240 General: 1990 240 GLE: Lamda Light and Kickdown Issues

[MattyBrown]

Hi All,

I picked up my first volvo last year, a 1990 240 GLE 2.4 in great condition with only 70k on it.

I've recently had a couple issues I was wondering if anyone has experience of.

LAMDA LIGHT
The lamda light came on after a while and I took it to my local specialist who replaced the engine coolant temp sensor, and the light tuned off, only for the light to come back on after the first long (70 mile) journey. This has also now happened for a second time. The specialist has run out of ideas on how to address the issue. Has anyone else experience this before? Can anyone point me to other parts to check?

KICKDOWN / ACCELERATOR
The accelerator has become increasingly stiff, especially on first depress after ignition. The transmission shifts late, often requiring me to release the throttle completely to achieve a shift down at a higher speed and rpm than the shown in the charts. This was addressed by the specialist but only through some partial lubrication which made it run better temporarily. They noted that the cable may need to be replaced.
This evening I'll be checking both the accelerator and kickdown cables to see if they need adjustment/replacement based on the Haynes specs. Can anyone recommend other resources for diagnosis?

Thanks,

Matty

[MattyBrown]

*Update*

Kickdown needs replacing as its not drawing the cable back towards the transmission.
Still exploring the lamda issue.

[Clifford Pope]

Originally Posted by MattyBrown

LAMDA LIGHT
The lamda light came on after a while and I took it to my local specialist who replaced the engine coolant temp sensor, and the light tuned off, only for the light to come back on after the first long (70 mile) journey. This has also now happened for a second time. The specialist has run out of ideas on how to address the issue. Has anyone else experience this before? Can anyone point me to other parts to check?

What happens if you cancel the light? Does it immediately come back on again, or stay off for a long time? If it comes back on, what fault does the diagnostic say is responsible?

I have had OBD systems that behave erratically, sometimes coming on for no apparent reason, and staying off for months after cancelling before randomly coming on again.
My current car did this and I just got used to cancelling it once in a while, then after a real fault occured in the flooding earlier this year I very thorougly re-did all the earths including the big one hidden behind the battery. Since fixing that the light has not come on since.

It seems very sensitive to poor earths. Might be worth a check anyway.

[DW42]

Have you checked which fault codes are being recorded using the little black OBD diagnostic box? It's possible that the new coolant temp sensor has failed.

You could also have a look at the spark plugs. If they are black, it's likely that it's been running rich. If not then it could simply be an electrical gremlin that isn't important.

In my experience a bad oxygen sensor (lambda sensor) can cause rich running after warm-up, along with various fault codes and the light coming on.

[MattyBrown]

Hi Clifford and DW42,

Many thanks for your replies.

Previously, before replacing the ECT, the codes present were 232 (Lambda control – too lean or too rich at idle) and 123 (Coolant temperature sensor signal missing or faulty). After replacing the ECT twice now, the 123 code is still present. As I am reluctant to believe that 3 no. ECTs can go in a couple of months, I'm gonna give Clifford's recommendation a go and check all the earths and wiring first.

Wish me luck on hunting down a kickdown cable.

[Stephen Edwin]

Good luck if you need it re a kick down cable. (A Volvo dealer?) Re that cable, I have over the years seen a number of threads in the forum where problems have been solved by fitting a new kick down cable. It is apparently a job well worth doing.

Good luck and enjoy.


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