Ok, this here has gotta be the prize-winning dim-bulb question of this particular weekend but here goes anyway...

That black/blank "SRS" panel in the middle of my 92 240's center stack - where the defrost/hazard/AC switches are located - is actually connected in back to a single orange wire!!!! Why? Can I remove this panel & wire in favor of putting in a foglight switch instead - without causing any adverse consequences? Nothing lights up on that panel at any time, so does this little knock-out panel actually have a REAL function - other than perhaps to take up some otherwise empty space and to advertise the existence of an airbag in the car?

TIA for all answers from the sages! ;-)

This is the diagnostic connector for your SRS system. This single wire is grounded to activate the diagnostic display procedure and reset codes as required. See the 700/900 FAQ for more info.

Do not remove it unless you never plan to have any poblems with the SRS system.

BTW---Orange and yellow connectors should set off an alarm in your head any time you are working on a car with SRS. Remove the negative terminal to the battery and wait a couple of minutes before disconnecting any orange/yellow connectors. I have also heard that it is good advice to disconnect the battery if using an impact wrench on the undercarriage. The SRS sensor is locaed under the drivers seat and it is possible to trigger the air bags with the vibrations from the impact wrench.

Dan

I'll bet the wire is powering just a little lightbulb within the switch.

Removing it probably won't do a thing... BUT! If I were you, I wouldn't screw around with any part of the airbag system. Disconnecting that wire just to move the switch somewhere is okay, but DO NOT remove the SRS light completly! You need to have that in there to know if your airbag is not working right.

You should have plenty of space to add another switch. Just pop out one of those blanks.

I thought the fog lamp switch was meant to mount near (under) the headlight switch on these later 240s...



Is this where the SRS light is?
(From a post I made a couple of threads ago. I moved most of my switches around, in case you were wondering why they are all over the place.)

The little spot under the headlight switch is used for the rear fog light switch, which is a little smaller than the switches that mount in the center console. The rear fog light switch also lights up orange, instead of green/blue, as the regular fog light switch does. Of course, one could use the rear fog light switch to activate front fog lights...

Greg
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http://home.earthlink.net/~greg.wong/

I did not know this...

I've learned quite a bit about these later 240s since I started using BrickBoard... This is one of those things.

I still hardly know anything about a volvo made past 1980, but you learn something new everyday.

it surprises me of the orange wire: this device can never work without a second wire (to the ground)

there are 7 positions foreseen to put in switches

remove one of the black caps and put there you switch in

The ground of course would be the frame of the car.

this stack is filled up