All,

Subject says it all.

I can not turn the key back to position 0 and I don't want to force it. All other positions work.

What recourse do I have??? Any suggestions???

Thanks,

Matt
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1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245

Although this has never happened to me, the first thing I'd do is remove the switch from the lock. Doing this and having thus freed the lock would assure me the lock was not at fault, but the switch is broken.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Art,

First, Thank you, yet again!

Second, dang is it hot and humid out tonight in EBurg!

Third, apparently I have yet to learn my lesson, like check everything, even the NEW parts! ARGH!

Yes, that's right folks, a brand new, out of the box, less than a month old, starter switch from a not to be named company!

What are the chances??? Apparently pretty dang good.

Now to call the unnamed company and give them a little what for!

Good night!

Matt
--
1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245

I replaced one for electrical contact problems.

used Volvo part $40. from Voluparts in Atlanta

Hi Matt,

The same thing happened to me, stuck in KP-2 with the motor running 2 days after installing a Beck/Arnley ignition switch.

Peter

Good going, and Art too. I briefly thought about the switch then ruled it out in my mind as I've never had a sticky one or heard of such problems with one, mostly just worn out switch contacts causing intermittent electrical problems. I guess a contact fell apart or got bent up and jammed inside, so that had to be a pretty crappy switch to fail so quickly and I'm surprised it didn't start with electrical symptoms as an early warning.

You don't need to shame the seller/distributor, but if there's a brand we should be wary of then maybe go ahead and name it. Many of us turn to the aftermarket switches as they are significantly cheaper than Genuine Volvo and on the surface some look almost identical.

And on my note about that ignition lock cable, again I couldn't edit to correct my statement suggesting only later models where you have to step on the brake to get out of Park had that cable. All models where you need to be in Park to get the key out will have that cable. I was thinking of the later 940 models where you need to have the key in the ignition and depress the brake (or push down an override lever) to get out of Park and that have a solenoid buried down in the shifter assembly -those can be a real pain when they start giving trouble.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

A google search on another Volvo forum site says you're not the first with a later 240 to have this exact problem of not being able to get the key back into position 0. Unfortunately no solution was acknowledged.

I'm sure you've done the obvious, try to get some spray WD-40 into the keyway to loosen any grunge, make sure it's fully in Park, your foot is on the brake and wiggling the steering column.

I'm not sure if your 1991 has a cable lock between the shifter and the ignition lock like the later RWD models. If you normally need to depress the brake to get out of Park then it has that cable. Even if it does, I'm not sure if that could be related to your exact problem. If that cable isn't fully loose when the shifter is in Park then the key can't be removed, but I think it should still be able to get back into KP-0. Your problem would seem different, like something is jamming inside the cylinder, either a broken bit or a chunk of dirt. If that cable does happen to be the problem then you can try getting at the shifter end which is immediately under the forward edge of the trans shifter assembly where there's a plastic adjuster sleeve you can try loosening. To get to the other end of the cable at the lock you'd need to remove the instrument cluster for access, but as I recall the cable sheath is integrated into the lock mechanism there and won't provide useful access.

Best thought I've seen elsewhere for similar problems is to determine if it's an original steel key or a replacement brass key. Maybe test with a magnet. You can get a bit more forceful with a steel key and try to crunch whatever is preventing the key from fully turning so you can extract it. Carefully grip the key with pliers as close to the lock as you can.

It may be worth pulling the instrument cluster so can soldily tap the back of the lock while you try turning the key to encourage any loose bit to shift.

An additional thought I had is to take the switch off the back of the lock. It's held by two screws from behind, a bit of a pain to get at. Then you can assist turning the key from behind, just try to avoid doing metal damage in the process.

Do as much wiggling the key and flushing with WD-40 as you can. In some ways it's actually better than spray contact cleaner at loosening and floating away sticky grunge.

If you break the key, it's probably not a huge loss as your next step may have been to drill out the lock anyway.

Others may have further ideas.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Ok, I was wrong.

I can't even get it back to position 1!

Argh.

Matt
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1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245