How do you turn ON DRL on a 1997 940?

[Rversteeg]

On my Benelux / Nordic spec 940 I have removed fuse 25. I never touch the light switch and leave it in position 2 all the time, even when the ignition is off. When I turn off the ignition all lighting is automatically switched off too. During cranking most power consumers (like the headlights) are also switched off automatically to spare the battery.
I am not sure if it works on your cars as well, but on all the volvo's I have driven there was no need to ever touch the light switch!

[black t top]

OK......all the DRL stuff is present and correct and as Laird Scooby said the DRLs are working......is there a definitive way to know if the car had Dim Dip or not, like a module or something?

As Scooby said, it either didn't have Dim Dip or it isn't working.

(sorry for confusing things by previously referring to everything as DRL lol)

[Laird Scooby]

I recently had computer problems and lost a lot of my sources of reference, i'll have a go at trying to find the one where i could look this up but i believe there is a dim-dip relay in the fusebox under the ashtray, often they were a bright colour to show they weren't just the "average" relay - Fords of the time had a pink one for example but the intermittent wipe relay is pink in Volvos.

If i do manage to find the relevant source again, which Volvo am i looking for?

No worries on the dim-dip/DRL confusion, pretty understandable really. When dim-dip became law back in 1987, not much was said. It was only really people "in the know" that got to hear anything about it, most people didn't even know the law had changed or anything else.

Fast-forward to 2010 or thereabouts when they announced they were changing the law so all new cars from 2011 (another slightly grey area - existing models didn't have to but new models from 2011 did) had to have LED DRLs, it was all over the news, the internet (which was only a figment of our imagination back in 1987), the papers and so on and car dealers were making a big thing of this "new" safety feature!

Considering Volvos (and Saabs) had DRLs for decades beforehand thanks to Swedish law, then it took us a fair while to catch up although we did try with dim-dip which was a slightly different thing. The DRLs were automatic in their operation, dim-dip responded to the sidelights being switched on with the engine running.

[bob12]

I have a feeling that I have read somewhere in the past that the dim/dip control/relay box is situated somewhere under the driver's side (right) dash on some bit of metalwork. Remove lower trim panel to search and maybe find! On my 745 it's definitely not on the relay board, but I have never had to search for it.

[Laird Scooby]

Good point Bob, i seem to recall seeing it on my 760 when i replaced the intermittent wipe relay and like you, i wasn't looking for the dim-dip nor have i ever needed to.

[Rversteeg]

Only the UK spec cars have a dim/dip relay. According the diagram of the last series the relay is located behind the ashtray. It is relay 2/3 and it actually switches the power via resistor 7/46 on or off.
If the light switch is turned off, the dim/dip relay is not powered and the head lights will be fed via the resistor (reduced low beam). If you switch on the light switch to position 1 or 2, the head lights will be no longer fed via the resistor but via the usual way. The dim/dip relay does not seem to have influence on the parking lights.
So if you do not have reduced low beam on ignition on / light switch off, it is either a defect or missing dim/dip relay 2/3 or resistor 7/46.

[bob12]

Originally Posted by Rversteeg

Only the UK spec cars have a dim/dip relay. According the diagram of the last series the relay is located behind the ashtray. It is relay 2/3 and it actually switches the power via resistor 7/46 on or off.

So if you do not have reduced low beam on ignition on / light switch off, it is either a defect or missing dim/dip relay 2/3 or resistor 7/46.

Thanks Rversteeg .... but the mystery continues to a degree. Where is 7/46 located? It is not on the left hand inner wing of my 1990 745 (which has dim/dip) or as far as I can see on the other wing or around the headlights.

All you have on the left hand inner wing is the ignition amplifier behind the air filter box. I have also looked on my breaker (which also has dim/dip) and there is nothing there or under the dash (although it's not easy to see up there).

I have no problem in locating 2/37 on the relay board. It will turn up somewhere when I am least expecting it. Cheers Bob

[black t top]

Thanks Rversteeg, that was very useful!

I'll go and look for the relay behind the ashtray and if nothing is there I'll have a look up under the dash and see if I can spot a missing relay anywhere!

I'll have a look for the resistor too......if the rain ever goes off!!

If I can find the relay and resistor locations on my 97 car, I can swap the working ones from my 98 car to see which are faulty.

(I'm assuming that although delivered to Germany new, the car is a UK spec......so should have dim dip.....as the 1st owner was just stationed at an army base over there and the car is RHD).

Laird scooby, Its a 1997 940 2.3LPT M90 Estate.

[stegreg]

If looking for the headlamp dimming resistors, they are mounted behind the passenger headlamp on the inner wing, basically just above the top of the battery, mounted in some silver coloured alloy open slotted casings. I know, as put my fingers on one by accident...yep, they're hot !

[bob12]

Originally Posted by stegreg

If looking for the headlamp dimming resistors, they are mounted behind the passenger headlamp on the inner wing, basically just above the top of the battery, mounted in some silver coloured alloy open slotted casings. I know, as put my fingers on one by accident...yep, they're hot !

What model is that? The battery on my 745 B200F is on the right hand driver's side. When the weather improves I will look again as I am determined to find the resistor unit ... eventually