My dad and I have pretty much come to the conclusion that somewhere in the wiring for my 244's power windows there is a short that causes the fuse to blow anytime condensation gets on the window. I've gone through five fuses in just a few weeks this way, and I no longer roll down the windows at night when it's humid (I fear the day I get pulled over while driving at night!).

For Christmas, my parents are planning on getting some work done on the car. Besides a paint job and getting the odometer fixed, I'm going to heavily push them to do something about the condensation short.

Is it feasible to take it to our (trusted) Volvo mechanic, tell him what we think is the problem, and ask him to fix it? By feasible, first, is it possible? Second, will it be a semi-reasonable bill? Getting the brick repainted will cost a bit, and I doubt my parents will be willing to drop more than $150 to "repair" windows that work most of the time.

Just so I'm clear on your question......

You're asking us if $150 is too much to spend on an unknown mechanic to solve a somewhat vague and undefined problem?

Your "trusted" mechanic is unknown to us and his electrical troubleshooting skills are unknown to us, maybe even to you (mechanics usually do mechanical stuff...).

It's not clear whether he'll find and repair a chafed wire, a bad switch or relay, or a bad window motor. These are different in costs and might require different troubleshooting skills.

$150 will cover about 2 hours of labor and $30-$60 in parts, depending on many variables -- such as your mechanic's hourly rate, his generosity, the parts required (maybe none), and whether or not he's willing to use second-hand parts.

You should be able to ask his opinion about the window problem without getting charged for it, so ask. But be prepared to answer questions from him, such as: "Does it do it when you open/close a particular window? Does the fuse blow when you hit a bump? Does it blow when you turn on the ignition?" And on and on. So have all the details in mind.

Are you replacing with the proper fuse?

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Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Let's see.

I'm guessing it's a chafed wire(s). Everything works fine under dry conditions, and the fuse goes when I try the windows when there's condensation on them. I haven't narrowed it down to one particuar window and wiring, but it shouldn't be a switch/relay or motor issue.

I know I'm putting in the right fuse because I've tried both the ones he gave me (identical to original Volvo fuses) and the ones NAPA says are the "updated" internal fuses for that same one.

The hourly rate is about $40, I think, and we're pretty trusting of the mechanic.

The job may be one most Brickboarders could do at home, but I lack the tools, and much more the mechanical/electrical knowledge, to do it myself.

"...the fuse goes when I try the windows when there's condensation on them..."

Condensation, which is only a layer of water, is probably causing increased drag on the window and thus on the motor. And that's causing increased current draw.

It's unlikely that the condensation (which is really distilled water and not conductive) is causing a short circuit.

Does it only happen with the driver's window but not the other windows?
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Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)