240 estate tailgate wiring problem ... help!

[Phil Russell]

My topic last night is solved, at least partially. A trawl of the net revealed to me that the parking lights on each side are controlled by independent fuses. The nearside fuse also controls the number plate lights.
Inspection of the fuses showed that the fuse in question (No 15)had indeed blown. A replacement restored the parking lights and the dim daylight running light to full brilliabnce ... but no number plate lights. Bulbs were OK, as was earth connection.
Further examination showed a break in the live feed as it goes around the nearside hinge on the tailgate to enter the tailgate. I wonder if this break blew the fuse? To repair this cable I need to remove tailgate to create a splice ...using cable that will survive the opening and closing sequence. I suspect that I will have to use a new 4 way cable and splice all the wires that enter the tailgate at that point (I can see a blue cable with insulation breaking)... also splicing as they enter the main bodywork (the tailgate lights join at a connector so that is OK).

Is this a straightforward job?
Or is it a volvo agent job as he might have the correct cables?

All help appreciated
Thanks in advance
Phil

[Peter Milnes]

Just obtain the relevant loom portion and replace the old loom. IIRC it plugs in just inside the roof liner.

All the best, Peter.

[Clifford Pope]

There are different looms for different models, with different connectors and different colour codes - I've been caught out on that one!
There have been threads on this topic. Some advocate doing a proper replacement, others like me are sick and tired of replacing broken wiring inside the hinges, and have simply bypassed the whole lot by putting new wires down a loop of plastic tube and attaching it to the lip of the headliner and the tailgate. That lasts for ever, you don't need to remove the hinges, and the loop of tube hardly shows or matters, IMHO.
Don't be tempted into trying to swap connectors or repair the special wire - it is very resistant to wetting by solder, and you just end up with melted sheathing and a weak joint.

I'm with Clifford on this one. I have a loop of sheath running into the tailgate from the headliner. It's almost invisible in the rear view and doesn't pose a problem.
I raided a car in the breakers yard for a spare tailgate loom so I had all the colour correct wire and spare connectors. It took a few hours to do and was easy.

To solder the flexible angel wire used in the loom, I used plumbers flux which gave a good result. I have been warned though that the acid used in this can attack the insulation, I did use very little and cleaned up after soldering and have had no problems yet.

Now that my hinges are no longer carrying the wiring loom, I'm going to attempt a hinge swap to 740 style hinges. That'll be fun!

[Phil Russell]

Tried to say 'thanks' but my PC decided to play up... so 'Thanks to all' for the bypass suggestion. Quite obvious really and I am sad I did not think of it ...

So, Cheers all
Phil

[Erling]

Two links you might find interesting, with instructions for
(1) "Proper" replacement: http://www.swedishbricks.net/TechTip...teharness.html
(2) Rerouting: http://brickparts.d--r.com/tailgate.htm

Good luck!

[Phil Russell]

Thanks everyone. I hope the job is now done ... time consuming but not too difficult. I took the line of avoiding the hinges and routing all wires to the drivers side, up the tailgate channel and into the headlining. I arranged the wire joins so that I had none in the actual wire loop that went from the tailgate to the headlining. So joins were made both in the tailgate and in the headlining bodywork space. My wires were a little longer than absolutely necessary but this made it easier to manipulate them. I just looped them afterwards. A potential problem I saw was in passing 8 cables (4 from each side) up the tailgate channel. I solved this by passing 8 lengths of string down the channel before starting to route the wires. Just attach wires one at a time and pull them through.
In routing cables like this, some people have used tape to hold the cables together in the loop. I thought this may end up a bit stiff so I passed all cables through a length of cycle inner tube (a 700C x 23mm actually). This keeps them together and looks quite neat. The headlining is obviously not located in the corner where the cables enter, but it has stayed put for 48h now and I am sure I can think of a fix if it begins to peel away.
So ... electrics operating. I now wonder if these breaks, plus moisture getting in, have been the cause of a couple of fuses blowing in the daylight lamp circuit for no apparent reason.
Cheers all
Phil