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Susan took a trip to Muskogee today, about 100 miles, in her 245.
Yesterday her overdrive stopped working. She brought it over and
we looked at the wiring, which seemed to be OK, replaced a burned fuse
(#11, apparently not the OD) and she tried it out. Still nonfunct.
Then we started looking for the OD relay. I see now that post-75, or
maybe even post-72 are PLASTIC Volvos. Very little previous experience
inside these.
Anyway after considerable difficulty we finally exposed the OD relay, and
examined it under a high intensity light with a 5x loupe. Found several
suspicious joints which I endeavored to re-solder. I had an Ungar soldering
iron with two tips, a big one that operates at about 900°F (Used to use it
for putting additional holes in plastic flowerpots in Panama) and a smaller
one for electronic work. Started with the smaller one and it got hot and
then cooled off. No continuity between the base and point of the screw-in
element. So I changed to the larger one and by plugging it in and then
unplugging it when it started to get too hot, I managed to solder about
3 of the terminals. Then it refused to heat, although it had good continuity.
Checked the handle and its socket and found that I had lost continuity from
BOTH connections on the electric plug. Then I got out the Bernz-O-Matic
which I used to heat the small tip and managed to solder all the doubtful
connections I had found before the Bernz-O-Matic ran out of gas.
We put the whole thing back together and Susan said she would e-mail me
and let me know whether or not it worked when she left about 10 pm.
She e-mailed me - it did not work.
Philosophical/practical question: Why does the OD wiring have to be so
complex? I was having trouble getting the OD in my 122 wagon to engage
at night (probably low system voltage with lights on) so I took out the
relay and wired the switch direct and it has worked WELL ever since!
Is there any reason not to do this on a 1980 245?
BTW I want a new sodrin' arn for Father's Day!
What do you think? Any ideas, Don?
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Oklahoma
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