Hello Everyone,

I know that bypassing the TCB is apparently a unanimous recommendation, but nonetheless, I've tolerated the darn thing since I got the car with a vain idea of keeping the car stock.

I'd just like to know what to expect (living in the Northeast), the temperature gauge to indicate as it warms up, when it's at temp or when the engine is in an overheating stage. Would some of you post your experiences, please?

I'm curious as to what I should expect. I have to pull the instrument cluster this week to replace an odo gear and I'm getting tired of banging on the (non-cracked - yet) dash to get the gauge back to 9:00.

Thanks again,

Marty Wolfson
--
93 244 - 136K, 93 244 - 213K, 93 245 - 128K (In Ca now) 99 V-70 - 102K

Gentlemen,

Thank you much for your information and suggestions. I just soldered a jumper on and during a quick test drive this afternoon, the gauge rose consistently from bottom pegged at start up to slightly below 9:00. Of course its about 25 degrees F out. If anything more interesting shows up, I'll report.

Thanks for your comments and insight.

On another note, that dopey odo gear was fine. My wife said that during her 600 mile trip yesterday, the odo and speedo stopped, but resumed action about halfway through. I figured there was a missing or broken tooth.

By the way, when I returned the speedo assembly to the circuit board on reassembly, I cleaned off a lot of oxidation on the four contacts. Maybe that was the prob.

Best to all,

Marty Wolfson
--
93 244 - 136K, 93 244 - 213K, 93 245 - 128K (In Ca now) 99 V-70 - 102K

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=1152060


Best thing I have done in a long time!

Simply put, do it! I've got two '93s, and they both had T.C.B. problems, but weirdly different, yet when I pulled and bypassed it, they both became perfectly normal, like all the many pre-'86 240s I've owned.

Your question, "...I'd just like to know what to expect (living in the Northeast),...", indicates that you've never owned an older Volvo before, right?
Relax, the temperature gauge becomes perfectly reliable like any other make of car's gauge (assuming the other makes you've had have had one).
And if not, here's what you'll see. The needle will gradually rise up to the normal point*, and largely stay there. If you're stuck in traffic on a hot summer day, it may rise a little...
[or a lot, depending on the condition of your cooling system -- but assuming a good system, it won't rise much if at all. I've got a Nissen 3-row radiator and Dave Barton's hard-to-find "tropical" fan clutch, and my temperature doesn't rise at all even if stuck on the Garden State Parkway (I'm, like you, also in the northeast) in 90+ temperatures with the A/C on.]

Do it.

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* normal point, of course, depends on what thermostat you use. There are two common ones, 89 and 92 degrees (that's Centigrade or Celsius, by the way). Normal temperatures for these are only a few 'needle widths' apart, both around the midpoint** that the needle stayed at when the TCB worked properly. No surprises, honestly, but people quibble here about whether it's a 8:30 or 9:30 -- that's minor detail.
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** the midpoint is actually marked on your gauge. If you look carefully all the way to the side, you'll see a tiny little dot. That's, I think, a calibration point to verify that the gauge is accurate (if not the sensor), by testing the gauge with a known resistance (or maybe to check the TCB?) that should put the needle right at that point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good luck.

Marty, take it out.

i dont know if you remember my posting about my tcb from the past summer but i lived with mine for years and got so used to it's erroneous indications that i let my car overheat and blew the top of the radiator off! you see, i thought that the needle moving all over the place (including into the red) was just a lie, so i kept the engine running in bumper to bumper traffic on the long island expressway at high noon on a 90 degree day while the needle was pegged into the red.

well, the car overheated, the radiator top blew off and after 2 hours of
waiting for the tow truck, 4 more hours in a shop for a new rad and postponing my son's boy scout camp for a week (not to mention the $400 tow and radiator bill) i finally took it out and now i get no more lies. since then, the needle goes to about the 8:30 position and is locked in there. and all the while, i'm content knowing that i'm getting a true reading, not something based in 'tea leaves'. take it out, mail to jorrell and let him have his way with it! brgds
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oceanre 91 240 wagon 292k

Marty, take it out.

i dont know if you remember my posting about my tcb from the past summer but i lived with mine for years and got so used to it's erroneous indications that i let my car overheat and blew the top of the radiator off! you see, i thought that the needle moving all over the place (including into the red) was just a lie, so i kept the engine running in bumper to bumper traffic on the long island expressway at high noon on a 90 degree day while the needle was pegged into the red.

well, the car overheated, the radiator top blew off and after 2 hours of
waiting for the tow truck, 4 more hours in a shop for a new rad and postponing my son's boy scout camp for a week (not to mention the $400 tow and radiator bill) i finally took it out and now i get no more lies. since then, the needle goes to about the 8:30 position and is locked in there. and all the while, i'm content knowing that i'm getting a true reading, not something based in 'tea leaves'. take it out, mail to jorrell and let him have his way with it! brgds
--
oceanre 91 240 wagon 292k

Works just like a temp guage should, no sticking ect. Since the mod have not had the car get hot. Just steadly goes to 9:30 and stays. No more highs and lows. No more thumping the guage. You will not miss it at all.

Good Luck,

PT

First, I bought the IPD wire which is super overpriced for what it is ($14 for maybe 3 inches of wire and two ends), but I think it's money well spent if your soldering skills are questionable like mine. Plus it's utterly quick and simple.

Second, I have absolutely no clue why Volvo even bothered to use the comp board to begin with (well, see below). I used the "cooler" of the two more commonly available thermostats (87 degrees?- replaced a year and half ago), and with the bypass in place, the temp gauge is basically locked at 9:00... regardless of ambient temp... with only very tiny variations above (9:30 at the most), then it plops down to 9:00 as the thermostat opens. Not even perceptible unless your watching it instead of the road. The big difference between having and not having the compensation board seems to be that the gauge actually *works* in 2007 without the comp board. :)

Third, remember that the temp gauge is *designed* to operate without the comp board. The comp board was figured in after the fact, I guess, because American consumers complained as they thought something was wrong since the gauge moved... which is what it is supposed to do. The comp board was Volvo's way to shut them up about a problem that didn't exist! :)

Again, from my experience the variation in temp is hardly noticable unless your paying too much attention to it, or something is wrong with the cooling system... which I think is how it should be.

-Ryan
--
--------------------------
Athens, Ohio
1990 245 DL 130k M47, E-codes
1991 745 GL 280k (Girlfriend-mobile)
Buckeye Volvo Club

Well, I commend you for keeping things stock. But when it comes to the TCB, well, er, expect it tell you that your engine is melting down when everything is fine. More importantly, it will tell you everything is fine while your radiator is empty and you pistons are distorting into wads of tin foil. Oh yeah, that kills the cylinder bores, splits the head, and can seize the crank.

My opinion would be that staying raw stock and being able to say so doesn't outweigh a potential fried engine.

If you are showing the car, don't worry, the judges will not pull your instrument cluster out to check!

jorrell
--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

Speaking of stock, does anyone know if 240's came with the TCB in non-U.S. markets? If not, just aim for "stock" in the European sense... which means yer also justified to pull out the original plastic headlamps and use 'em for wheel chocks! ;)

-Ryan

--
--------------------------
Athens, Ohio
1990 245 DL 130k M47, E-codes
1991 745 GL 280k (Girlfriend-mobile)
Buckeye Volvo Club

I have cleaned the contacts on my board once...about 8 years ago. With my board, when the temp heads toward the red...I undo the plastic retainer for the underdash felt, reach up and grab the three pin connector at the back of the cluster and jiggle it. I can do this while driving. (This does not happen that often.) The temp returns to normal. Banging on the dash does not work as well...I jiggle! If this dosen't work...and it hasn't failed yet...I think I'd believe the gage and pull over.

The next time I have the cluster out...whenever that may be...I'll prob do the jumper fix.


Why oh why don't they make 240s anymore :(
75 245(RIP), 80 244 M45 226K, 87 245 M47 172K

Nothing special really, after doing the bypass.

Mine gradually comes up after a cold start and maybe overshoots the center mark by a mm or two. Then settles down to near-center.

On a major, fast hill climp it might go 2-4 m. above the center dot. Then comes down again on the downhill. That's in summer. In winter it barely gets above the dot. The cooling airflow is colder and so is more efficient in winter.

If there's lots of engine cooling and a closed throttle or mostly closed, gauge can go a few mm. below the center dot. For instance, a combination of a long downhill on a cold day, with the cabin heat running. Even in summer, on a long downhill the gauge may dip a bit.

Fortunately I haven't seen it overheat since doing the bypass. Happened to my wife though, when it sprang a leak. Needle went up into the red.

Anyway, you'll soon know the pattern it shows with your particular thermostat in your car, with your driving habits. If you see it go 1/8 to 1/4 inch or more higher than it's usual habits, then you know you'd better have a look.

I think the bypass is a good thing. I've done it on every 240 we've owned that had that blasted board. I'd not even hesitate to do it preventatively.
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, quad horns. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.