the switch for making the dash lights brighter or dimmer is full on but the speedometer panel is not get lit at and i'm guessing at my speed. my manual doesn't say a thing about this, and i'm wondering if someone can tell me what i need to do or point me in the direction of useful info.

thanks!

In my '80 245 DL, which is pretty much identical to your '79 in terms of wiring, there are 3 wires coming off of the rheostat (which is that dash dimmer), with two of them "grouped". One of the grouped ones controls the instrument panel lights, and the other controls the lights for the center council (where the heater controls are).

If both the center council and instrument cluster lights are out, then I would probably suspect a faulty rheostat. It's very easy to fry these things.

I just went ahead and bypassed it all together buy disconnecting all 3 wires from the rheostat, clipping the connectors off, and splicing all 3 wires together using a wire nut. This results in the brightest possible dash lighting you can get, even brighter then with the dimmer turned up all the way.

Keep in mind that this will make the dash a tiny bit brighter. Perhaps you would like it more that way (as I personally do), but some people don't.

If you have the original dimmer in the car, it's probably long overdue for replacement. The older style was weakly built, and over time the spring inside catches on the dial, and it gets streached out in funny ways.

In other words, it the switch gets ruined.

If you do decide to replace the dimmer because you want to have the ability to dim the dash lights, find one of the later styles that is round in the back and "enclosed." Take the old switch with you to compare. You'll notice the differece.

This is all assuming all your bulbs aren't just burned out, which is a possibility. Check to see if they are burned out first. The ones I found that replaced the little sliver bulbs are Sylvania brand, # 2721 (W2.1W).

The instrument cluster however takes 3 different bulbs... I had more trouble finding these. I ended up having to get those bulbs from a local VW import shop. They were about 25 cents each. Make sure you get 12 volt 2 watt bulbs.

When replacing lights, it might also be a good idea to replace the 3 lights found in the parking brake council. I'll make a follow up post on how to do that with pictures (a reprinted post I made a while back).

Good luck!
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

i can still see the temp and oil and other gauges, just not the speedometer. like one or two of the bulbs are out. but i don't even know where to look for the bulbs, and it appears they've got their own fuse. i wouldn't o' thought. i would not at all mind having the dash lights be a bit brighter.

unfortunately, your solution is a bit beyond me so i will print it out and see if one of my guy friends will help me with it. i'll do the same with your followup post that has the pics with it.

if i were in portland i'd no doubt be listening to you on the radio, but am a bit further south.

thanks for the help, j

Ah, if you can see some of the lights, then your Rheostat (dimmer) is probably okay. When those fail, they take all the lights out with them. So, if some work, then obviously power is getting through the dimmer.

This would lead me to think that your bulbs are just out. Not surprising really, considering they are probably 25 years old now (if they have never been replaced.)

There are 3 bulbs that live above the cluster and light it up when you turn the lights on. The green "glow" is achieved by shinning the lights through a blue tinted piece of plastic that runs along the top of the cluster. When you take the cluster out, wipe this blue piece of plastic off. You will be amazed how dirty it is, and you will be amazed how much better the lighting looks when you are done with it.

Replacing the instrument cluster bulbs is very straight forward once you get the instrument cluster removed.

Removing the instrument cluster is actually pretty easy to do... You don't need anything other then a Phillips head screw driver really.

The hardest parts of working on the instrument cluster are getting the speedometer cable reconnected to the speedometer, and getting the metal tabs at the top of the instrument cluster to push forward when you are removing it (having some small hands really makes this a lot easier...)

I know this might sound confusing, but I'll take some pictures for you tomorrow when the sun is out. It will really clear things up. (I would do it now, but it's a bit late locally...)

Are you located in Oregon? Just curious. Always enjoy talking to fellow Volvo drivers in the state.

Anyway, good luck! And feel free to ask any more questions.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

oh, just reread my message. i didn't wreck my volvo pickup, i wrecked my toyota pickup. writing faster than i'm thinking here and haven't had my morning coffee yet.

j

I know I said I'd post pictures the other day, but I've been a bit backed up at work.

I'll get them up soon though, don't worry.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

hi. i/m not worried. i'm swamped down here too and haven't found/made time yet to work on this. my personal e-mail lets me know when i've got a new response at this site, so i'll be notified when you've had a chance.

to me this is a really large kindness, so don't knock yourself out! before the rainy season is here for good works for me. :-)

j

"to me this is a really large kindness, so don't knock yourself out! before the rainy season is here for good works for me. :-)"

Well, rainy season is just about here, so I'd better get a jump on this!

I haven't forgotten about you! If your lights are still out, let me know and I'll do the pictorial for you, since I'm in the middle of tearing the dash out of a '76 245 in my back yard right now (for cleaning).

You might want to send me an email (which can be done by clicking on the little "letter" icon next to my screen name), since I won't be able to respond to this thread after the end of this month. That way, if I can't post it here, I can email the stuff to you.

Let me know!
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

being a visual person, pictures would be lovely. thanks! the speedometer cable reconnect sounds a bit dicey, but that's probably just pre-task anxiety. i usually do much better at new tasks than i expect i will. i'm sure having small hands will help!

and yes, i'm a fellow oregonian, in the eugene area. in february, i wrecked my darling volvo pickup (long bed, extra cab, exactly what i had been looking for for over a year) when i missed a bend in the road (mom always said my foot was a bit too heavy for my own good. :-)i've slowed down some since the wreck.) a friend bought a newer volvo and had the 79 up for sale so i bought it. i wouldn't mind a newer model one day, but i rather like the little tank. and i feel safer going car camping in it because i can lock myself in.

and yada yada! way more than you wanted to hear, i'm sure.

thanks for all your kind help!

j

Here's a post I made a while back on replacing the parking brake council lights:

As for the lights being out, it's pretty common. It's a pretty easy fix. The following post is going from what I have in my '77 244DL and '80 245DL.

Go to Autozone, or whatever your local "neighborhood" parts place is, and pick up some replacement bulbs... The type I found that work are Sylvania brand, # 2721 (W2.1W). Simple 12 volt, 2.1 watt bulbs. I believe the stock bulbs are 2 watts, but 2.1 watt bulbs will last a good amount longer, and won't be that much dimmer.

Move the 2 front seats to the all the way forward position. On either side of the E-Brake cover you will see a screw (shown circled in red in photo below.) Unscrew both of them. Don't loose the little black washers.



Next, Remove the ashtray... Push the metal tab down in the center and pull it out. Now, remove the back part of the ashtray, starting from the bottom, as shown here:


Brings us to here:

Now, with the ashtray out of the way, you can reach in and pop out the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light and that little white piece of plastic. They come out fairly easy, just apply even pressure. Be Gentle. You don't want the pieces flying out of there, otherwise the wires can break.

(Pictures now come from my '80 wagon, because I had the cover off for other work I was doing.)


Now, to get the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light apart, just pull the bulb out from the bottom as shown here:

Replacement of that bulb should be straight forward. NOTE: This bulb is of a different type then the others. I don't know what kind of bulb it is off hand, but I know it is the same light used to light up the glove box (at least it is in my '77).

Now, you can put the bulb back in through the hole it came out of... To get the White plastic out of the way, turn it side ways, and push it inside. This gets the wires out of the way for when the cover is removed.

Now, with nothing connected to the E-Brake cover anymore, carefully lift it up from the back... Do it slowly. The front is held down by a little metal tab. Just push the cover forward a little bit, and it will break free.

Now, you should be here, with the cover completely removed.



To replace the light that illuminates the front seat belt release buttons, turn the plastic piece 90 degrees either direction. (I circled and pointed to the piece with in red in the above picture.) Pull the thing out:


Now, pull the light bulb out from the holder. Put one of the new bulbs in it's place. (It won't matter which way it goes in. Either way will work). Replace the socket in reverse of how it was removed.

Now, on to the white strip light... similar as above. Only difference is that your car may or may not have a bluish-green piece of plastic around the old burned out bulb (if there is even an old bulb there). You can easily remove it and put it over the replacement bulb. It's easier to do this before you put the new bulb in the socket. Some like to have the blue/green look for the light coming out, while others like it to just be white. It's up to you, either way makes no difference other then your preference.

Be a bit more careful when you replace this bulb. Make sure the bulb is going in-between the metal contacts, not on top of both sets of contacts. (It's real easy to damage the contacts if you don't replace the bulb carefully here.)

Now, test everything. Make sure no wires anywhere are touching a metal part of the car... Turn the parking lights on. Both the seatbelt release button light and white strip light should come one...



(Note: For the above picture, I turned the Key into the II position with out starting the car just to test the "FASTEN SEAT BELT" light.)

If everything works, Great! Turn off the lights, and put it back together in reverse... Make sure when you put the E-Brake cover on that you get the metal tab in the front under the parking brake lever to hook before you lower it...

To replace the ashtray, set it at the top, and snap it in on the bottom.

Hope this helps!
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

If there is no light at all, either all 3 bulbs are burned out or they are not getting power.

1st check for power at the fuse
2nd check for power coming into the dimmer
3rd check for power coming out of the dimmer
(if power is going into the dimmer but not coming out, the dimmer is bad. replace dimmer or bypass it.)
4th if there is power out of the dimmer, either all 3 bulbs are bad or your ground is bad. Pull cluster and check.
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'73 142, '75 242, '75 245, '80 245, '83 244, '86 244, '87 745T, 92 244 (for sale)

i've got light for the gas and temp gauge. it looks to me like one or more bulbs are burned out, but not all of them. i didn't realize the dash lights would have their very own fuse, and i don't know where to find the bulbs themselves. i hate to use the lame excuse that i'm a girl but cars aren't entirely understandable to me and i sometimes need really basic info.

i'll start by looking at the manuals pics on what the different fuses are for, and see if one is burned out. can you tell me where to look for the bulbs themselves?

thanks, j

ok.

1] take out the 2 screws that hold on the top of the steering column cover.
2] take off that cover
3] you've revealed 2 screws that hold the bottom of the cluster - remove
4] reach up behind the cluster. unscrew and remove the speedometer drive cable. 1/4 turn on the black plastic holder, slide it back, pop the cable out.
5] at the top forward corners of the cluster, feel for two spring clips that hold the top of the cluster in. pop one side and push the cluster forward a hair. then do the other. push the whole cluster forward a bit
6] with the cluster pulled out, reach behind and remove the 2-4 wiring plugs.
7] now the whole cluster pops out.
8] above where the cluster was, you'll see/feel the 3 bulbs. The bulbs come out with 1/4 twist counterclockwise.

Don't make excuses for "being a girl". We're all here to fix cars - gender is mostly irrelevant.

Actually you might be at an advantage, Maybe your hands are smaller. this makes it easier!
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'73 142, '75 242, '75 245, '80 245, '83 244, '86 244, '87 745T, 92 244 (for sale)

thanks for the detailed info. i'm going to need some patience doing all this. i don't understand why the manufacturers can't make some of this stuff easier to get to.

and you're right. being female is a poor excuse for feeling awkward about trying to repair car stuff. i'm just new to it. and i'm sure my smaller hands will be an asset.

thanks for your help!

j

"Actually you might be at an advantage, Maybe your hands are smaller. this makes it easier!"

I'll second that.

Getting those metal springs at the top of the cluster to release can sometimes be quite a hassle that I'm sure would be easier if I had slightly smaller hands.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

Thanks to all of you for the details -- I need to deal with the instrument cluster lights and replace the hand brake console, they're both things I've been putting off and this will help immensely. And speaking of smaller hands, I swear if mine were any larger, I wouldn't be able to deal with the flame trap (1981 245, and 90 degrees to the west in FG). Speaking of which, if you're new to old Volvos, be sure to check yours! (Flame trap, that is.)