Continuing "overdrive" issues bring me back to you. What's been done: new overdrive relay; throttle cable adjusted/cleaned/lubed; transmission oil replaced. Made a hopeful trip to new Volvo mechanic today who on the phone suggested (as have Brickboarders)a loose/dirty solenoid wire. After inspection, was told that power was going to the solenoid, so it MIGHT be a bad solenoid, and the only way to know was to REPLACE the solenoid and see if it works. Estimated price for this "guess": $312 for solenoid, total of $500-plus with labor. If that doesn't work? Start looking at transmission. Uggh. Not having $500 for a "maybe" fix (or any fix, actually), I called IPD about the $40 overdrive bypass kit. The IPD salesman thought my symptoms were odd, that overdrive either works or it doesn't, that there is no "wandering" between third and fourth gear with overdrive issues. My car does wander between third and fourth gear, as if trying to decide where to settle. Sometimes it is a smooth rocking motion, sometimes sharper -- in each case I steady the car by turning overdrive off using the shift button (orange arrow goes on), forcing it to stay in third gear. Sailing along in fourth gear at 65 mph, the minute the car starts downhill, it shifts immediately back to third gear on its own accord (when the car is controlling itself this way, the orange arrow does NOT come on)-- sometimes it hangs in third gear for the duration of the downhill descent, and sometimes it starts rocking between third and fourth, forcing me to use the shift button to hold it in third. Going along on smooth, straight road, it sometimes sets off with the slightest lifting off of the gas. Sometimes road bumps rock the brick. Sometimes there is NO obvious trigger at all. No big bucks for this fix, and I am committed to regular, 300 mile trips up and down the turnpike. These are not fun or gas efficient rides these days. Is the solenoid bypass worth a shot? Any thoughts on when an overdrive issue is really a transmission problem? Hoping for the benefit of more brilliant, miraculous, brickboard puzzle solving. Thanks. :-) 1992 240 Wagon (automatic) (104,182 miles)(Boston area)

That will leave only these 4 things electrically required:

1) Fuse 11 (check it for clean, tight fuse contacts)
2) The wire from relay socket to tranny solenoid
3) The solenoid itself
4) The solenoid's short ground wire and solenoid body grounding

If the bypass results in steady OD operation, you can leave the jumper wire in place as the equivalent of solenoid surgery or bypass plate installation.

Relay Bypass Jumper:
Temporarily replace the OD relay with a short jumper wire, by connecting these two relay socket terminals together:
• Input terminal #15 (2 wires, a Blue/Black and a Gray)
• Output terminal #87 to solenoid (White wire)

A good-fitting jumper can be made with flat male crimp-on terminals that are the same size and shape as the relay terminals. This jumper wire will act like an OD relay that is always energized — which is the normal condition until the shifter button is pressed.

EDIT: Regarding #2 above, here's an Art Benstein pic showing green corrosion at the OD solenoid connector.


Art's complete solenoid dissection/autopsy is documented in a lengthy photo series HERE.
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Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

You might have your mechanic check the full length of the wire from shifter to solonoid. In my car, the wire wore out on the edge of the metal at the front of the shifter "hole" near the console. As someone else suggested, check the driveshaft area too. I noticed that the wire could easily get hung up there.

I would say OD relay except you've already replaced it. Might want to test it just in case. The intermittent part is odd. I didn't have the intermittent problem. My OD went out completely.

As jac912 said, run a test wire dirctly to the solonoid. Also make sure the electrical connector on the solonoid is clean and conducting electricity. Don't replace the solonoid unless it is definitely bad. From my research here, they rarely go...
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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 292k :)

Having experienced issues with the solenoid syndrome. I guess at an elecrtical cause. If possible run a 12v lead to the solenoid directly from the battery. No switchs, relays fuses .... and see what happens.

It sounds like the switch, relay, wire, or solenoid to me. At 104K it is unlikely to be the transmission itself. Also, being intermittent, I think the switch, relay, or wire is more likely than the solenoid. In other words, I think the $500 to put in a solenoid is the least likely approach that will result in a fix. Besides that, the $500 total sounds really strong to me on both the parts and labor side.

I bought one (a 940) that wouldn't shift into overdrive, and it was because the wire to the solenoid rubbed on the driveshaft and wore through the insulation.

I would explore what you have before putting in the blanking plate. I find it useful to be able to pull it out of overdrive at times, though I do pull a trailer on occasion. That being said, the blanking plate will eliminate everything electric, and I understand cutting the groove in the existing solenoid will do the same though I have not done it myself.

Charley

This sounds exactly like the issues I was having with our 90 244 years ago, ie. intermittent, it was caused by missing insulation on the wire going to the solenoid. I fixed that and it was shortly followed by a failed relay, I resoldered it and it worked for a few months until it failed again.

I finally gave up and took the bypass plate approach by grinding a fluid path in the face of the solenoid between the two holes followed up by only installing the outer O-ring... worked like a charm. Expenditure = $0 so it might be worth a try in your case.

jorrell

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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Thanks, Jorrell, for being a friendly force and keeping me hopeful about the overdrive bypass as a solution. I was hoping the mechanic today would come out and say something wonderful like, "It was just a loose (stripped, dirty) wire. You're all set." HA!