240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[wisty]

Mini fuse in inline looked ok and I didn't have any to swap , although now have some on order. I decided to check the passenger footwell fuse again. Looked ok but given that I had a spare I swapped it anyway. Tried the fan again by touching the wires and it worked! Thanks Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by wisty

Mini fuse in inline looked ok and I didn't have any to swap , although now have some on order. I decided to check the passenger footwell fuse again. Looked ok but given that I had a spare I swapped it anyway. Tried the fan again by touching the wires and it worked! Thanks Alan

Wow! I’m delighted!

I can’t remember which cct I took the switched live for the relay from, by coincidence it must have been the one protected by whichever fuse you changed.

All’s well that ends well

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by wisty

Mini fuse in inline looked ok and I didn't have any to swap , although now have some on order. I decided to check the passenger footwell fuse again. Looked ok but given that I had a spare I swapped it anyway. Tried the fan again by touching the wires and it worked! Thanks Alan

Just a quick note about fuses - they might "look" ok but the only way of proving they are intact is to test them, ideally with a test lamp or a multimeter.

If i had a quid for the number of times i've been caught out before going down the "test it or you can't be sure route" i could retire some time in the next 100 years!

Joking aside, it's all too easy to look at fuse and think it's ok when it's really not - the favourite is hairline cracks that usually can't be seen with the naked eye followed by oxidised blades that cause resistance and sometimes allow the load to function for a while and then stop it working. These can be a real pain to diagnose......

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Just a quick note about fuses - they might "look" ok but the only way of proving they are intact is to test them, ideally with a test lamp or a multimeter.

If i had a quid for the number of times i've been caught out before going down the "test it or you can't be sure route" i could retire some time in the next 100 years!

Joking aside, it's all too easy to look at fuse and think it's ok when it's really not - the favourite is hairline cracks that usually can't be seen with the naked eye followed by oxidised blades that cause resistance and sometimes allow the load to function for a while and then stop it working. These can be a real pain to diagnose......

Thank you for that Dave. I think you are right; as Kelton has found today, it must have been an invisibly damaged or badly seated fuse. Kelton is new to maintaining and repairing motor cars, so this has been an excellent learning experience for him with a fortuitous outcome.

[wisty]

Rookie error but as they say, every day's a school day! Thanks Dave and Alan.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by wisty

Rookie error but as they say, every day's a school day! Thanks Dave and Alan.

If everyone was honest, they'd all admit to at least one rookie mistake despite being experienced. Wouldn't worry about it!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by wisty

Rookie error but as they say, every day's a school day! Thanks Dave and Alan.

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If everyone was honest, they'd all admit to at least one rookie mistake despite being experienced. Wouldn't worry about it!

I’m not sure you made any error Kelton, Dave is absolutely right. It would have been really difficult to spot a fuse not working - you may well find that a few other things protected by the one you changed start working as well (I can’t remember where I took the switched live from for the fan relay). 240s are rather prone to fuse issues - just due to the design of the fuse box and those old-fashioned continental fuses. You were not to know that.

May we assume the fan operates when you press the override switch in the cab now (and it’s internal green light should come on)? If that is the case and you have topped up the coolant you are good to go. You may have to top it up (with water) a few times if there is any air trapped in the system, but that will work itself out soon enough. Filling it with water is fine this time of year, but before the winter flush and refill it with EG/water. Dave will explain his patent flushing method when you are ready to do that job.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

240s are rather prone to fuse issues - just due to the design of the fuse box and those old-fashioned continental fuses. You were not to know that.

Three essential tools for the autoelectrician from the late 60s through to about the late 90s were a piece of emery tape, snipe-nosed pliers and a 1/4" drill bit.

Why? Continental fuses! The drill bit, held between the fingers could clean the fusebox contacts where the fuse sits, the emery cloth/tape could be used to clean the ends of the fuse and the pliers to tweak the contacts to restore the tension on the fuse. Fixed ~90% of breakdowns with those three things!

With the advent of the blade fuses in the late 70s/early 80s, that seemed to be the end of fuse problems but now i'm seeing older cars with blade fuses giving problems because the blades have oxidised.
Similar method but just clean the blades or renew the fuse although if you fold the emery tape the right way you can clean the fuseholder contacts too.

As for my coolant renewal method, i must have typed it so many times i should be able to find a link!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Three essential tools for the autoelectrician from the late 60s through to about the late 90s were a piece of emery tape, snipe-nosed pliers and a 1/4" drill bit.

Why? Continental fuses! The drill bit, held between the fingers could clean the fusebox contacts where the fuse sits, the emery cloth/tape could be used to clean the ends of the fuse and the pliers to tweak the contacts to restore the tension on the fuse. Fixed ~90% of breakdowns with those three things!

With the advent of the blade fuses in the late 70s/early 80s, that seemed to be the end of fuse problems but now i'm seeing older cars with blade fuses giving problems because the blades have oxidised.
Similar method but just clean the blades or renew the fuse although if you fold the emery tape the right way you can clean the fuseholder contacts too.

As for my coolant renewal method, i must have typed it so many times i should be able to find a link!

Good post for Kelton.

[wisty]

Interesting to hear about how this was such a problem in the past. Thanks for that insight Dave.

I will check the override switch tonight and take the RB for a run to see how it goes. 👍