or how it could be remedied as there seems to be constant power to the source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilhuly Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Sounds like you're pretty far down the line at this point. I don't recommend people to buy these cars unless they're willing to turn a wrech and continue their education in the automotive world. With some basic/moderate skills you could easily have shaved at least $500 out of the shocks/struts and brakes, but its a choice. Hey, big picture, If I knew out front that all that stuff would need to be done, including the cat and 02 and somebody offered me that car for free I'd take it in a second. Nothings free.Conversly, you could definitely sell it for 4k if it runs well and you have less than 2k in it. I think your free car expectations were too high maybe.quote name='DC-10 Captain' date='Sep 20 2006, 11:01 PM' post='759692']I was on my third 240, when my sister offered to give me her 1995 850 sedan for free. Naturally, I accepted. The 240 had 218K miles; even though it was in excellent condition, I figured I couldn't turn down a much newer, seemingly more reliable car.*well*Here are how things have unfolded so far:Camshaft Position sensor -- $200Motor mounts -- $200Alternator and battery -- $300Breaks/rotors -- $550Shocks/struts -- $500And now, the car can barely put out any power. The exhaust pipe sounds like hell, so I'm thinking it may just need a catalytic converter and/or O2 sensors.The dashboard lights also mysteriously went out, even though fuse #35 is recieving power.This is all excluding maintenance items, such as the timing belt, tune-ups, etc.The car has only 102K. I have two questions:1) Any idea why the dashlights wouldn't work, even though the fuse outlet is fine?2) Should I sell this car?The car has been in an accident, so the title is reconstructed. I really don't know what to do. Yeah, it's fun to drive (5spd manual) and it's safe, but it's a real money pit. At the same time, I don't see why anyone would want to buy it.Has anyone else had trouble with 850s, or is this just a bad year?Thanks for any input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jays850 Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Just wondering if you tried the dimmer switch on your dash lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC-10 Captain Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Just wondering if you tried the dimmer switch on your dash lights?Yeah, I thought of that .. but it doesn't do anything. I had a fuse go out once on my 240 that fried the dimmer switch, and I had the same exact problem. Once I replaced it, everything was fine. I think I'm going to try and replace this one and see if that's it. Any idea on how I could test the one I have to see if it works properly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM850R Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Yeah, I thought of that .. but it doesn't do anything. I had a fuse go out once on my 240 that fried the dimmer switch, and I had the same exact problem. Once I replaced it, everything was fine. I think I'm going to try and replace this one and see if that's it. Any idea on how I could test the one I have to see if it works properly?The switch? Hook up a voltometer (dunno how to spell it) to see if its getting 12v like it should. That would be my guess on how to test it. Well I guess that would test the lines before it. Electricity is not really my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlvinL Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Yeah, I thought of that .. but it doesn't do anything. I had a fuse go out once on my 240 that fried the dimmer switch, and I had the same exact problem. Once I replaced it, everything was fine. I think I'm going to try and replace this one and see if that's it. Any idea on how I could test the one I have to see if it works properly?Try bypassing the dimmer switch to test...http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=59666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prasamin Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 so you don't consider most of those things you have listed with costs as maintenance? on an 11 year old car?I don't know man, but brakes, mounts, battery, shocks/struts are pretty much maintenance when the car is 11 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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