Hi everyone!
My right rear tail light is out on the wagon and I have no power 12vdc to the brown/white wire.

Is there a common problem I should check for?


All of the other lights work perfectly so the grounds are good, and I checked the B/W with a known good ground connection.

Thanks

Does the right front parking lamp work?
No?
Fuse 16.
Yes?
BFWS. Or damaged wire.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"To do is to be." - Descartes
"To be is to do." - Sartre
"Do be do be do." - Sinatra

Hi Art, Bill, Dave!

My silly problem was with fuse 16. My fuse box is very clean, and I replaced them last fall, but Fuse 16 had gotten shifted and wasn't making contact.

It's funny that I always assumed both right and left tail lights were connected together. It makes sense why they aren't now that I think about it. To give some functioning light even with a potential failure somewhere.

Thanks for the heads-up on everything once again! You guys are the best! As I start to push 500k miles, I'm sure I'll make it with your help!

"It's funny that I always assumed both right and left tail lights were connected together."

The circuits are separate for the reason that overnight parking in the narrow streets of old European cities requires lighting on the street side. I don't know how the switch is implemented in Euro market cars for the 240, but reading on the subject has references to modern cars requiring software to do it. I first learned this on the Brickboard maybe 25 years ago. Be nice if someone posting from "across the pond" would elaborate on the details of the implementation in the 240. Even the thoroughly British Haynes manuals don't show a one-side parking lamp wiring option, so I don't know if the separation is historical by the time 240s were marketed or the switch was a local option.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Life is like a roll of toilet paper.
The closer you get to the end the faster it goes.

Learn something new everyday about a requirement for overnight "parking lights" being on. Doing a bit of googling this was/is done in Germany on select unlit narrow roads. In older cars it's usually implemented as a separate dash switch, much like a foglight switch (leastwise in BMWs) rather than a special headlight switch and in some newer cars it's often implemented as a timed computer function by leaving the turn signal switch down (or up depending on where parked).
Ref https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Laternenring?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp.
(at the very top of the page switch from Dutch to German translation if needed)
It's about the same on the battery as leaving the dome lights on overnight and when LEDs are used even less drain. Overnight parking time limits are often in effect so you'll be back in your car before the morning traffic starts.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

In 1965 I needed a car to commute to downtown Brooklyn for college classes. At that time my used car dealer dad took in a 1959 190 Mercedes Benz sedan, allowing $50 for it. Perfect---cheap, 4 cylinder, 4 on the column, built like a tank. It had a side lamp mounted on the left front fender just in front of the drivers door. If I remember correctly there was a separate switch on the dashboard for it. -- Dave

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the wire as it passes through the hinge---a common problem. You may have to pull down the appropriate corner of the headliner to check if power has made it that far. Pinch the headliner between your thumb and forefinger at the corner and pull down. Once started work your way around. You don't have to pull much down to gain access. Reinstalling the liner is the reverse. -- Dave

Hi,

I have the late 1993 wiring book.
and it shows a yellow wire +12V to the Right brake light.
The yellow wire comes from Pin 11 of the Bulb out sensor.
Check that you don't have wires reversed on the right side.

It's possible that Pin 11 on the Bulb out sensor has gone open.
Easy to check and re-solder if its bad.

Find my review of the Auxito red 1157 LED brake light.
The standard 1157 draws 28 watts
The LED draws 6.8 watts. a little brighter and a lot less current to
toast the lamp socket and melt the bulb out sensor.
Dave Stevens found them cheapest at Aliexpress. (Chinese Ebay)

Use ACZP on the lamp and socket.
See here for a detailed write-up by Brickboarder Ron Qwas.

http://www.sw-em.com/anti_corrosive_paste.htm

Using ACZP can help prevent a lot of wiring problems in all old cars.
Hint: Get a bottle of Penetrox-A
I found a 8 oz bottle for about $19 at ebay

Bill

Hi Bill,

My right brake light works, it's the right tail light that has no power on the brown/white wire powering it. This is the diagram for the 1992.



https://volvoforums.com/forum/attachments/volvo-240-740-940-12/2727d1277139602-i-need-help-wiring-91-240-wagon-tail-light-assembly-wagon-lights-92.jpg

Hi,

Sorry I misread as a dead brake light.

I see the brown and white wire to pin 12 of the Bulb out sensor.
Can be the bulb out sensor.

Also check fuse 16.

Bill