OK - bendix was going out on my starter so I popped it out and took it back to Autozone for my lifetime warranty replacement. (Note here - The starter was kicking in but the bendix would not stay engaged long enough to start the car).

Slid the new (remanufactured) one in - and nothing, nada, not even a click. I took it back and had them run a test and sure enough it engaged properly and passed the test.

So I put it back in and still nothing. So I tested the wires and I'm getting a full 12+ on the power side (I had just charged the battery) - but the ignition wire shows no voltage when the key is engaged to start position. Slid it out of park into neutral and tried the ignition on both settings - - - still no voltage.


Any idea on what I could have done?

Thanks
Charles

Maybe it's the headache I have this afternoon but I don't really understand which wires you are writing about. Many Volvo starters have a second small terminal on the solenoid which gets energized when the starter is engaged--to bring power to a cold start valve (if that model has one). Could you have attached the small wire to the wrong small terminal? -- Dave

My SO has that same headache Dave, so I'm changing her brakes.

Here's what one of those older cars using the 16 terminal looked like wired up.





And this is where you want the blue/yellow starter wire from the ignition switch to connect. Terminal 50. It is supposed to be a 1/4" spade where the #16 is a 3/16", but you never know what comes out of a rebuild box.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Did the parts guy call the solenoid a Bendix?

maybe I wasn't very clear.

The bendix went out on my old starter - thus I when back to Autozone since the starter was one of their "lifetime warranty" jobs.

There were 2 spades on the solenoid on the new starter - one for the yellow/blue wire for the ignition (namely for the "S" terminal) and the second terminal is the "R" terminal. The S is the one at the 3 o-clock position and the R is at the 9 o-clock.

My problem is not with the starter itself or the solenoid - my problem is that the yellow/blue ignition wire is not getting voltage when I turn the key. The strange thing is that it was apparently getting voltage when I took the old starter off or it wouldn't have been engaging (thus me being able to tell the bendix had gone bad).

My question is do you guys have any idea what I may have done wrong that would stop the ignition wire from getting voltage when the key is turned to the start position (and that is why I mentioned trying both park and neutral).

BTW - it is a 92 240

Post the Year of your Volvo.

Next. Going with your bad bl/yl wire theory of no voltage

the very act of disconnecting that bl/yl wire may have revealed a faulty wire.
(is the wire at the push-on spade solid)

That wire, the Bl/Yl wire fron the starter goes thru the Grey Cnx block in front of the firewall and then on to the inside. There "may" be a problem with the cnxt at the block OR the wire from the block in the engine bay may have deteriorated...that's why the ques about the year.
It would fall under wiring harness problems that plagued certain mid 80's models. Most of that happens inside the sleeve and is not visible without slicing the sleeve.

You can uncouple the Grey Block and confirm that the bl/ylw wire inside the bay is not the problem, by isolating that part and testing.

Absolutely right. You're many times clearer this time around.

When you said "OK - bendix was going out on my starter so I popped it out and took it back to Autozone..." the "it" was clearly the Bendix in my interpretation. I saw this starter drive or overrunning clutch in my mind.



Then you talked about the "ignition" wire. Well, the brown one on the earlier cars is part of the ignition circuit and not the cranking circuit. More confusion. Thought maybe you swapped the solenoid and got the wires mixed up.

So, it is a '92. That helps as well. The cranking voltage arises at the key switch for KP-III and passes through the neutral safety switch. Just trace where it ain't any more. I know, you want a short cut, figuring if you did this, scores of others have, and they just need to tell you their secrets and you can check on them.

Well, you could maybe have damaged the crimp and there's no good connection at the blue/yellow on terminal 50. Could be the key switch. Or maybe it got shorted to ground when it was hot and another terminal overheated. Maybe the contacts on the neutral safety switch are balky. Here are some maps and some help with the shifter switch, in case someone else doesn't have the magic answer for you.





Fix Your Backup Light Switch

Sorry for the confusion and good luck.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Doesn't the 92 have the funky selector in the console? And do you need to step on the brake at the same time you crank? I know something is different than the other 240s which means more places to search. Sorry, no answers.

Hi Nel,

If by funky, you mean does it have the safety feature keeping the driver from moving the selector out of park unless he has the key in run position and steps on the brake pedal, then yes. That was introduced in '91.

The parking shift lock does not change the neutral starter safety circuit, but does provide a means to diagnose, that does not exist in earlier years. One could be assured the starter solenoid provides a "grounding" path, for low current at best, if the shift lock relay operates when the key is pointed to KP-II. Communication on that point might be frightful.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore