How much do you love the fact that I have a 15 year old daughter that announced that her dream car was a Volvo 240 wagon!? Her mom drove a black 240 years ago and I was lucky enough to find another - 1992, black over tan 240DL wagon. Now the fun begins as I sort the gremlins in the car - of which there are a few. Suspect you'll all see a lot of me here so please accept my apologies in advance if any of my posts are re-hashing the same old stuff that's been covered a million times before by other newbs. Know that I do try and search archives whenever possible and usually come armed to my questions with at least some understanding gleaned from the interwebs.

So, here goes with my first of what will be many many questions. The power windows. I know the 240s are notorious for window issues and this car comes to me with all new fuses, a new fuse block and new window switches from the previous owner. All four windows work with the ignition in the "on" position without the engine running, but start the moor and the windows won't function. All the door panels are coming off today as part of a massive cleaning and sorting effort so it anyone has any ideas or thoughts on issues to be on the lookout for please chime in. I must admit - I'm a bit stumped by the symptoms as most issues I've read about are either dead windows or sporadic windows.

Thanks in advance for anyones thoughts/ideas/comments as I work through what will hopefully be a fun project.

Factory manuals (including electrical wiring schematics and part location info here:
http://www.k-jet.org/
(I know yours is not a k-jet fuel system but this site has nearly all the manuals)
http://www.box.com/volvowiring#

Download all that apply and make yourself a CD.

Just a quick note with the tan interiors as well - that tan plastic is probably the most fragile of the ones Volvo used, so be sure to take care when disassembling things, and if at all possible, do the work in a warm location to save heartache later.

Regards,
Zach
'90 245 w 294k
'92 245 w 170k

Hi there,

Fairly certain you wouldn't find this symptom in a search even if the search function on this site actually served up all the pages. I've been reading this list for 13 years, and have never heard this one.

But, the opportunity presented by someone replacing the fuse panel is different from most "naturally occurring" sources of trouble. Fact is, the particular items you say were replaced make it pretty certain in my mind the former attempts were not the most efficient at solving the problem with the windows.

The circuit is fairly simple with regard to powering the windows. Safety requires the key to be used to operate the windows, so the power to them is switched by a relay run from KP-II power. You just need to find out what is missing when the motor is running -- the battery hot power at fuse 10, or the switched battery at fuse 12. Or maybe that's not where your PO wired the relay when he changed the fuse panel.

Anyhow, here are the drawings you need to trace the work. I can't tell you exactly where to find that relay (marked "A") because I've never needed to find it, but you can be sure which one it is by the colors of the wires at its socket.

91wdm100
91wdm101

Can you use a test light or multimeter? We can help you find the trouble.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

ON position as in Run position or just in the first click ACC position? It almost sounds like the Fuse block has a misplaced wire on it.

If the windows and locks are working electrically then this Engine running thing wont be found behind the panels.

Not sure what fuse the windows are on but I would see if that fuse loses voltage when the engine is cranking and after it's running.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

Tony,

Thanks for the response and ideas. The windows function in the second click accessory position for sure but I'm not sure about the first position. I will check and report back. The fuse block was replaced by the previous owner so there is a possibility that a wire was misplaced at that time. Your suggestion to check voltage at the fuse is worthy and I'll pull a meter next time I'm in the garage.

Also, I understand the issue is most likely not behind a door panel (although I have heard the suggestion that the main window with may be faulty and the relationship to the engine running is incidental). The panels are all off the car as part of a major deep clean and not as a result of my chasing down this issue.

Again - thanks for the useful response.

if you plan on being good at this i suggest you try the search feature first.

likely every question you want to know is already covered several times.

you might want to buy a copy of this book for handy reference


Volvo 240 Service Manual: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 Hardcover
by Bentley Publishers

trichard:

As I stated in my original post, I always attempt to search issues before i post. While I found several posts with issues related to the malfunction of electric windows there were none that I found that specifically addressed the issue of windows that work in the "run" position but do not work when the engine is running. if I missed something and you are aware of a previous thread that would be useful, please let me know.

Appreciate the suggestion for the Bentley book. I do have a Hanes manual but will consider the other for the car library as well.

I wouldn't take the door panels apart unless you have other issues to take care of. Your windows seem to work fine except when the engine is running so your problem is not likely in the door panels.

I have never heard of this issue but maybe others have.

Dan

Thanks Dan. I'm pulling the entire interior out of the car for a deep clean. While I'm at it I plan to be sure all the mechanisms in the doors are functioning properly and well lubricated. If it were just the window issue I wouldn't think removing the panels would be part of the process.