I have and 82' volvo that has a cluster of wires that have rotted out, they are between the intake manifold and the firewall. There are 7 wires on each side that plug together and in the madness of replacing the connector (plug) I cant figure out where 2 stray wires go. They run along the firewall and down the fender to the computer and are red and black. thanks for any help.

Daniel
I have an 83 that I just went through all this on. My red wire went to the alternator and the black went to the oil pressure sensor. However, my wires went down under the manifold and around the front of the engine to get there, instead of along fender. They go that way now sense I made my own "custom" harness, and i ran them along firewall and around right fender, near ignition control computer, and across to right front of motor.

Maybe yours has allready been patched? or the 82 may be different from 83.

good luck

Joe

I have a 1981 (242)DL, California smog version.
On the engine side of connector:
Black to oil pressure switch.
Red to small wire on back of alternator.
Blue/yellow to starter terminal 50.
Yellow to sensor for water temperature gauge.
Two blue wires from one pin; one to warmup regulator (or fuel pressure regulator) and second to (lambda) system relay (near high beam relay).
Brown to starter terminal 16.

What you're referring to is the infamous wiring harness that is frequently discussed here on the board. As bad as it looks at the plug it probably looks even worse in the black sheath it runs through. This is just a guess but do you have intermittant and inexplecable electrical problems? Are there somethings in your car that just don't work? It's all about the wiring harness. You can pick up a used one for around $150- from Dave Barton's website or a bit more new from FCP Groton or IPD. The process is not outrageously difficult and you can read more aobut it in previous posts. There have been 3 or four of these discussions within the last few days. Some will say it's o.k. to repair but even they will say it's better to replace. This is a typical 240 issue as Volvo decided to make these things biodegradable. As an environmental professional I can honestly say that there are certain things taht just should not be biodegradable and this is definitly one of them.
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Portland, OR 1987 240 dl wagon (not so rusty anymore) 'rustbucket'