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Hello,
I'm new to this forum, but i have been watching it for a while, and have gotten the impression that this is a very helpful and good volvo-community, so i finally decided to join.
Last summer i got my first own car: an old, but well maintained 79 european Volvo 245. I am very happy with it, but one thing has been bothering me since i got it: After driving for a while (about 15 minutes), the temperature guage goes almost up to the red area, but it stays there, and doesn't go higher. It's been like this since i got the car. I've never had any problems with the engine. It runs good, sounds good, and doesn't seem to overheat or smoke. So the question is: is it ok to continue driving it like this, or should something be done? Am i in any danger of damaging the engine?
Also, there is a small, black box on the fusebox-cover that says temperature-relay (sorry for the much too large image). It has a switch to select between auto and manual, and a knob to adjust temperature. I've never seen anything like it on other 240s, and i wonder what it does? I've kept it on auto since i got the car. Is there any reason that i should switch it to manual and adjust the temperature?
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Looks like something from Biltema to me. Maybe you could call them with the part no.? (What is it - not sure if I can read it correctly.) My bet would be on some cabin heater that gradually turns off as the car gets warmer? The old heater unit was probably located in the passenger side, but controlled by the temperature on the driver's side. Makes sense to me. I don't think this thing has anything to do with the engine.
PS: Gøy å se andre nordmenn her :)
Lars Erik
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Hi.
Is there any chance that your car has an electric radiator fan installed in place of (or in addition to) the regular water pump-mounted engine-driven fan?
If so, then I'd guess that the mysterious box is a temperature control connected between some temperature sensor and the electric fan. And if that's the case, you could try turning down the box's setting to see if that will bring the fan on sooner to lower the coolant temperature.
If the above doesn't pan out, then I'd suspect that perhaps you've got a bad thermostat (i.e., a regular one in the thermostat housing). And yet another possibility is that your gauge is showing a wrong reading. Reasons for this could include bad electrical connections or ground, or a bad voltage stabilizer in the instrument panel. In such an old car, the voltage stabilizer was an electromechanical unit (unlike the more modern IC chip) which was a metal box on the backside of the instrument cluster.
Good luck.
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wow!
never seen anything like that! Can you send me a picture of the left side of the engine while you are standing in front of the car? Spencera12@yahoo.com Call me crazy, but it looks like that thing-a-ma-jig is controlling the thermostat...
I might try turning the little pot down to "kall" and see what happens to your temp gauge. red is usually BAD.
By the by, where are you located?
Andrew
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wow!
never seen anything like that! Can you send me a picture of the left side of the engine while you are standing in front of the car? Spencera12@yahoo.com Call me crazy, but it looks like that thing-a-ma-jig is controlling the thermostat...
I might try turning the little pot down to "kall" and see what happens to your temp gauge. red is usually BAD.
By the by, where are you located?
Andrew
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I am located in the middle of Norway (a small town called Namsos). It's a bit too dark outside to take a photo right now (it's about midnight in this area), but i can take one tomorrow and send it to you. It sure is strange. I've seen a lot of 240s (both in real-life and on the internet), and i've never come across anything like this before. I'll try to turn down the temperature, and set it to manual the next time i drive it to see if it helps. Thank you!
By the way: the temperature guage never goes into the red area, it stops about half an inch below it.
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Could it be for a cylinder block heater intended to keep the engine oil warm overnight when its -40C outside? If yes, you should find an adapter that a power cord can plug into, possibly under the hood.
just a thought,
jorrell
--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently close to running again!
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I am pretty sure that the car doesn't have a block heater. As far as i've noticed, there is no adapter or anything like that under the hood, but i'll take a closer look tommorrow to see if i might have overseen something. Thanks a lot for your advice!
And, just to correct myself: The text on the box says thermostat-relay (in swedish), not temperature-relay as i said!
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OK, it's a thermostat-relay.
The engine's cooling system thermostat is mechanical and there's nothing electrical about it.
Or maybe there was an experimental electrically controlled engine thermostat?? Not likely but anything is possible...
My guess is that it's related to some other thermostat. Maybe a cabin heater thermostat that would control a water valve for heating. Or as Jorrell suggested, maybe a block heater (engine oil heater or anti-freeze heater). Maybe even for an electric engine cooling fan. Could be that someone installed one, and later went back to using a regular radiator fan.
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, quad horns, tach, small clock. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.
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