I have a problem with my 240 sedan. I've replaced my brake light bulbs and my fuse. The brake light switch at the pedal seems to be working fine, yet still I have no working brake lights. When I press the brake pedal, the brake failure light does come on. What should I try next.

Thanks in advance.

To all you watching this thread.

I am looking for defective BFWS relays. I will pay $5 plus economy mail to get them. Please contact me at sdewolfe@cricketlady.com

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Mr. Shannon DeWolfe -- I've taken to using mister because my name misleads folks on the WWW. I am a 53 year old fat man. ;-)

Thanks everyone for your helpfull replies.Before I ask my question I did check the printed circuit board , and found that it is worn in spots. I sprayed some electronic cleaner on it after I replaced the bulb. Then I sprayed the other one as well. It did not help. Today I started to work on the problem again and found my brake lights working . Maybe the cleaner was not dry before? I am not sure. I do think that the idea of soldering the circuit board will be needed soon. However, even though all of the lights are working, the bulb falure light on the dash still comes on when I depress the pedal.

There may be an imbalance in the wattage of the brake lights. Even though both work, if they're not the same type (as a matched pair) they could cause the BFWS to send out an error voltage.
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1986 Volvo 245

The brake light switch at the pedal seems to be working fine, yet still I have no working brake lights.

Rethinking the possibilities on your brake light problem takes me back to your original post and the word "seems".

Are all three brake lights not working or just the two lower brake lights? That pesky bulb out light has me vexed at this point.

How did you check the brake light switch?

Randy

Remove and inspect the printed circuit board inside the tail light assembly to see if there are spots worn off under the bulb contacts.

Simple first test is to press the brake pedal while some else bounces the rear of the car. A loose contact will usually flicker the brake light ... if not ... and the contact is really worn you would have to remove and visually inspect the circuit board.

Repair circuit board with electrical real silver epoxy.

The catch is. If the Bulb Out Sensor goes bad USUALLY the Brake lights don't work AND you get no dashboard warning light. So the fact that you do get a Dashboard light is very interesting.
Are you sure none of the brakelights are coming on? not even the third lighth?
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

That totally got by me; I agree, all the times I have had (or heard of)a bad solder joint in the bulb out sensor that warning light did not come on.

Randy

After decades of dealing with 240 Bulb Failure Relays, I've seen them fail both with the warning light on or off. They can also fail with the warning light on AND off. With this failure mode, the warning light will light briefly whenever the brake pedal is first depressed and then it will go out. That may be the best way for the brake lights to fail because it spares you the time spent ringing out the circuits.

Also, in all the years I've had 240's, I've had Bulb Failure Relays in my hands more times than I can remember and I have yet to buy a replacement.

Rich

I e-mailed him a WORD document on checking out teh system all the way up to bypassing the BFS for the brakelights. Then went back and reread and spotted his Dashboard light was lighting.
So I missied it the first time too. Now, what the heck would cause BOTH sides to be out and get a Light on the dash? Two separate yellow wires to the back of the car for each side of the car. So why would both sides go out at teh same time unless it was something at the Sensor? This is a new one for me.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

Hi Tony, I am having a similar problem with my 1990 240 wagon. No brake lights, new Bulb Out Relay, fuse is good...I'm thinking the brake pedal switch maybe. Do you think you could send me that WORD document?
Much appreciated.
Darren

I tried to e-mail it via the BB's e-mail, it got rejected.
I guess Jarrod is having problems with it.


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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

If all three brake lights are not working I would suspect the bulbout sensor "relay". It is the big round red plastic cased device under the knee bolster on the driver's side.

They have solder joints that can fail after 20 years. They are very pricey new. My experience is that the failed joint is usually one of the ones on the upper most part of the assembly.

Carefully remove the plastic cover and resolder the joints and see if that doesn't restore the brake lights.

Good luck.

Randy

Yes, it is the bulb failure light. My brakes work well, only problem is the lack of brake lights.

Did you insure that the fuses are clean and tight.

I think it's # 12 on my '86 and '84.

Phil

You say the brake failure light comes on. Do you mean the bulb failure light? The brake failure light is triggered by an imbalance of brake fluid pressure in the junction box. This is a separate issue from brake lights not working.

Please clarify.
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1986 Volvo 245