No brake lights and bulbs are good. The switch seems to be near the top of the brake pedal wiah a number of things in the way. How do I get to it?

Thanks


Mark

Thanks Art for sharing your knowledge AND photos!

The first brake switch that I replaced was really messed up. I remember the plunger being very wobbly (sp?)like it had rounded out the hole in the switch, so it was obvious that this one was bad.

The second tested bad for continuity
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If it needs to be maintained, repaired or replaced on a 1990 240, I've probably done it. '90 240DL, 245K looking forward to 300K badge. >>You haven't really worked on a car until you draw blood<< :-}

Hi Mark,

I seem to recall peering through the open hole left by a removed speedometer cluster and deciding then, if I ever would need to change the brake pedal switch, that is how I'd get to it. Comfortably. Sitting up.

But, I find conspicuously absent in your post any mention of the lowly brake light fuse in the panel. I wouldn't make a move toward the brake light switch until you've double checked for power on the right hand fuse panel contact with the brake pedal depressed (to ensure circuit loading), and if OK, then following the circuit through the bulb failure warning relay. I believe both of these items to be far more likely failure points than the switch.

I would be more specific with help, such as pin numbers and fuse numbers, but I don't remember what year car you own as I write my response. Good luck.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was shut up. - Joe Namath

When you refer to the fuse in the panel (#7), are you refering to the panel next to the drivers door? I checked for power at the fuse (both sides of the clip) both were good. Fuse is also good - second thing I checked after the bulbs. I don't understand how to "double checked for power on the right hand fuse panel contact with the brake pedal depressed (to ensure circuit loading)"
To what do I connect the leads of my testor?

Car is a 1990 240.

Yes, fuse 7 on a '90 is what I meant. With a meter, it is all too easy to measure "good voltage" that is being passed through a gob of green corrosion under the fuse's end, when the circuit is not in use, such as when the brake pedal is not being used. A test light usually draws enough to eliminate that sort of ambiguous conclusion.

Just ground your meter or light anywhere convenient. (I chuckle at that word, because there's nothing convenient I've found near that fuse panel, so the alligator clip gets stretched out desperately holding on to the 10mm hex head of a dash mounting bolt) Place the probe on the fuse clip itself - the right side is the load side. What I've found, as much as fuseholder corrosion, is the fuse element itself work hardens (with each brake pedal press and the inrush of filament current) so eventually it cracks in the middle. Like Aye Roll, that got a '91 stuck in Park on my daughter's campus once.

I am surprised to read of so many others having defective switches.

I think you did already check the fuse, and posted without mentioning it because it seems trivial common sense. In a '90, the green/red wire leaves the fuse panel to the brake light switch. From there, it is blue/red to the bulb out sensor. From the bulb out sensor the three leads to the back are yellow/gray, yellow, and brown/black. Your sensor should be clipped to the dash's lower support just above the knee bolster. Here is one of the first photos I posted on this forum back when I had to wait a week to find out if the picture turned out. The crack around the through-hole pin is typical of the bulb-out sensor failures, and quite easily fixed with a hot soldering iron.

I like Art's suggestion to check some other stuff first. A bad bulb failure sensor seems to be a much more common failure point (weaker link in the chain) than the brake switch itself.

Volvo managed to cram a lot of "deferred frustration" into that little red cylinder.

Good luck!
-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1990 245 DL 130k M47, E-codes
1991 745 GL 280k (Girlfriend-mobile)
Buckeye Volvo Club

It sucks to get at. That's all I can tell you.

Best bet is probably to loosen it with a big wrench from below- push the brake pedal in for some better access. Inserting a board or bar between the seat front and the pedal will help hold it out of your way.

Getting the switch out may require you to pull the instrument cluster. Once the cluster is out of the way, the switch is visible, more or less right in front of you. Only 2 wires on it. Requires reaching WAY down into the dashboard this way, but it was easier for me than laying on my back. Access is lousy either way. If there's an easy way, I'd love to know about it.

I had to replace a switch on the 91 I had a few cars back- not only kept the brake lights from working but also the shifter interlock.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244-M47-208K ::: 90 745GL-M47-271K ::: 88 245DL-AW70-182K ::: 84 242 project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 Bus SInglecab Pickup ::: 71 VW Type III Notchback

The switch is a PITA to get at.

It is up near the top of the pedal arm, held with nuts on opposite sides of a bracket so that the distance to the pedal arm can be adjusted.

Easiest check is with a voltmeter. One terminal on the switch is hot only when the pedal is depressed. That's the one to check for presence of 12 volts.

Getting to it takes pulling the knee pad and preparing to lie on your back using a flashlight to see up in there. I suggest that the floor be cleaned first, and that the job be done after dark. Eye pupils are contracted in sunlight, and they need to be dilated to see up into the relative dark behind the cluster.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Been there, done that. Twice.

Second time was much easier, but still not an enjoyable job.

Used genuine Volvo parts BOTH times. Original went out in '93, second in '96, currently on #3 (with fingers crossed!)

The second time, I took out the drivers seat which took about 5 minutes, cleaned & vacuumed everywhere and then laid on my back. There isn't an easy way to get to it, it just takes time. I seem to remember having a second nut on the switch to act as a spacer for adjustment. You DEFINITELY want to check the adjustment BEFORE putting everything back together.

Good luck!
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If it needs to be maintained, repaired or replaced on a 1990 240, I've probably done it. '90 240DL, 245K looking forward to 300K badge. >>You haven't really worked on a car until you draw blood<< :-}

I had to buy a small open end wrench to get the bolts on tight or the thing off. You can also pull the two wires off the switch and put them together. If the lights work then thats your problem. A wire touching the two can work too. Mine went out on an 86 with about 220,000 miles on it. I took off the heater duct and never found a way to get it back on other than making little holes in it and wiring it on. The instrument panel sounds like a beautiful idea. My knees and back would have like that idea.