i have a 94 with 167K on it. its had regular trans fluid flushes since 100K, every 20K miles or so. so tonight as the wife was driving home the transmission all of the sudden stops working, no flashing yellow arrow. i get there and start it up, it backs up okay and drives okay then all of the sudden nothing, the engine revs but we're not going anywhere. now the yellow arrow starts to flash. is this a new trans fix or the pnp. i've had the car since 33k and have never changed the pnp. any info would be much appreciated. Ken
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94 855

I still don't like the fact that the speed sensor has failed. But,

If the PNP has failed, put it into R and see if the backup lights work. If not, it is a sure sign that it has failed.
Try "rowing" the shifter from R to L about 20 times with the engine off and the key in pos II. That sometimes clears the contacts. If that fixes it temporarily, then get a new PNP.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

Klaus, i did exactly what you said in your note. put it in reverse and the reverse light went on. i also did the shifting back and forth. i've ordered a new speed sensor from grotons and will install it when it arrives. i didn't order a new pnp but maybe i should since mapleleafer has a good point but i would have thought it would have thrown an error code. what do you mean by "I still don't like the fact that the speed sensor has failed."?
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I have seen a lot of speed sensor signal erratic messages, but very few failure messages. That's all.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

Klaus, replaced the sensor. took the car out for a quick drive. got about a quarter mile and the transmission craps out again. its like its in neutral, blinking arrow. shut down, wait a few minutes, flashing arrow still there but with some luck it moves, got on the driveway it craps out again. again wait a few minutes, start it up, flashing light but still goes into drive. able to get it inside the garage. i notice a strange rattle as i had it in neutral and park after i got it in there. ran the code, same 2-3-2 code again.
when i had replaced the sensor i took a look at the wiring and it looked fine. PS, on the 94, the sensor isn't where the haynes says it is, its up close to the output shalf of the transmission but for the right wheel so its like in the middle of the engine bay. a hard place to get to.
pnp? or new trans.
i took note to see if the speedo was working when the car was driving back with the flashing arrow and it was working fine.. ken
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Ken,
I just re-read all of the posts. Go to autozone and get a new PNP switch, cheap.
In your trials, did you ever try shifting into 3rd or L when the computer put you into neutral?

Klaus

thanks for the quick reply, i ordered one from groton, had hit and miss at autozone in the past with their electricals on other cars so didn't want to chance it. i did do the shifting back and forth thing and one time it worked momentariliy and the other time it didn't until i shut down and restarted. ken
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94 855

When what you described happened to me, it was the PNP switch.

Check your codes in the A-1 slot first. Then check the level and smell of the tranny fluid.
It is cheaper to buy a 1998 S70 GLT than get a used tranny for the 850.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

a1 fault code was 2-3-2. the fluid is abit dirty but not really bad and yes there is abit of a burnt smell, i'm going to flush it this weekend and i guess replace the pnp.
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http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850eng_electrical.htm
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

thanks. will let you know if that solves it.
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Speedometer signal missing. That has nothing to do with the fluid or the PNP. When the TCU doesn't know how fast the car is going, what gear should it select? I'll bet neutral.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

Um! If the transmission selects neutral, the car speedo signal WILL be zero. The speed input affects shift quality, not whether it engages into forward.

update, its been awhile since the last fluid change so i will do that this weekend. This morning, i started it up and no flashing light, and it drove no problem, i only drove it from the street to the garage as it was left there last night after being towed.
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One set of contacts inside the PNP is intermittent. When contact is good, car acts normal. Common mode of failure. It has warned you. Replace switch so car doesn't need to be towed again.

just replaced the pnp. question, i aligned it with the reverse lights and it started in park but doesn't in neutral. is that a big deal? so it didn't fix the problem cause its still did the same thing after a few minutes of driving. the error again is 2-3-2 out of the a1 port. do you think if i was to get it aligned slightly so it could start in neutral that would solve the problem or do you think its terminal?
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94 855

I don't know if this problem has been resolved, but it sounds to me as if your transmission is shot.

What seems to be happening is that there is a good bit of debris in the sump and it is stopping the filter.

Scenario: Crank car and drive a short distance, suction pressure sucks all of the debris into the filter and stops it up. When you switch it off, the fluid washes the debris out of the filter and you can move again briefly.

If that is the case, all of the diagnostic driving you have been doing is sure to have further damaged the internal components. Not to worry though, if the filter is stopping up, you already needed a complete overhaul or new tranny.

Good luck and update us.