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Its time for the annual DMV inspection and my high beams will not come on. I am pretty sure its the switch as it does not feel right and I had an issue with it a last year but it worked once or twice. My car has cruise control, which I never use. If I replace the turn signal switch with one not equipped for cruise control I think the only thing I lose is the cruise. Is that correct? I also wonder if I splice in a toggle switch by running the brown wire to a ground. I think its the brown wire anyway.
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1991 240 Sedan auto
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" If I replace the turn signal switch with one not equipped for cruise control I think the only thing I lose is the cruise. Is that correct? "
You could replace the stalk switch. You can move the plastic cruse control arm on a good switch. Epoxy should work. Wirings are separate and each circuit have their connectors. I doubt you can find a cruse control stark at an affordable price.
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Hi,
If it’s only the high beams not working it’s more likely a problem with the dipper switch out underneath the hood on the left fender.
It has a mechanical linkage bar that gets flopped back and forth magnetically. It might just be stuck from the lack of use or the connector underneath that relay has gotten really corroded.
The top of the relay can be removed by undoing the crimping fingers for an inspection and be operated on a work bench. If you clean and oil the mechanism, ever so slightly, with a half drop of machine oil, (3 in 1), you can probably fix it for another ten years.
I have done this and sealed it up the bottom better by stealing some clear acrylic finger nail paint from my wife’s stash. I guess a color could be used but that might look conspicuous or hokey?
She is a low maintenance gal of sorts, like me, but we both can have some moments of conservative grandeur. (:)
She has never used any colors or seldom even the clear stuff, so I cannot advise past that
Plus, She has never caught me, as it doesn’t take very much out of the bottle anyway. (:-)
If you don’t have a wife, to create the thrill of getting away with something, You, can try those Testor model car paints, as some are acrylic or enamel too!
.
Anyways, mess with that relay and it’s wiring, as it’s the middleman in the business out there.
Phil
Phil
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I took the dipper reply on the fender apart, and it works fine. Better now cause it was a little sticky. The turn signal switch is the issue. As soon as jumped the brown wire to ground the relay would work, and the high beams work. I found a used switch on the bay hopefully it works better. I probably could have spliced a push button switch in there and saved some money. But I don't those kinds of jury rigged solutions.
Thanks,
Don
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1991 240 Sedan auto
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Hi back at you!
The idea that j walker’s post has is a good idea.
I forgot that I learned that the hard way too!
It’s the simple things to try along with compressed air.
I advise using a plastic safe solvent as you never know what inside things anymore.
Trust me, It’s better than drilling out the rivets to open up the switch. Necropsies are for those you just have to know how things are made. If I tear something up into FUBAR, at least it did one more thing for me before it sees a recycling bin at a yard.
I put it back together with machine screws and it worked but it’s not a factory look so a junkyard one got found to replaced it along with some spares among my other stashes.
Yep, spraying has worked for me on my sisters Chrysler vans turn signal switch.
Her issue was lots of cigarette ashes. That stuff goes into everything, everywhere.
Good luck and thanks for the follow through. It helps others to think more broadly than I do.
Yep, j walker's post is simpler, when these cars are all used, by many other drivers over the years.
Phil
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Thanks, I did spray both contact cleaner and wd-40 in there. I was able to get them to work once after that but not again. I have not taken the switch apart but it feels like something is broken in there. there is no noticeable click or movement when trying to operate the brights with the switch.
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1991 240 Sedan auto
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Hi,
Have you checked the switch with an ohmmeter to see if the contact inside is working?
The stalk switch is a direct connection to the relay out there under the hood through a brown wire to the relay coil. At least on older cars it was?
If That brown wire gets grounded by the stalk switch and at any time, with the key off or on, the lights are supposed to turn on.
Make sure the that the ground wire is grounded or at least the housing of the stalk switch.
If you ever lose the main lights low bean lights you can override the system and drive with the headlights as long as you hold back on it.
Like I say, if that relay or it’s socket or a even fuse fails, you can still get headlights to be on.
I have read about an occasional issue, from time to time, so, it can happen with any car.
The flasher was intended for passing or for other drivers alertness if an accident is up ahead or other police or emergency operations that you would like to let other drivers to be aware of. (:)
I have use mine to let the my wife know where I’m parked, before cell phones! (:)
Inside the switch the contacts are on a thin finger, as I remember, so there will not be a click per say, as they are not held on by the stalk switch.
That outside relay can get power directly from the battery for a flash only or otherwise it has to get its power from a headlight relay in the dash of the car.
This is where the separate relay is turned on by the main light switch to the left of the instrument cluster but later is powered from the ignition switch. Key on only …. with the newer models like yours.
I think the extra, so called, sophistication came or started with headlights being left on.
Now we get to be even more forgetful or less bothered with the use of “timing- out” relays that can always fail so we can blame it!
Has anyone ever had a rear window defrost relay fail? At least it isn’t the headlights.
Check out the switch or that or your color of wire to ground and see if it works.
I would leave WD-40 in anything electrical, my self. It’s an oily cleaning solvent like diesel fuel with fragrance and its a dust/dirt collector if it cannot evaporate.
I think the fragrance covers up an old time “coal oil” smell. There’s nothing else in it for electric’s.
BTW, I use it to clean things that I can see and rub off. it use to be cheap enough but today, that
Mechanic-in-a-can is over priced like many others.
Just my opinion and no store will sell it for me. (:-(
(:-)
Phil
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Good pics, as always, Art. Makes you realize that trying to squirt contact cleaner or WD40 into edges and small external openings of the switch body may not make a huge difference in being able to dislodge offending grunge. Open switch surgery for a proper cleaning and inspection is often warranted if you're trying to resurrect a problematic switch hoping it will last.
I often encounter that thick brown factory grease in our switches. Considering the age of our vehicles, that stuff lasts a long time. After cleaning, I usually replace it with the silicone dielectric grease I always have on hand. It's a considerably thinner consistency so likely doesn't last near as long. Do you use anything in particular or even just bearing grease?
It's not always easy to open a switch body (or relay) without damaging it or being unable to reassemble it. It simply takes practice and learning not to go too far. People have to be prepared to occasionally cause fatal damage. You always do such a tidy job, Art, hardly even noticeable to the casual observer you were in there, sign of a true perfectionist. When you've been around so many bricks for so many years I find it's hard to remember which things I've tried to resurrect before. I've taken to writing or scratching an R with the date on it to remind me. It gives me an idea of how long my fix lasted and whether it was worth all the effort. Some days I'm really impressed, like getting over 10 years out of an FP relay. Some days not so much, like the last auto trans PNP safety switch I did where I only got an extra year or so. I tried a little harder this time to make sure the contact had a bit more tension.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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"...like the last auto trans PNP safety switch I did..."
http://cleanflametrap.com/neutsw.html from the early days of dialup, netscape navigator, and film cameras
But if you look at that turn signal switch in my last post, you can see the high beam switch contact depends on the rivet, casting, and screws into the steering column to get its ground. Zip tie identifies the assembly as a repair.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” -Socrates
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Your headlight relay needs to be re soldered. It's a high load heavy duty switch and the solder will hair line crack and give intermediate function.
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Do you use electrical spray cleaner? Had the same problem with my 90 240. Took out the switch and cleaned it and its wiring with electrical spray cleaner. Voila! Electrical spray cleaner can work wonders!
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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....
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