The other functions such as temp, gas and tach work. The car is a 1983 turbo m46. Is this a problem with the gear, or will I have to replace the speedo cable? If so, how difficult is that to do?

Thanks for and information and happy bricking!

Those other gauges are electronic; the speedo and odo are mechanical. Could be a problem in the speedo - but it's probably a cable. Not hard at all - reach up behind the unit (that's the hard part) and untwist the fitting that holds the cable housing on. Pull it down and you should be able to extract the cable. If it's broken, of course you'll have to go under the car and pull the other piece out from the bottom - disconnect from tranny. Reconnect the bottom and insert the new cable from the top.

If your 83 is equipped with cruise control, there is a second mechanical cable connected to the back of the speedo. jp

Thanks jp - I learned a little something there. My 82 has cruise control - but I put it together myself using an aftermarket electronic brain/servo kit, wired into a used factory Volvo switch.

What does the additional cable do? I assume just provide a speed signal of some kind? If it breaks - what - the speedo/odo work, but the cruise control doesn't?

The cruise control has a speed pick-up sensor located under the dash that is driven by a short cable from the speedo. I'm guessing the sensor is a small generator that outputs a higher voltage as the speed increases. Or, the output signal could be pulses produced by a cam and micro switch or gear and prox switch or some other arrangement. I doubt if the signal is pulses from an optical encoder (glass disc with etched lines rotating between a photocell sender and reciever). If the short cable breaks, you are correct, only the cruise is effected. jp

I think that second cable and box is the counter for the emissions service reminder light. It has two blue wires, and a small, foot long, black driven cable connected to the back of the speedo head. The 83 turbo (and several other years) I've had use a coil pickup inside the speedometer itself to provide the cruise info. Blue and gray wire.

I've heard many suggest to remove the box and cable for the service reminder light, as it is an added load to the odometer gear that seems to be so fragile.

By the way, whenever I've lost speedo function on a Volvo with mechanical cable, it was just the cable knocked loose from the back of the speedometer. The plastic clip that latches it seems to be purposely built to break.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!

According to my Haynes manual, you are at least 50% correct; the cruise control pickup is internal to the speedometer. Haynes doesn't discuss the emission service reminder light and it doesn't show up on the elctrical schematic in the back either. I've got two 83's, one with cruise and the other without. The one with cruise definitly has the extra box and short drive cable. I didn't think the one without cruise had the box and short drive cable so I deducted the cable and box must be for the cruise. I bought one of the 83's new and the other with 10k miles (it was cruise). They are both pushing 300k and I don't recall the service reminder light on either ever coming on. In the mid 80's I had the dealer do work on both so perhaps they reset them or disconnected them. I'll probably stick my head up under the dash on the one without cruise tomorrow to see what's going on. Do all the speedometers have the cruise coil pick-up even if cruise wasn't installed? Thanks for the enlightment. jp

My hat's off to you. Original owner of two 83s! I don't think I've ever been in financial shape to own one, much less two new Volvos. The investment obviously was the correct one.

I'm not really sure about non-cruise cars having the pickup coil. The way it is fitted to the back of the speedo head, you can't really miss it anytime the head is pulled, and I don't recall working on a cluster without one, yet I follow all the posts helping folks install or procure cruise from the junkyard, with the warning not to forget this little item.

You are right, Haynes does not discuss the little parasite box for the service reminder. You probably didn't have trouble with yours - it is set for 30,000 miles; supposedly when US of A wanted you to change that lambda sond. But they made the little devil so you had to take a cover off of it to reach the reset button. That, and the contortions you need to get to it probably discouraged a lot of dealer techs from sticking to the program.

I thought I remembered blue wires, but the Haynes shows red wires on the 83 schematic. It is called the "lambda switch", item 63 up by the cluster. You can see the lamp it turns on if your Haynes is like mine, with that big chapter 13 supplement - figure 13-199, the left-most lamp. Bentley has a picture of the box in their emissions control chapter, p. 253-13. My 83 owners manual describes the lamp, its reset interval, etc., on p. 7 and again on 56. I think the cute little gear box that sets a contact every 30,000 miles was a pain in the butt when it was new and a pain now. Chances are tall yours isn't plugged in! I took one apart just to see what made it tick, but that was 5 years ago. Nothing high tech.

Man, not one, but two new Volvos!

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Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!

Hello Art: It appears our Haynes manually are similar. Mine is ISBN # 0-85696-964-8 covering 1979-84 model 240's. Item 63 is the lambda-sond switch turning on light 183. It doesn't show a mechanical input to the switch but that's not surprising for an electrical schematic. It took me several years to figure out that lambda-sond was referring to the oxygen sensor and I still have a mental block in making the translation. My 83 244GL has the cruise control. I replaced the heater fan on it several years ago so I was deep up under the dash disconnecting speedometer cables. The 83 245DL with 297K miles is still running on the orignal heater fan so I haven't been as deep into that dash. I bought the DL brand new from the dealer for my wife when we started having kids. I replace my 1975 model 164E with the GL a few months later. It came from a private owner with 10k miles. All three of my kids started out driving the GL when they turned 16. They drove it for a year then got a vehicle more to their liking except my daughter, who is the yongest, is still driving the GL at age 18 1/2 because she likes it. It is the car she came home from the hospital in when she was born. Neither the GL or DL have had any major engine or transmission work (knock on wood) and both still run well. I drive the DL back and forth to work almost every day hoping it will make 300k miles. Next to my tools (I've got six vehicles in the driveway) and possibly my first house, the 83 Volvo's were the best investment I've made. It helps on trouble shooting to have two nearly identical models because parts can be switched back and forth to confirm hunches on what is causing a problem before actually buying a new part. It's been great talking to you. jp

I should have paid more attention to my wife 30 years ago when she wanted a Volvo. Took me 25 years to get one and that was this 83 that crumpled properly to keep my youngest unscathed.

Knowing my kids were in a Volvo always made me feel a little less tense when they took off down the driveway with that freshly printed drive's license. From almost every aspect, they are a well engineered car. Jim Pierson, NW of Nashville, TN