3 of the 4 wires on my 92 245 tailgate harness were cut through at the hinge. I had no rear wiper or washer. I read through the threads here and the detailed instructions on Swedishbricks.com.

I pulled the headliner back, unhooked the connector, pulled some slack, and worked on making a connection for ~ 1/2 hour. Even if I could make connections, I thought they'd just get recut by the lip.

So I cut the final wire, pulled the harness out inside and pulled the other end through the round access hole in the tailgate. I then soldered and taped each wire, wrapped the cable and fed it through a hole I punched into the headliner. It works fine, it has plenty of slack and flex, it's marginally visible.

I'm sure this isn't a good approach for everyone but it's a robust solution to a problematic wiring area and, sorry, it was an easy function-over-form choice for me.

Note: the 92 has only one wiring harness back there - on the passenger side. One of my earlier cars has one on each side.
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85-92 240s/ 245s - parts cars & drivers

Gosh, I've been doing that for years. I must be some kind of pioneer.

See the website.

http://home.blarg.net/~volvo242gt/tailgate.html

Great summary, thanks. And I thought I was doing something wild last week.
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85-92 240s/ 245s - parts cars & drivers

The wiring for all five functions goes through the passenger side?? No wonder it binds.

Nice fix though.
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1986 Volvo 245

... in my experience, IPS's listing ($13.18, $13.52 each), and Tasca Volvo below...

1348019-9 $38.99/$27.35 WIRING HARNESS, RI [Wiper, Lock]

3544695-4 $44.61/$31.29 WIRING HARNESS [Defrost, Plate Lamps, Hi-Stop?*]

EDIT: The diagrams show the Hi Stop voltage being picked off from the Left Side stop light socket, but my memory has the Blue/Black wire in the Right hinge harness. IPD doesn't say which side. And their latest catalog prices suggest a new aftermarket source.

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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

When I replaced mine on the '86 it was --

Left:
Defrost
License plate light
Stop light

Right:
Wiper
Lock
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1986 Volvo 245

Did the same thing on my wagon but I drilled a hole behind the liner where you can't see it. Put a cover over the wires and no problems.
Rob
86, 245 dl, 200k

That's a nicer solution. I looked at it but didn't think I had enough wire. Next time that's what I'll do. With some wire wrap and a grommet in the hole it'd be as factory as you could get.

Great idea.
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85-92 240s/ 245s - parts cars & drivers

The thing is you need to plug the holes in the roof and tailgate. I had some weld putty at home and used that so water doesn't leak in to the car. Also instead of worrying about the length of the wire I went ahead and spliced some more in.

That's good too, splicing more wire in. Also a good reminder about plugging the hole under the hinge. A squire of silicone would do it I think.
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85-92 240s/ 245s - parts cars & drivers

I too drilled hole. Also, used heavy duty wire, which I coiled around a pencil to create something like a telephone handset cable--lots of amps, flexibility, and stayed out of the door.

It's the perfect solution, because that's exactly how Volvo did it with the 740 once they realized how stupid it was to strain the wires in the hinges on the 240's. Good job.

Our 92 245 has a harness in both hinges... FYI

jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

My '93 did too. When the rear defrogger and power locks started to go from iffy to flaky to outright busted, I swapped both for new scam-tech replacements. Took about an hour and a half. And involved removing the hatch completely. !
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic #1141 245 +t

I'll check again but I only saw wires on the pass-side. I looked for them on the driver's side because two of my older 245s have them there.
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85-92 240s/ 245s - parts cars & drivers