1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate

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1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Bob McCormick on
Monday, 24 November 1997, at 12:43 a.m.

Upon investigation of an inoperative rear wiper on my 1988 240 DL station wagon, I discovered that the wiring harness has fractured at the point where the wires transit the hinge between the tailgate and the roof of the car. It appears that the wires flexing as the tailgate has been lifted and closed over the past ten years has led to fatigue in the wires just at the point where they enter the hinge half which is attached to the roof of the car. Actually, all the wires (four on each side) are either broken or have insulation broken with a couple hanging on by only a few strands of copper.

For Volvo, this wiring design seems rather poorly thought out. After close inspection of the situation, I could see no obvious way to get at the wires to repair them. I'm guessing I'm not the only 240 DL owner to encounter this problem.

I would really appreciate some advice as follows:

>>> What is the simplest way to get at the wiring harness to repair the wires?
>>> Is it necessary to remove the tailgate and disassemble the hinge and if so how do I do that?
>>> Is it necessary to remove the headliner in the rear compartment to gain access to the wiring inside and if so how does the headliner come out?

>>> Finally, I noticed that the wires on both sides are the same colors (lt blue, yellow, black and white). Can anyone tell me what the color code is on the two sides or even better give me a source of a wiring diagram available on-line?

Thanks very much for any help you can share

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Kent Huffman on
Monday, 24 November 1997, at 9:48 p.m.

Bob,

iPD sells a wiring harness for just the problem you have described. I am sure they can be of assistance.

Kent

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Dave Spriggs on
Monday, 24 November 1997, at 10:56 p.m.

Bob,
Some years ago, I had the same problem with my '78 245 wagon. It was the harness running thru the left tailgate hinge. Replaced it myself. Swore I would never do it again

As a matter of fact, I now have the same problem with the right harness on my '88 240 wagon, disabling the rear wiper. And I don't intend to do it myself.

The correct answer is "all of the above". As I recall from doing my '78, I had to peel back the headliner which was stretched over a metal frame. The frame and the vinyl were somewhat flexible which made it easier than one might think. This revealed the connector for one end of the harness. Then, I had to disassemble the hinge; if memory serves, it was bolted from the bottom and the bolt heads were exposed when I removed the headliner. The harness is threaded up thru the roof, thru the hinge, then down the door. This is where it got frusrating for two reasons. (1) Trying to support the tailgate in the raised position with one hinge removed, and (2) trying to thread the harness down a very narrow passage in the tailgate. On reflection, I should have: (1) Asked a friend to hold the door in position while I threaded the harness and (2) tied a string or wire around the old harness as I removed it so that I could simply pull the new one back thru. Ah, well, live and learn. Having threaded the harness down the door, I recall that there was very little room for fingers to remake the connections. I know that I had to remove the interior trim panel to expose the access to the connections, but they were still not visible, so the work was done mostly by feel.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most fun part: trying not to pinch the new harness as I reinstalled and tightened the hinge. Again, this is a job requiring four hands.

So you can see that I am really anxious to tackle this again on my '88. Still, there's a certain satisfaction to doing these things oneself, especially when the alternative costs $50/hr.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Dave Stevens on
Tuesday, 25 November 1997, at 7:56 a.m.

Dave Spriggs has captured the very essence of my experience with tailgate wiring, a close encounter of the frustrating kind if ever there was one. I've done this job twice myself and I'm faced with doing it again (my wife's tailgate wiper is doing a permanent salute to following drivers -I mean her wagons tailgate not hers).

A couple of things I've learned (FWIW):

-Don't try replacing the wiring with standard stranded copper wire. It won't last long. You need wire that's specifically designed for flexing.

-The cheapest temporary fix is to pull some slack for the broken wire either from the headliner area or from the tailgate and make a proper crimp junction.

-The replacement wiring harnesses from Volvo may be cheaper than those from ipd.

-Protect the paint before removing the hinge.

-Don't let the tailgate drop or twist, otherwise it will be new gas strut time.

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Stoney on
Tuesday, 25 November 1997, at 9:52 a.m.

Use a 6ft Ladder to support the tailgate at the handle end, strap it to the ladder with bungie cords.
Make a T from 2x4's to support the front end and make it an inch or two longer to keep the gate off the roof.

Be sure to NOT REMOVE any mastic/caulk you find, if it did not leak before then don't screw with the caulking, it will probably go back the same way. Check the rubber gasket for tears, replace if needed.

Be sure the harness is FLAT in the track and not twisted, and be sure to replace the ground cable between the hinges while you are in there anyway (It's easie that having it break later and doing it all over again!).

Attach the old harness end from inside the gate to the new one and use the old to pull the new one into place, also lube the rear wiper linkage while you are inside.

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Bill deBender on
Tuesday, 25 November 1997, at 3:44 p.m.

Bob,
I had the same problem on both of our 245's. The Volvo design and routing of the wiring is pretty lame. The first time I routed wiring through the hing. I t was a real pain. On the second one found a much better solution.
I have a Tarus wgn for my company car and it solved the wiring problem by using a coiled wire to bridge the wire in the roof to the tail gate. I engineered a similar connection, it looks very nice, costs about $10, didn't have to remove the hings, and will last much longer than routing through the hinge.

A sugestion, before you fix the wiring for the wiper and defrost - besure they work. Check the wiper with a 12v source and check the grid for continuity. You can fix the wiring and then find out the wiper motor is bad.
Bill DeBender

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Dave Spriggs on
Friday, 28 November 1997, at 8:23 p.m.

Bill,

What a clever solution. I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself as I am always encouraging others to "think outside the box". I guess this is a case of "thinking outside the brick." :-)

Thanks for saving me tons of time and $$$.

Dave Spriggs
Norfolk VA USA

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by Tim Christensen on
Wednesday, 26 November 1997, at 3:40 p.m.

I just read all the follow-ups and nothing could be more true. My license plate ights went out and in New York State, that's grounds for a ticket! The first time, I took mine to the Volvo dealer (mine is an 86 240 wagon). Now, it's the reaer wiper doing a constatn 12 o'clock salute to the rear. It's not too big a deal to lift the rear tailgate off. The ladder idea sounds like a good one. The roof vinyl pulls off easily enough to allow you access to the wires.

I agree this part of the Volvo history is a lousy one. The design of the 240 wagon rear door is terrible. If you dn't want the hassle, and you have about $150, take it to the dealer. If you have patience, a warm day and replacement wire, go for it. I recently fixed our power window swithces that weren't working. It's my experience that most things of this nature on a Volvo (things non-engine related) can be repaired by most shade tree mechanics in an afternoon. The satisfaction of tearing apart these Swedish machines and fixing them is terrific.

Re: 1988 240 Wgn Broken wiring to tailgate[ALL/1998] posted by roy on
Wednesday, 26 November 1997, at 8:53 p.m.

I have replaced the wiring for the tailgate in two 245. What the other postings said were true. It takes two people about 1.5 hours to repair. I found it to be easier to remove the tailgate to fix it. Some of the wires may have different connectors than your car on the replacment harness. Not a big problem, just cut,splice&solder and insulate and your in business.
The first time I went to the local Volvo dealer to get the harness they told me it cost $47, for one side! I told them no Thanks!!!
I went web searching for other sources.
I would also recommend checking out Import Part Specialists Inc. They carry a full line of Volvo parts. Their prices were very good and service is excellent! You can find 'em at
www.cyberhighway.net/~ipssales

Roy

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