Hi all,

I am a first time Volvo owner and need some help from the masters. My college car ( 1991, 240 wagon) has break lights that are staying on all the time.

When I turn on the car and apply the breaks, they stay on. When I shut off the car, they turn off.

No fuses are out, bulbs are all ok. I have found that pulling fuse 11 (rear window defrost and 4th gear) will make them work properly. I can't hardly drive without 4th gear though.

This car has had the wiring pulled out of the hinges and rewired through the back hatch.

I have ordered a new brake light switch and will dig into the dash to replace it.

Are there any other ideas that anyone has?

Thanks!!

Well...

What happened?

This car has had the wiring pulled out of the hinges and rewired through the back hatch

Brake light problems plus the other things you mention with fuse 11 make me want to think the tail gate is not grounded properly. Seems like when this happens symptoms can vary but the brake lights always seem to be affected somehow or another.


--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon

Yes, the wiring for the hatch is the place to start. Adding a ground wire is easy if the wires don't have to pass through the hinges.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

When chemists die, they barium.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Will be working on this tomorrow and will write on what happens.

perhaps the switch rather than being bad is misadjusted.
or is bad and is hanging up(in), like 2 of mine did over the years.

If it was the brake switch, the light would not go off turning the car of.

To the OP, try swapping the tail/brake light holders side to side. One is black and one is white.

This likely wil not solve you problem..it will change it if what I think is happening is happening.

Michael Patrick Krenzer of Indiana. You are incorrect. And I love this. Brake dust.

When the Volvo 240 six-panel wrap around sedan tail lights began use of the the dual-filament 1157 bulb for the parking - brake light combination around 1988+ or so, the sedans, not the wagons, used the left side black dual filament 1157 bulb holder and the right side white dual filament 1157 bulb holder as is stated in the owner manual.

The wagons use a black (sedan left side) dual filament 1157 bulb holder on both tail light sides when the 240 wagon wrap around tail lights began using the dual filament 1157 bulbs in the lowest red lens position for running (or parking, or position) and brake light function. Perhaps this was always true as the top red lens position is used as the rear red fog light in the vehicle left side.

This fact may be true also for 700 and 900 series sedans versus wagons, also. I'm certain on the 800-900 sedans that use them. I'm unsure about the 700-900-90 wagons. Please consult the Volvo owner manual. The owner manual also lists the correct Euro-spec bulb number, IIRC. The 1157 and permutations are a U.S. bulb model taxonomy.

I expected Aurthur P. Benstein to correct you, thusly, my oh so tardy reply.

Yes, I also clean away the brake dust when using the self-service power wash with the Volvos 240, as I did yesterday, before shipping them back to St. Louis, MO today.

Yes, cleaning away the brake dust works much better, as when I cleaned and lubed the fuse box. Oh, Arthur, these fuses were the open copper blades on ceramic bodies since I owned my 1990 Volvo 240 DL li'l red wagon in 2004.

Just say no to fascists. The U.S. is rife with them.

As in the new, and excellent Fantastic Four reboot film, with the NEW Johnny Storm says, "Flame ON!"

Looking forward to the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens film with our new hero as portrayed by John Boyega cast as the lead character named Finn.

Hope that helps.

Questions?

cheers,

dud.
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A kinder, gentler Turbobricks.com.
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Volvo 164: The Mightiest, most Powerful, most Beautiful Volvo Automobile Forever