hi sages- sure many of you have dealt with this. 92 245 heat works fast and fine, but temp gage on dash is uneven . sometimes needle goes to the middle and most times it just moves slightly from bottom. no evidence of overheating and coolant level ok. common reaction to replace stat was not taken since heating and running good. dealers and indies as expected tried to supercharge me (300- 600) to correct. figuring problem likely is bad coolant temp sensor plug which screws into block or head and is wired to dash gage. rock auto shows a few for $15 or so. have replaced a few of these on fords and dodges of yesteryear and solved issue. where is this bad boy located on the 245 engine and what do you think. bet arty b and kitty g has done this job plenty of times since the war. thanks tons oldduke
Yet I would add in my small 240 fleet of three that support the hegemony:
- Cranked solder welds of the PC board-mounted posts of the two large plastic connectors to secure at the backside of the dash head display. The 1991 240 grey sedan has this issue currently. I've not been inside it to finish the repair. Volvo 240 ABS plastic gets brittle in cowld temps.
- The 1990 240 DL wagon needs an occasional wiggle where the wire (harness) terminal secures to the dash head coolant temp display. Though, as Phil (machine man) already mentions, resistance (from corrosion, oxidation) at any connector contact bond between the engine coolant temp gauge sensor and the dash display can cause a problem. So, on occasion, the temp gauge needle does not rise as I motor about in this weighty li'l red 1990 240 DL wagon. Pop the hood, wiggle, close, gauge works fine. (Maybe corrosion at the wire term barrel crimp, too.)
- Other respondents to your post have mentioned the on-dash head voltage regulator? A wiggle. Yet not so in your 1992 240? Yet the fuel tank level guage would also be wonky.
- On my 1992 240 GL green sedan, the temp gauge goes to max on start, sort of like an impending warp core breach. The needle returns to norm as it heats up. A candidate for our Uncle Art's temp faker board bypass. An easy to do task.
Also, on the PICKNPULL page, I post a few links to craigslist advert for M47s. One is in Ohio and two are in Olympia, WA. Caveat emptor. Unless the "2 7 n 940 volvos Ral, NC" responds to you about an M47.
I wrote the PINKNPULL Olympia craigslist owner about how M47 and Turbo charged or quattrovalve (B234, yes VW speak) engines don't go well together. He has not replied. Yet to ship to you in FL, if a worthwhile M47 for you, maybe be pricey on freight.
Glad you got helped in abundance. No dirty temp gauge tricks, unless them gremlins from the war found there way into your temp gauge setup on your 1992 240 sedan!
Need more tobacco road and stinking creek stories! There's a dead man's curve there, also? Or some kind of curve where you blew a tire? The recap or retread!
hi kitty g- good message. your pictures are the best. the first one with the single yellow wire with red wrapping onthe thermistor sensor under intake 2 i presume is the one to the dash temp gage? looks like that can only be accessed by feel. think i will try the comp board repair first, looks easier. have been getting lazier since the war. stinking creek was a one horse town in md. that recap i blew years ago on the curve actually threw part of the tread off. that was always a risk if you drove them over 40. as i remember macduff was the one who cut off macbeths head in the big sword fight. kit you have the most amazing plethora of celestial elixers from coffees, to teas, to cocoas. at the end of each of your messages i yearn for something delicious to drink even if only a short snort of thunderbird. regards oldduke
I was chucking up idea-rs no one had yet mentioned.
Unlike our Uncle Arty B., I don't have my own domain and can document, and update, all the articles that he has with all the good images and instruction.
I just go and do some i-net searching for images useful for you. Or have some images I'll put up on the BrickPix. (Hates, Hates, Hates Photobucket.) Yep, the image is of the dash head engine coolant temp sensor and wire harness connection (with the red plastic sleeve that has the part number on it), through that temp faker board you'll by pass.
I have to wiggle it every so often on my li'l red 1990 245 wagon as the dash head gauge registers nuthin' when it warms. On all three I'd got all the coolant system components to like new, so, not too worried. (Though, well, there are the under dash coolant hoses on 240 we may well want to replace at sometime.)
So, is a recap the same as retread? I see how over the road tractor trailers have retreads, and I had do do an evasive a few time on the highway avoiding these as they fall off the tractor-trailer tires. I'd bought used tires more often than not. Yet not retreaded. Had a flat from sharp rocks in the road on the 199 going to Brookings, OR and caught a few nails.
If you are in Stinking Creek, MD, do go to see an Arty B. about a Volvo 240, then? =^)
Yep, MacDuff cut off Macbeth's head after telling Macbeth how MacDuff was ripped from the womb to early or something. I'd read the MacBeth play and seen a few of the film adaptations. You reminded me. I use MacDuff as from someplace there is the expression "Onward, MacDuff!" and also Duffy's Tavern the radio show, the film, and the tv show.
There is a Duffy's Tavern at 337 Main Street in Chico, CA I like a lot. They have Irish Traditional music by the Pub Scouts. They host good music that is from the Bay Area and travels the West Coast I-5 tour circuit.
Mostly black tea and occasional cocoa. For coffee, I'm happy with the Folger's. Got the cocoa ALDI's sells. 1/2 cup cocoa powder for 4.5 cups cocoa. I was climbing the walls. Usually a few tables spoons for 1.5 quarts. Hunny and milk and some bourbon vanilla extract. Or some cherry schnapps or what have you.
A snort of the Thunderbird. That's been a long time for me. I was kicking around a pal near Union Square in San Francisco city. While San Francisco is the city that has a buzz like no other that makes you want a drink, yet so expensive. In like 1988 a bottle of Anchor Steam beer was like 7$. We were in my 1979 yellow 245 DL wagon (M46, moon roof). So, we found a place to park out of site without meter feeding near Union Square or in the Tenderloin when they had all the vacated industrial buildings. And debated on going to a package liquor store, and for a few bucks a guy on the street told us where to go. So, we got him and us some Night Train. We got sort of blasted talking to the guy and his friends. I was working a lot and needed a break. Though I bought some soda pop to help wash it down. With some other help we made back North over the Golden Gate Bridge and back his place in San Rafael or San Pedro.
That was before making some of the ripple with Dr. Pepper and sneaky pete in late summer. 1988 was the best year. The 1976 Volvo 242 DL VC 24245E1090000 with moonroof and M46 did very well. Until I wrecked it utterly sober.
What about the three buck chuck? That's pretty okay, though not as stiff. The craft beer in St. Louis is awful. 4 Hands is the best, taking the craft beer crown from Schlafly. Mind you, I'm a cheap date and two-three beverages is enough for me. I don't get drunk, I just get suck and hungover. Still have yet to learn. Wine seems easier.
Maybe try some of that turn signal fluid y'all are on about.
wow kit- tons of history in your message. do you remember the moving trees trick in the last scene in macbeth. most have forgotten it. put a question on my final exam about it back in english teaching days in public hs class. last time in cal was 76. saw stuff in frisco and berkeley that i havent seen since . true bird and train were once staples of the new left in 66. took a left once on tobacco road and wound up on the ho chi minh trail. keep up the good work. oldduke
The temperature sensors are under the intake manifold. First and third intake runner.
The one that to goes the instrument cluster in the first one at the front of the engine.
It has a single wire and I think the wire has stayed yellow throughout there years but I could be wrong.... Maybe I put in a yellow wire on each? The wire runs into a harness that goes up to the gray connector on the firewall.
On my older '78 and '86 I had to replace that wire on the engine side. I soldered on a new wire and pulled it through the harness and that fixed both cars.
If you cannot get it to slip out of the harness you can still run one on the outside of the harness. In fact, you can experiment with doing a bypass around the harness to see if that works.
I still remove the compensation board in every 86+ cluster I have with a 2 inch piece of wire.
If you need to change the screw-in sensor it can be done without draining the coolant as the water will become air bound by keep the cap on. The sensor hole will only dribble out a little bit during the quick exchange.
You want the engine cold without pressure built up in there of course.
When I change out a thermostat I take the coolant tank loose from its holder and lower it down in beside the engine. I pour off coolant into a bucket under the car. You raise and lower the tank until you see the water level that comes back up in the tank is at a level below the thermostat housing somewhere.
It's not all that much coolant since the thermostat is located in the highest point in the cooling system. If you squeeze the top hose the burbling sound goes away this will tell you that you have enough out.
Refilling is easy and Any air getting in the system will rise to that point as well. I like the Wahler "brass thermostats" better since it does have that jiggle port and brass conductivity IMO heats the whole body that is around the wax pellet.
It's not a must to have jiggles on thermostats. Air gets entrained coolant but will eventually leave the system after several cycles.
I see it as more productive to have the jiggle valve. When the engine is cold and the coolant is stagnated it will clear the engine block and float over to the top of the radiator. There the air will not mix back into the coolant very easily. A cool radiator traps that air towards the tiny top hose and through cross tubes.
As the quantity of coolant in the radiator warms and expands upwards it pushes the air over to the recovery tank. It's a done deal in a one fell swoop on the first cycle.
$300 to $600 to have work done on any car, let alone our older ones, I think, is close to insanity. These Shops are going to soon die. I don't know how any one can afford to own and operate automobiles anymore if they do not do it themselves or network for the skills.
I see the alternative wave of simpler types of electric cars killing the "old" industry. Fewer parts houses with the traditional knuckle busting mechanics becoming an obsolete trade.
Building cars to become plug and play will be the wisdom of surviving car and part manufactures.
Dot com's for new cars and used cars. Both sold from a vending machine building with out salesmen.
The latter is being done already in several towns now. In Texas and in Nashville I think?
hi phil the machine man- you raise a very interesting point about electric cars. i have been concerned and annoyed for years now about the great number of auto repair shysters. cars became noticeably more difficult to repair in the early 80s to where now it is almost an absurdity with recent late models. of course this increases the number of scammers and their tactics. not sure whether the advent of electric tanks will put these types out of business though. keep up the smart thoughts though. thanks tons oldduke
we may have touched on this topic a while back jw on tobacco road. think i will look up the ipd temp comp board kit. have you done one? btw is the coolant temp sensor on the block or head? thanks tons oldduke
When my 240 had your car's problem, I did fix it using the IPD temp comp board kit. Cheap $7.95. Since I'm not an electrical wizard it was money well spent as it came with written repair instructions.
I didn't know this until I checked but apparently there are 3 engine temperature sensors. The temperature gauge sensor is located next to the knock sensor under the intake manifold. The other two are housed together but I don't know where. Never had to touch any of them in 300k miles...:)
Check this link out:
https://www.google.com/search?q=volvo+240+temperature+sensor+location&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0zpWH-uzRAhXKh1QKHQiEDEsQ_AUICCgB&biw=1432&bih=783#imgrc=NJpDNC-5RREcBM%3A
Do the temp board compensation mod before anything else, temp wise...
Both temp sensors (gauge and ECU) are on the block. Gauge sensor not so hard to get to, but needs a shorty wrench. ECU temp sensor harder to get at, intake manifold needs to be removed for access (unless you have tiny hands).
"Engine Temperature Sensors. The B230F of the vintage discussed, 1989-1995 have in effect three temp sensors. The Temperature Gauge Sensor is at the front under intake manifold runner number two, just ahead of the knock sensor which is bolted in at an angle. It has two round pin connectors, one signal, one ground. For resistance ratings, see the link noted. Behind the knock sensor under manifold runner three is the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor - ECT -which is in effect two sensors in one housing. Two NTC thermistors are combined in one ECT sensor housing with two flat connectors and ground through the housing into the manifold. One of the temp sensor signals goes to the LH fuel injection computer, the other to the EZK ignition computer. When you remove any of the sensors, disconnect the battery negative cable."
thats a good one arty b about the ripoff mechanic. the original though was your car needs new muffler bearings and were running a special this week, only $600 to r and r. but dont question his judgment , you might be called a cheap fb. seems the fixes for my stinko temp sensor or comp board involve bypassing the board. most tell me another rip is the current air to nitrogen in tires(only $40 per tire). sounds like hot air to me. do i have a bad attitude? thanks tons oldduke
Oldduke, everyone is wise to the muffler bearing ploy, by now. The Finuken Valve troubles might still sneak past some wary youngsters, as it doesn't respond well to search attempts.
However, turn signal fluid is something many newer car owners are just learning exists within the do-it-yourself sphere.
Those of us who still think movies are done with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant may not be aware of the vast resource YouTube has become, with regard to car maintenance. Anyone with a Go-pro can now be a producer of entrancing entertainment without hiring Shirley Temple or John Wayne, or running afoul of the Union.
Here is a good one. This does not apply to your '92, unless, of course, you have converted your lighting to the E-code plan which totally reverses the cataracts in both the headlamp assemblies and the drivers who depend on them.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore
"I was worried that my mechanic might try to rip me off, I was relieved when he told me all I needed was turn-signal fluid."
hi river b- bmws despite their exhorbitant prices are one of the most unreliable and vexatious cars to repair. they even exceed the notorious blower motor r and r in volvo 240s. that takes some doing too. regards oldduke
FWIW - I've talked to a number of people who have owned both BMW and Mercedes. They all say Mercedes is even worse. Mercedes must have both the turn signal fluid and muffler bearing problems...:)
hi jw- wait until you check out the cost to replace the vapor lock or get a new brake fader. the cost will give you sticker shock which will put you in the er. one guy told me a garage soaked him to replace his tire air with nitrogen for only $75. do i have a bad attitude? sorry . oldduke
Yes, the ER, where the prices will make you wonder what you were complaining about in the automotive world. Price of purity. The 21% O2 is free, as is the 78% N2.
Price of oxygen in the ER?
Price of nitrogen at the car dealer?
Profit is viewed as a good thing in our country. We figure, if someone is doing just a bit too well, someone else will come along to compete.
now wait a minute arty.old muffler bearing trick has been known to work on young bucks as late as 2014. true though it is dying out. back in asbury park the finuken valve was called the mfugn valve. is it the same thing er malfunction? heres one you missed the old vapor lock fakeout. required a special tool to unlock it which only certain dealers had . even in 71 they wanted 125 for the repair. uncle moe warned me to be sure my vaseline bills were paid up. keep up the good work. regards oldduke
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