i recently bought a 87 245dl and i was told that the alternator was acting up so they rewired the ignition to the button underneath theinstrument lights switch which i have to turn on for five seconds after starting the car.
the down side to this is the lights on the clock,speedometer gas gauge and temp gauge do not work. any ideas about righting this?
thanks alot!

Sounds like you have a couple of different issues going on. My understanding is the lights are not working on your cluster and clock. Have you checked the bulbs, not loose or corroded or even burned out? Do you leave the switch on only for 5 seconds? like others, do not turn it on,see what happens, take jumper cables with you, just in case.

I have a switch i have to turn on, then turn the key otherwise the car won't start. If i forget to turn the switch off, after hours it will drain the battery. I changed the toggle switch to an OEM volvo switch and placed it on console with the other switches.
Good luck, post back please.
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Sandy '83 244 dl daily driver

I am going tomorrow for new bulbs,hope that is the issue.
Seems the alternator is working fine and all fuses are go to go.
If not i will figure something out. The worst thing that could happen is it just gets better!!!!

The alternator was acting up? Was it tested? New voltage stabaliser or brushes installed? Maybe your car had battery drain issue they couldn't find in which case I would check the wires to the central door function in the drivers door. Then check for a drain coming from the delayed off funtion of the overhead interior light.Also poorly grounded alternator. That's all I got, you need to wire it back to OE tehn go from there. Who did this fix?

What happens if you don't turn on the switch?
I would investigate the lighting first.
Do get the factory green manuals at k-jet.org. Download the entire set for your model and year. Their free.

hello
i was told it will drain the battery.
i took the console cluster off and saw that a red wire was cut and wired to the ignition.maybe i should take a leap of faith and not turnnit on thou that still does not solve the cluster lighting issue,funny all gauges work thou

Get an inexpensive multi-meter and measure the voltage at the battery terminals before and after starting.

thank you very much i will do that!

This doesn't make any sense to me.

You'll have to investigate the wiring and see what exactly goes where. Grab a Bentley manual, or Volvo Greenbooks, or search here and on Google for wiring diagrams, and undo whatever was done, one wire at a time.