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1985 245 - no left brake light on rear 200

posted by  arkie on  Sun Aug 20 19:40 CST 2017
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last visit: Wed Aug 5 04:04 CST 2009
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My son came home today in his 85 245 we have had for two years. He has had problems with the right tail light in the past, the housing melted and I had to rebend the prong and make his brake light and tail lights work. Fast forward to today, left brake light in the rear not working, melted housing. No brainer, re-bend the prong for now. Except still no brake light. Borrowed the working bulb holder from the 89, still no left brake light. Borrowed the whole housing, still no left brake light. I took out the DVOM (I should have done that to begin with), with the bulb holder out there is about 10V going to the yellow wire for the left brake light contact. If I insert the bulb holder, the voltage completely disappears. I have a wiring diagram thatt sucks, I am used to Mercedes and BMW diagrams that are awesome even on older cars. I won't even get into Starfinder for electronic MB diagrams, it throws up a picture and diagram for each part. At any rate, I need a little help on this brake light, anything common?








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    1985 245 - no left brake light on rear 200

    posted by  arkie on  Sun Aug 20 21:07 CST 2017
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    last visit: Wed Aug 5 04:04 CST 2009
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    Found some information - the bulb failure relay is the point where the single signal from the brake switch splits into left and right. I will pull the relay and power probe the left and right sides. It should be easy to check for a wiring problem this way.








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      1985 245 - no left brake light on rear 200 1985

      uid 27's pic
      posted by  Art Benstein on  Mon Aug 21 05:59 CST 2017
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      last visit: Fri Oct 17 20:10 CST 2014
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      You might want to let the rest of us know what maps are frustrating you so perhaps we can point you to some better documentation. It is a fairly common trouble where the bulb failure warning switch develops a solder crack internally, but in '85 the switch was made more simply and more reliable as the high-mounted lamp was not yet mandated.

      Also let us know what information you found. It will help others, and even we could help you if you plan to work on Volvos.
      --
      Art Benstein near Baltimore

      I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.








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        1985 245 - no left brake light on rear 200 1985

        posted by  arkie on  Sat Jan 20 10:21 CST 2018
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        last visit: Wed Aug 5 04:04 CST 2009
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        I forgot to update this as fixed. It was the big round relay under the steering column. I disconnected the relay, and used a power probe to activate the individual bulbs in the rear verifying the wiring and lamp holders were good. Replaced with brand new relay from WorldPac (I think it was a german Kaeler brand) and it has worked flawlessly for months.








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    1985 245 - no left brake light on rear 200

    posted by  Volvo From Heck on  Sun Aug 20 20:20 CST 2017
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    last visit: Mon Oct 13 20:56 CST 2014
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    Too much heat from the brake lights is a fairly common problem--especially if the fixture is an aftermarket item. I just installed a new l/s tailight on a client's 940 wagon as the housing was too mishapen to install the bulb holder. I discovered the owner (new to Volvos) had the rear "fog" lamp on all the time (he was unaware) and that just created too much heat.
    Be sure the "tangs" are making solid contact and that the ground wire is firmly attached to a clean spot. This may be an excellent candidate for conversion to LED's. -- Dave







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