Ramblings on the topic of non disengaging starters.

If anyone is interested, my 85 240,"Dr. Bombay",(who just turned 2555555 yesterday), had a nasty starter problem (as discussed in the links below.)
It happened suddenly one day, the starter would all of a sudden engage while the car was running,making a dreadful sound.Then,it started doing it intermittantly.sometimes when I would start it, it would fail to disengage,other times, it would seem fine, but then after going over a bump, or putting the car in reverse,it would do it again...My first theory was ignition switch,but the switch tested fine. so I figured I had a starter/solenoid problem, so,I took the starter out of my other other '85' 240, and put it in Bombay No change, exactly the same problem...By this time, I was mystified and frustrated.I had to have the car to get to work, and I believed the problem had something to do with the notorious wiring harness in the 1985 cars...so, I installed a toggle switch under the dash, and ran a wire to the solenoid and back, so when I start the car, I turn on the toggle switch, and shut it off as soon as the car starts.I know some folks might find this to be a cheap and cheesy solution to the problem, and quite frankly,it is!..,but it has worked fine, and, it saved me from having to invest in an anti-theft device like a car alarm,or one of those Clubs that fit on the steering wheel.)/?)....(actually, that's another advantage of owning an old 240;,you can be pretty confident that no one is gonna try to steal it, or do a car-jack on you.
Dr Bombays' engine burns nearly zero oil.Unfortunately,Bombay is going to need a transmissionectomy very soon.,,,that's just part of owning old Volvos;......Last month, I went to see my Dad.He just turned 94 years old. He has had some health problems, and one day, I asked him how he was feeling, and he said; "I'm like those old fuckin' Volvos of yours! Parts start to wear out, and then ya gotta start fixing things, and as soon as you fix one thing, then something else needs work."

.....

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=623261&show_all=1

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=638113&show_all=1

"I had to have the car to get to work, and I believed the problem had something to do with the notorious wiring harness in the 1985 cars ..."

Yup. Wiring harness. Starter solenoid wire short to alternator D+ wire. Yellow/blue to red.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

Hi Art.

"Yup. Wiring harness. Starter solenoid wire short to alternator D+ wire. Yellow/blue to red."

Thank you for the info
yes, I imagined and believed there was and/or is a way I could have bypassed the short, but I was too lazy to try and decode and trace the wiring schematic, and make the necessary connection...It's too bad, because now I'm so used to my hillbilly toggle switch solenoid,I think I might miss it if I went back to normal.)?(

Dana West near Huntington Beach

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On the bright side;Things could always be worse

You do what needs doing. The same symptom was one of the problems that came with our first Volvo. When I saw the harness rot on this unfamiliar "furrin" car I thought it had caught fire. It was Alta Vista (the search engine in vogue at the time) that led me to learn of the biodegradeable wiring. I just patched mine like a lot of folks do, until one nice summer day I decided to chase down the intermittent shorted injector wires on a later purchase.

Huntington Beach is a nice place for sure, but I doubt your 85's harness is any better preserved by the Santa Ana winds then ours are in the acid rain-fed humidity.


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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

".... I doubt your 85's harness is any better preserved by the Santa Ana winds then ours are in the acid rain-fed humidity."

Indeed.The only way to preserve the biodegrading wires is:

*)Do not touch,bend,or move them

*)Avoid cleaning them with Gunk and/or steam, so as not to compromise the healthy coat of oils and sludges which may help preserve and aid in unbiodegrading the aging process)?(

*)Clip and re-route wires when possible or necessary.

*)Make sure and have AAA plus...limit driving to 200 mile radius from home.

*)Buy new car; (or newer car,depending on thickness of wallet).