Hello I know this issue has been addressed before but I am not sure what my problem is. Recently my overdrive in my 1986 244 automatic has been stuck in the off position meaning the dash indicator light is on. The switch on the shifter does not do anything when I press the button. I took out my dash and looked at the white relay and it looks all good. I plugged the relay in without the casing on and press the little metal to the other side and it makes the overdrive dash indicator light dim a little bit, but thats all. So I am wondering what my problem is?

Thanks.

Are there any pics floating around of someone actually soldering this realy or one opened up ......I gotta dig in my manual and find this relay and check it out. Thanks!

Jon

I concur with the other Bricksters... if the relay option is tackled and the problem persists then I would go to the frayed wire option.

The other day I was under the car inspecting the wear on the bushings (installed them last year this time) while changing the oil/filter and noticed the traces of fray on the overdrive selenoid wire. Mine works great but I can see the problem developing...

Check that too!

Peace, Jon

I have a similar problem with my '91 740 - when I press the button on the shifter the light goes on on the dashboard, but nothing happens, and if I push it when the car is at a standstill, it goes on, and then the car proceeds to shift all the way up to fourth (overdrive). So apparently it doesn't work - can it be that the switch and the indicator light work when the relay might be broken? (as with the seat heater switches - if the light goes on, it does not mean that the heater works!).
--
Darius in Albany NY '86 744 GLE (175K, given to my mother-in-law); '91 745 Turbo (167K-my 'Little Red Wagon')

Try a new relay. The solder joints fail inside these things and the cracks can be very very tiny, yet not conduct any electricity.
P/N is 3523804.

Also inspect the white single wire under the car going to the OD solenoid. Repair if frayed or cracked. It has a stubborn little 1-pin rubber connector on it.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 229K, 88 744GLE- 218K, 82 245T-181K Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 231K, 87 244DL, 239K, 88 245DL, 246K

Thx for the quick reply!

Well when i take the relay out the light turns off on the dash so I assume this means overdrive is back on meaning the 4 gear operation. Does this point the finger at anything specific or should I still check both of the things you meantioned?

"...take the relay out the light turns off on the dash so I assume this means overdrive is back on..."

No.

When you yank the relay, both the light and the OD solenoid are disconnected from the circuit, so neither will work. Your transmission will not shift to OD (which you think of as 4th gear).

Resolder your OD relay. $0, 15 minutes, no risk, clean 'n easy work. If it helps nothing, you're out nothing.

A replacement relay from Mother Volvo will cost you around $50, more or less.

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

When a relay fails from the solder joints cracking, you can often diagnose the failure by whacking the corner of the glovebox while you drive. If it goes into overdrive, the relay is definitely the culprit. That's how I knew it was the relay in my car. I resoldered it, and it's been working great for months.

Unfortunately, sometimes the failure is caused by a burned trace, and in that case, thumping on the glovebox won't do anything.

If you have a soldering iron, try resoldering your relay. If you find a burned trace, you can bridge it with a small piece of wire.

--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.

Alright a few more questions, sorry I am not that experienced when it comes to electrical problems but I have soldered before. I managed to only get 1 good pic of the relay cuz my camera doesn't do very good close ups. The top of the relay where all the resistors and the copper are looks fine but on the bottom there is 1 spot that looks suspicous to me. All of the bottom is solder except this one spot where there is copper and looks like it should be touching but I am not sure. So I will supply some pictures and tell me what ya think:

http://home.earthlink.net/~holtz56k/odrelay.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~holtz56k/odrelay2.JPG

So hopefully it is just what I have pointed out in the second picture but if its not, where on the tranny is the overdrive solenoid. I don't exactly know what it looks like and my Haynes manual does not give me a good idea where it is at. And how many wires are supposed to be going to it?

Thx again in advance!