Quote:
Originally Posted by hreg240
Thanks guys; she's not half bad. A bit of a 6 footer but we shan't complain too much.
As a bit of an update to the thread, the indicators may now be fixed, but the main beam (intermittently) decides to stick on when I flash someone with dipped beams on.
It was stuck on this morning, but I turned my lights off, flashed someone with them off and, when I pulled up to work, the dipped beams had returned and mains seemed unstuck.
I think it is either the in-dash relay, or the stalk. Thankfully I have found someone on the FB group to send me a stalk; I shall try that and see what happens, as well as clean up the contacts on the relay.
Aside from electrical foibles, I have started to fill my basket on a motor factor's website, ready to service the car this weekend. I shall be doing: oil and filter (10w40 Castrol Magnatec, same as I use on all my classics, and the MANN 917 filter); as well as the air filter, some new fuses all round and potentially spark plugs and HT leads.
If anyone knows the correct sparks and leads to buy, please let me know. I am currently waiting on my Haynes to arrive in the post, so can't check that yet.
I also have some annoying belt squeal upon start-up, for about 5 minutes until warm. Anyone have any ideas on that?
All in all, the old girl is doing alright. Drove her 35 miles into work today (into London  ) and she performed well.
P.S - I called my local Volvo dealer and got the radio code. It worked, but the radio is utterly terrible. I shall survive using my phone / portable speaker for now, but will look to change the radio and associated wiring + speakers soon. I will be going for an OEM style Blaupunkt radio, as I'm not a fan of modern looking headunits. |
The headlamp issue is sort of unlikely to be the stalk as the contacts are quite chunky inside (but it could be). It is more likely to be the lighting relay, which you will probably find is in the engine compartment next to the busbar, it will probably look like the larger one in this photo:
... I can't remember which year your your motor car is, but Volvo didn't change things much over decades so it is probably the same. You should be able to hear it working as you operate the stalk. If it doesn't try pulling off the connector and giving the pins a spray with some contact cleaner.
You will have a few electrical foibles on a 30-40 year old Volvo: the wiring at the back of estate cars often goes wrong (there are lots of posts on these issues because they happen so often), the insulation on the engine compartment loom has probably started falling off (particularly around the alternator and the oil pressure switch), some of electric window switches will probably be a bit reluctant to work and the instrument lights may be a problem.
You can look up the right spark plugs for your motor on any motor factor's website or on eBay. I generally use NGK, they are cheap and work perfectly well. Some folk will say one must fit Volvo plugs; I've never found that to be the case. In my experience after market plug leads, distributor caps and rotor arms work perfectly well, Febi seems to be quite a good make. Your motor factor or eBay will find them for you. Again, some folk will tell you that one must get OEM parts... believe that if you want to - I have always found pattern parts to be fine and they are much cheaper.
The squeal will probably be from one or more of the auxiliary belts (2 for the alternator/water pump and one for the PAS). Adjust the tension and the noise will probably go away. The belts are cheap (again, aftermarket ones are fine) so it is a good idea to change them anyway. If changing the belts and tensioning them correctly doesn't solve the issue it will be a bearing in the alternator or PAS pump; just listen and it will be obvious if it is one of those.
The 30-40 year old Volvo radios were rubbish by modern standards. Fitting modern ICE in the Volvo sized hole and connectors can be a pain because (particularly on the earlier models) Mr Volvo didn't use DIN sized holes and ISO connectors. There are ways around it that aren't too difficult or expensive; if you looks at the Barge's thread (about 6 months ago) you will find some ideas to fix both the DIN and ISO issues. I fitted a £15 Chinese radio that works perfectly well, but if you want to you may spend another £200 on a Blaupunkt one that will do much the same thing with a smart badge.
Good fortune,
