1993 850
5 or 6 times a year the automatic transmission on my 1993 850 enters a “state” where when started and not in motion it seems to be in high gear (no power) -- this is accompanied by the flashing of the orange arrow on the dash. The dealer told me to repeatedly start and stop the engine until the problem was resolved. This procedure works after 10 to 15 on off cycles.

Does this sound familiar? What’s going on? Is this the proper correction? Can it be fixed?


Thanks,
Skip

Very common on 850s, here's the link for DIY

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/pnpswitch.php
--
Ken

I went thru this last winter and it is a precursor to the pnp swithc failing completely. Shifting thru the gears with 15 or 20 times will sometimes clear the corrosion off the switch but will not cure the underlying cause. the switch is worn out and needs to be replaced. The car is going into a "limp home' mode, second or third gear but it is driveable. Bay 13 has an excellent article on how to do the replacement. I did it without the tool for alignment and it is fairly straight forward. I tore apart the old switch and it was definetly worn out on the contacts area. Seems like i remember getting a CEL from the pnp switch also.
good luck.

I have a '96 850 Turbo and sometimes I have the same problem. I found an article on brickboard last year when it first came up. It always happens when it's really cold outside.

I'm told it's something to do with the PNP switch in the shifter. A fix is to put the key in either accessory I or II, press on the brake pedal, and rapidly rachet the shifter from P to L a bunch of times (like 20 -50, really untill it works).

So you might try that, or find an answer from someone who knows more about it than I do.

What you need to do is check for codes in the transmission before blaming the gear position sensor. They do go bad frequently, but I've seen a lot replaced when their was a deeper problem. A corroded B+ cable can cause the same problem.
--
'86, '88 740 GLE; '88, 89 740 Turbo, '88 760 Ti (stolen), now '92 965

I'm having the same symptoms but the code is 322
I havent tried the quick fix yet but I'm wondering what is the B+ cable?
If you mean a battery cable then I just had to clean the Battery positive cable.
Not the post itself but the accessories connection.
Any thouhgts?
Thanks

The B+ Cable runs from the battery to the fuse box. The othee big wire runs to the starter. Sometimes this will corrode and cause a throttle position sensor code in the transmission module.