I'm considering the purchase of a clean 93 240 sedan (110,000 miles). I'm inclined to buy it, but am hesitant until I know more about what might be causing some electrical problems it has. It has an electrical problem or two that the Volvo dealer claims "all 240s have". One problem is that a light comes on periodically that indicates a burned out headlight, when in fact the headlight is fine. The other problem is that the engine overheating indicator light comes on when the engine is actually in normal temperature range. Again, an intermittent problem. My question is: Are these problems actually common with the 240s? And, what might be causing them? Evidently the dealer can't find the problem, claiming that the lights are never on when it is brought to them for service. Any ideas or advice regarding these problems????? Thanks in advance for any help some can be.

The board that controls the temp gauge is called a temperature compensating board. Go here to see a discussion:

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=405799

Aha, been here, done that. Have a 1990 240DL with 110k.

Light warning is a common issue, I finally disabled mine. Minor fluctuations in voltage can set the thing off, and they are hell to trace, otherwise the dealer would have fixed it by now. 5 minutes to pull the instrument panel and pull the bulb, literally. After all, man lived for thousands of years without bulb warnings and seemed to do ok.

Overheating can be a more serious issue. These cars have a device in the back of the instrument panel that absorbs fluctuations in the temp of the engine and keeps the temp gauge steady. Early 240's did not have and owners would worry when the temp gauge moved. It is a $20 part that can be easily replaced.

However, I thought that I had a bad one, since my guage was showing hot to the point of overheating. I thought it was the temp regulator, the parts guy at the dealership thought so, online research seemed to indicate it. Turned out that my waterpump was totally burned up (impellors were MISSING) and replacement fixed it. No more overheating, temp needle sits just a hair below midpoint at all times.

Either get a mechanic to check the car out, stick a thermometer in the radiator to see how hot the engine is, or allocate $100 to replace the waterpump yourself, not a hard task. Careful, though, might be a radiator too, which will be $200 online if you want to replace yourself. If it is the instrument panel (guages) you can get one from a boneyard pretty cheap.

I would use these two issues to beat the dealer down with, since warning lights are deal killers in cars unless you know what is wrong. Neither are probably serious.

Either way, if the car has been serviced regulary, buy it. 110k is nothing, and you won't regret it. They are great cars.

The light-out light is not uncommon. I have struggled with it on my 1990 sedan for many miles, and now I just igore it. The imbalance in the resistance between the left and right side circuits causes it to come on, basically. Different bulbs, a bit of corrosion, etc. can cause it to come on, when in fact, the lights are shining just fine.

I have not heard of the temp indicator problem showing overheating. Fluctuating temperature can be caused by poor solder joint in the temp compensating board which is behind the dash. These can be resoldered by you to fix the problem. But that is the gauge, not the indicator. I would definitely have this checked out before buying. I could very well be some other key (and more expensive) problem in the cooling system. Good luck.....

About the first problem... The bulb out light is a problem in my opinion, but its not a big one. If you have 2 different types of bulbs on the brakelights, that could cause it, or the relay is bad. You can "Fosterize", or resolder the circuit board on the relay. Its clipped under the drivers side knee bolster. If changing the bulbs and resoldering the relay doesnt work, take out the light on the instrument cluster. Thats what I did.

As for the other question, hmmm.. No clue. Take it to somewhere else other than the dealer. Find a good independent "furrin" car mechanic and have the problems checked out.

Hope this helps some.